Cash Receipts for Meat Animals Up/Milk Production Increased
Total 2017 production of meat animals (cattle and calves and hogs and pigs) for the United States totaled 81.7 billion pounds, up 4 percent from 2016. Production increased 4 percent for cattle and calves and 3 percent for hogs and pigs. Total 2017 cash receipts from marketings of meat animals increased 7 percent to $88.4 billion.
Cash receipts from marketings of cattle and calves in the United States increased 6 percent to $67.4 billion in 2017. All cattle and calf marketings totaled 57.4 billion pounds, up 6 percent from 2016. Cash receipts were up across Alabama, Florida, and Georgia while down marginally in South Carolina. Marketing of cattle and calves rose 17 percent in Alabama, 6 percent in Florida and 9 percent in Georgia.
Milk production increased 1.4 percent in 2017 to 215 billion pounds. The rate per cow, at 22,941 pounds, was 163 pounds above 2016. Total U.S. cash receipts from marketings of milk during 2017 totaled $37.9 billion, 9.8 percent higher than 2016. Producer returns averaged $17.69 per hundredweight, 8.3 percent above 2016. In the Southern Region, cash receipts for milk were also up in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Cash receipts from hogs and pigs totaled $21.1 billion during 2017, up 11 percent from 2016 at the U.S. level. Marketings totaled 38.1 billion pounds in 2017, up 3 percent from 2016. While marketings and cash receipts were up from 2016 in Florida, they were down significantly in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Read the full USDA Southern Region Livestock and Milk Production and Income report for April, 2018.