As of October 29, heifer slaughter in 2022 is approximately 5% higher than the previous year. Cattle slaughter rates are about 13% higher than they were a year ago. In total, approximately 765,000 more beef and heifers were processed in the first ten months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
Estimates for 2022 assuming the number of slaughter weeks remaining in 2022 is similar to the previous year. The expectation for 2022 is the proportion of beef and heifers slaughtered would be approximately 47%. The expectation indicates a decline in beef cattle numbers of about 4% to 5% in 2022.
