U.S. Beef Production:
There are approximately 800,000 ranchers and cattlemen in the United States, conducting business in all 50 states and contributing economically to nearly every county in the nation. In 2004, U.S. cash receipts from cattle and calves is forecasted to total $45.6 billion. The cattle industry is a family business. Eighty percent of cattle businesses have been in the same families for more than 25 years; 10 percent for more than 100 years.

On Jan. 1, 2005 there were 95.8 million cattle in the United States, 1 percent more than a year earlier. Total beef production during 2004 is estimated to be 24.5 billion pounds. Total beef production during 2003 was 26.2 billion pounds. In 2004, cattle averaged about 1,242 lbs. before harvest. The 2004 average carcass weight was 756 lbs., which translates into about 530 lbs. of beef.

Consumer Confidence/Demand:
Consumers remain confident in the safety of U.S. beef and demonstrate this confidence with heightened demand for beef. As of February, 2005, 93 percent of consumers remain confident in the safety of U.S. beef. In the first three months after the December 23, 2003 announcement, demand for beef actually increased 9.68 percent. America’s demand for beef has increased more than 15 percent since 1998.

Beef Consumption:
Beef is the number-one protein in America, according to USDA consumption data, and the demand for beef continues to grow. In 2004, U.S. consumer expenditures on beef took the largest jump in decades, nearly $7 billion in one year, according to Cattle-Fax.

BSE and the U.S. Beef Industry:
Even though nearly one-quarter of the U.S. export market value has been recovered since the December 2003 U.S. diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Industry experts conservatively estimate BSE has cost the U.S. cattle industry just over $4 billion in lost export value on beef, beef variety meats, hides and tallow.

U.S. Beef Exports/Imports:
The United States traditionally exports about 10 percent of production but when the first U.S. case of BSE was diagnosed in an imported Canadian Cow on December 23, 2003, most major export markets closed. In 2003, U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports totaled 1.28 million metric tons valued at $3.86 billion. Traditional primary export markets Japan, Mexico, the Republic of South Korea and Canada accounted for nearly 83 percent of export volume and 88 percent of export value in 2003. Industry experts agree the total value of the U.S. beef and beef variety meat export market equates to approximately $15/cwt. or 12 percent of an $85/cwt. fed steer.

As of March 29, 2004, the United States had re-established beef exports that account for 35 percent of the record $3.86 billion in beef and beef variety meat exports in 2003. At the current trade re-establishment levels, roughly $5.25/cwt. (live weight) of the $15/cwt. in export value has been returned to the market place.

Total U.S. imports of beef and beef variety meats January through December 2004 increased 20 percent in volume and 37 percent in value compared to 2003.

Additional Beef Industry Facts:

Economic Consequences of BSE for the North American Cattle and Beef Industries (USDA)

Economic Facts on Japanese Trade

Beef Industry at a Glance

U.S. Cattle and Beef Industry Trade Fact Sheet

Industry Statistics
(scroll to bottom of page for most current downloadable statistics)

Retail Beef Prices

USDA Economic Research Service Cattle Briefing Room

Agriculture Census Statistics