In the Cattle Markets: Cattle Slaughter and Beef Production Check-In

Cattle slaughter through the end of February 2025 has been lower than last year. This is not a surprise given the tighter inventories that were expected. However, two interesting developments have emerged. First, the distribution of the cattle being processed is shifting. And second, beef production is a bit higher than last year despite this smaller slaughter figure.

Through March 8, the USDA estimated that 5.75 million head of cattle were slaughtered. This is about 3 percent below the same timeframe last year. Steers have increased the share of slaughter to around 49.5 percent of total slaughter (an increase of about 2 percentage points compared to 2024). Steer slaughter is about the same as last year at 2.28 million head. The cow slaughter share has dropped by around 2 percentage points to 17.6 percent of total cattle slaughtered.

Cow slaughter has plummeted in 2025. Cumulative slaughter figures through February 22 suggest that all cow slaughter has fallen by 15 percent year-over-year. Beef cow slaughter has declined further to 22 percent below cumulative slaughter totals through the same time last year. At the current rate, about 9 percent of the beef cow inventory may be slaughtered in 2025.

Heifer slaughter has also fallen slightly in 2025. The USDA estimated that heifer slaughter through the beginning of the year so far was around 1.46 million head. This is about 1.7 percent below last year’s estimate of 1.49 million head. Notably this decline is outpaced by the decline in cow slaughter.

In contrast to these declines, beef production increased slightly in 2025. Through the first week of March, approximately 5.02 billion pounds of beef were produced. This compares to around 4.96 billion pounds of beef produced during the same time last year. This represents a 1.3 percent increase this year compared to 2024.