Beef Industry Charts

Beef cow slaughter as a percentage of the cow herd reached its lowest level since August of 1991 week before last when it touched on 0.120%. The percentage of the cow herd going to slaughter dropped markedly in late February when spring grass greened up in some parts of the country. So far in 2005, 4.54% of the beef cow herd has gone to slaughter. That compares to 4.97% last year and an average of 5.38% for 1999-2003. This year's cumulative beef cow slaughter as a percent of the breeding herd is the LOWEST figure in my data set which dates back to 1986.