NASHVILLE, TN – U.S. red meat production moved lower in 2025, and beef was the main reason. Dr. Josh Maples at Mississippi State University said total red meat output fell about 2 percent from 2024, with beef production down 3.6 percent and pork off 0.8 percent.
Cattle slaughter showed the sharper shift. Commercial cattle slaughter totaled 29.8 million head, down 6 percent from the previous year. Average live weight, though, rose 33 pounds, which helped soften some of the production loss.
Those heavier cattle have become an important part of the supply story. Average live weights are now 67 pounds above 2023 levels, indicating that larger carcass weights are offsetting some of the herd contraction.
The slaughter mix also changed, but not in a way that signals herd rebuilding. Steers made up 49.7 percent of federally inspected cattle slaughter, heifers 31.7 percent, and cull cows 17 percent, down from 17.8 percent in 2024.
Cold storage numbers backed up the tighter beef picture. Red meat inventories were down 2 percent from a year earlier, with beef down 3 percent and pork up 2 percent.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Beef remains the primary driver of tighter red meat supplies, even as heavier cattle partly cushion the decline.