The U.S. produced a record amount of red meat in 2021.
The USDA says the total of 55.905 billion pounds was up slightly from 2020 and included an all-time high for beef production at 28.015 billion pounds, a 3% year-to-year increase.
The annual commercial cattle slaughter was also 3% above the previous year at 33.947 million head, cancelling out a two pound decline in the average live weight to 1,371 pounds.
