An ag economist says heavier carcass weights are helping offset the decline in cattle slaughter.
Josh Maples is with Mississippi State University Extension. “Cattle weights are down a little over 7 percent, and beef production is only down 5.5 percent,” he says. “A big chunk of that is just driven by how much heavier these cattle are whenever we’re processing them.”
He tells Brownfield weights have really made a difference. “If you assume just an average dressing percentage of about 62.5 percent, the 983 pound dressed weights for steer dressed weights, that would be a 1,575-pound steer,” he says. “Now that may not sound outrageous, but remember this is the average not an outlier.”
Maples says feed costs are supportive to feeding cattle longer. “It’s paying off,” he says. “We’re clearly seeing that happen, where feedlots are willing to keep cattle around a little bit longer to add weight.”
He says cattle weights typically decline seasonally, but so far, the expectation for lighter weights has not materialized.
