The USDA says red meat and poultry in cold storage at the start of the month were below a year ago.
Red meat came out at 910.451 million pounds, a drop of 17% due to good demand and a slower than a year ago production pace. That included 462.763 million pounds of pork, 14% lower, and 420.244 million pounds of beef, a decrease of 20% from last year’s record monthly high.
Poultry totaled 1.266 billion pounds, slightly under the year before, with a decline in production partially canceled out by slower demand.