The U. S. meat industry directly employs more than 500,000 people. Further, the industry helps farmers and ranchers and creates almost two million extra jobs throughout the value chain, from the people who supply the packing and processing industry to the people who transport beef, pork, and poultry to the people who work in retail and foodservice businesses.
There are 835 federally inspected livestock slaughter plants and 370 poultry slaughter plants in the U.S.
On an annual basis, meat packers transform 33. 6 million head of cattle, 587,000 calves, 129. 9 million hogs and 2. 23 million sheep and lambs into more than 55 billion pounds of beef, pork, lamb and veal. Meanwhile, poultry processors transform 9. 34 billion chickens and 227. 6 million turkeys into more than 50 billion pounds of chicken and turkey products.
Annual sales total $152.5 billion in meat packing and processing and $65.6 billion in poultry slaughter and processing.
In 2019, the industry exported 3. 02 billion pounds of beef and 6. 3 billion pounds of pork to nations around the world. Poultry companies exported 7. 2 billion pounds of chicken products and nearly 640 million pounds of turkey.
In the past year, U. S. beef has been exported to 135 countries, U. S pork has been shipped to 124 countries, and U. S. chicken was exported to 165 countries.
The United States is one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of beef. With Americans eating over 25 billion pounds of beef every year, a massive infrastructure exists to slaughter cattle and process their meat. But how many beef slaughterhouses actually operate in the US?
Overview of the US Beef Industry
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The US produces around 12 million tons of beef annually, making it the world’s 3rd largest beef producer after Brazil and China.
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Beef production is concentrated primarily in the Great Plains states like Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. The American Midwest is often referred to as “cattle country”.
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The top 4 beef processing companies – Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef Packing – control over 80% of US beef packing and processing The industry is highly consolidated.
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The Covid-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in America’s beef supply chain, with slaughterhouse closures leading to meat shortages and higher prices.
How Many Slaughterhouses Are There?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are approximately 800 federally inspected beef slaughterhouses currently operating in the United States.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) oversees these facilities and enforces food safety standards FSIS inspectors are present in plants when slaughter activities occur
In addition to the 800 federally inspected plants, each state government may have its own inspection program that oversees intrastate commerce of meat and poultry products. There are about 1,800 state-inspected facilities nationwide.
There are also “custom” slaughterhouses where meat is processed for personal use and limited sales. These are typically small operations that are exempt from regular USDA inspection.
So in total, there are over 2,500 slaughterhouses of various types processing beef in America. However, the vast majority of beef comes from large, federally-inspected slaughterhouses.
Geographic Distribution
The highest concentration of beef slaughterhouses is found in the Midwestern states:
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Nebraska – Houses 6 of the nation’s top 10 beef slaughterhouses. Leads all states in cattle slaughter.
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Kansas – Ranks 2nd in cattle slaughter and has 3 of the top 10 plants.
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Texas – Has the most total beef cows and calves but fewer large slaughterhouses.
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Iowa – Major meatpackers like Tyson have large operations here. Over 5 million cattle slaughtered annually.
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Colorado – Ranked 5th in cattle slaughter. JBS and Cargill plants here.
Other states with significant beef packing capacity include California, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
The Midwest’s grain farms provide feed for cattle, and its proximity to ranching states like Texas and Oklahoma make it the ideal location for most beef slaughterhouses.
Scale of Operations
Commercial beef slaughter in America is dominated by a small number of very large, high-volume slaughterhouses:
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The 4 largest companies (Tyson, JBS, Cargill, National Beef) operate just 15 slaughterhouses that process over 80% of US beef.
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Most cattle are slaughtered at massive plants that each process over 500,000 head per year. Some exceed 1 million.
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Smaller regional slaughterhouses have been pushed out of the market over time. Local butchers now account for less than 10% of beef.
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The average commercial beef slaughterhouse employs over 500 workers operating on an assembly line.
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Automation is increasing, but slaughterhouse jobs are still relatively low paying, hazardous, and high turnover.
While the number of beef slaughterhouses has declined, the size and speed of operations continue to increase. But this consolidation also leaves the system vulnerable to disruption.
The Future
Recent events have exposed problems with America’s highly concentrated beef slaughterhouse system:
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Covid-19 outbreaks among workers shut down plants, creating a meat shortage crisis.
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Cyberattacks forced a temporary shutdown of JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker.
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Monopolistic business practices have allegedly been used to drive up beef prices.
This has led some industry experts and policymakers to call for reforms:
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Breaking up monopolies and increasing competition in beef packing.
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Improving worker conditions and reducing turnover rates at plants.
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Encouraging smaller-scale local and regional slaughterhouses to increase resilience.
But change comes slowly in such a massive industry. For now, approximately 800 federally inspected slaughterhouses remain the source of over 80% of beef produced and consumed in America.
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FAQ
What state slaughters the most beef?
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Characteristic
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Number in thousands
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Nebraska
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7,452.2
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Kansas
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6,436.7
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Texas
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5,858.5
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Colorado
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2,469.3
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What is the largest slaughterhouse in America?
Who is the largest beef producer in the USA?
How many cows are slaughtered annually in the US?
How many slaughterhouses are there in the US?
Within federally-inspected facilities, slaughter is highly concentrated. For instance, just 50 slaughterhouses are responsible for producing 98 percent of beef in the U.S., according to Cassandra Fish, a beef analyst. Which State Kills the Most Animals for Meat? Different states specialize in killing different species.
How much meat is slaughtered a year?
On-farm slaughter totaled 91.6 million pounds. Beef production totaled 27.0 billion pounds, down 5 percent from the previous year. Veal production totaled 52.8 million pounds, down 10 percent from last year. Pork production, at 27.3 billion pounds, was 1 percent above the previous year.
How many slaughter plants are there in the United States?
There are approximately 1,000 livestock slaughter plants in the United States operating under Federal Inspection and nearly 1,850 Non-Federally Inspected (State-inspected or custom-exempt) slaughter plants. Slaughter from State-inspected Talmedge-Aiken plants is included in FI totals (see Terms and Definitions, page 66).
How many hogs are slaughtered in the United States?
Hogs were slaughtered at 621 plants, with the 14 largest plants accounting for 58 percent of the total. For calves, 3 of the 172 plants accounted for 55 percent of the total and 1 of the 522 plants that slaughtered sheep or lambs in 2020 comprised 20 percent of the total head.