Livestock and Dairy

U.S. egg production totaled 9.08 billion during August 2024, down 3% from last year. Production included 7.77 billion table eggs and 1.3 billion hatching eggs, of which 1.21 billion were broiler-type and 95.8 million were egg-type. The average number of layers during August totaled 370 million, down 3% from last year...

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service released new guidelines last week aimed at strengthening documentation in support of environmental or animal-raising labeling claims on meat and poultry products after a recent study found antibiotics in livestock raised for the no-antibiotics market...

After five months, Colombia has lifted restrictions on imports of U.S. beef related to highly pathogenic avian influenza in dairy cattle.  Prior to the ban, U.S. beef was exporting roughly $3 million per day to Colombia.  When the ban started, that figure dropped to $1 million per day in the Central America country.   “Needless ...

One of the consumer trends that makes the dairy industry nervous is the decline in per capita milk consumption.  Americans drank 250 pounds per person in 1975, but consumption has steadily dropped over the decades, reaching only 130 pounds in 2022.  ...

It's not the greatest of times right now for the nation's Turkey producers.   “Production continues to decline and prices are declining as well.”    And that breaks the rules of supply and demand economics.  All of this from USDA's ...

The American Lamb Board is looking for 150 sheep producers to participate in its Climate Smart Sheep Program.  Producers enrolled in the program will be paid up to $7,000 to develop and implement Climate Smart Sheep management practices and measure and report emissions and life cycle analysis.  Po...

The U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation expressed their strong disappointment with a preliminary ruling by Colombia’s government that they say unfairly targets U.S. dairy exporters.  They added the move advances "baseless claims" that U.S. milk po...

Are beef cattle producers starting to hold back some heifers for breeding or not?   Are we still in contraction mode?   Friday's USDA Cattle on Feed report offers hardly any clue to that.  USDA livestock analyst Shayle Shagam said we will have to wait a month for the next real clue.   “When...

The Fall and Winter holidays are still a few months out, but USDA says the essentials for holiday cooking have been accumulating in cold storage.   Stocks of bone-in and boneless hams at the end of July totaled 139.2 million pounds, 1.2% a ... Read More ...

According to NASS, total milk production in the Northwest increased slightly from August 2023 to August 2024.  Idaho’s herd increased 1,000 cows over the past year to 667,000 cows, with each cow producing 2,180 pounds of milk, for total production of 1.454 millio...