The total beef production in the United States was 26.98 billion pounds in 2024 and is forecast to fall to 25.5 billion pounds BY 2026. Over the last two decades, the total U.S. beef production has fluctuated slightly but remained stable overall. Beef retail in the United States Beef has the highest retail sales of any fresh meat in the United States, as of 2023. In that year, over 30 billion U.S. dollars worth of fresh beef was sold in the United States. The retail price for 100 percent ground beef in the United States was 5.6 U.S. dollars per pound in 2025, up from 3.95 U.S. dollars in 2020. Beef brisket, on the other hand, was priced on average around 8.84 U.S. dollars per pound in major grocery retailers. U.S. beef consumption The United States consumes more beef than any other country in the world. Consumption of beef amounted to around 59 pounds per capita on an annual basis. This was projected to decrease slowly until 2032.

The US beef cattle production industry is currently marked by tight supply conditions and elevated prices. Over recent years, persistent drought conditions have led to significant herd liquidation, with beef cow numbers falling to historic lows. This contraction has created a bottleneck in calf production and feeder cattle availability, sustaining high cattle prices. In tandem, elevated feed costs have pressured prices upwards and profit down, driving revenue as cattle producers seek to pass on costs and prevent further profit declines. As herd rebuilding has remained slow, cattle supplies have remained low and kept prices high even as feed, energy and other key agricultural input costs have declined from their highs in 2022. Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 6.0% during the current period to reach an estimated $95.9 billion after declining by 2.4% in 2025 as reduced consumption and supplies limit sales. Consumer preferences are shifting in the beef cattle production industry. There is an increasing awareness of environmental and health-related concerns associated with beef consumption. Consequently, many consumers are reducing their intake of conventional beef, turning instead towards more sustainable options and alternatives that are perceived as healthier or higher quality, such as grass-fed and organic beef. This shift has spurred growth in these segments as consumers look for transparency and ethical farming practices. Retailers and restaurants have responded accordingly by offering more options that align with these consumer preferences. However, these trends also pose challenges, especially for smaller producers who face significant costs associated with transitioning to sustainable practices or achieving certifications like organic or "sustainably raised." Though opportunities for growth will continue to present themselves, the outlook for the industry as a whole does not look as positive in the next five years. Poultry, pork and plant-based proteins will threaten beef demand as they appeal to health-conscious customers, particularly as cattle prices are elevated. Climate change will also continue to introduce environmental pressures, demanding resilience and adaptability from producers. Periods of stable weather could facilitate herd rebuilding, leading to increased cattle supplies and dropping prices, but continued climatic fluctuations and extreme weather events could reduce the consistency of production and increase revenue volatility. Advancements in technology, such as drones and wearable sensors, promise to help optimize cattle management, improving operational efficiencies and animal welfare. These innovations, however, require investment and broader accessibility through government support to ensure equitable adoption across the industry. Additionally, while global trade disruptions remain a concern due to disease outbreaks and geopolitical tensions, US producers will have opportunities in niche market segments to differentiate themselves, counterbalancing some of these pressures. Overall, revenue for cattle producers is forecast to decline through 2030 at a CAGR of 0.4% to $94.0 billion.

The timeline shows the commercial beef production in the United States from 2008 to 2023. In 2023, the commercial beef production of the United States amounted to about 30 billion pounds.

Graph and download economic data for Index of Beef Production for United States (M0148BUSM343NNBR) from Jan 1946 to Oct 1953 about meat, production, indexes, and USA.

Purpose: The need to assess the sustainability attributes of the United States beef industry is underscored by its importance to food security locally and globally. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of the US beef value chain was conducted to develop baseline information on the environmental impacts of the industry including metrics of the cradle-to-farm gate (feed production, cow-calf, and feedlot operations) and post-farm gate (packing, case-ready, retail, restaurant, and consumer) segments. Methods: Cattle production (cradle-to-farm gate) data were obtained using the integrated farm system model (IFSM) supported with production data from the Roman L. Hruska US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC). Primary data for the packing and case-ready phases were obtained from packers that jointly processed nearly 60% of US beef while retail and restaurant primary data represented 8 and 6%, respectively, of each sector. Consumer data were obtained from public databases and literature. The functional unit or consumer benefit (CB) was 1 kg of consumed, boneless, edible beef. The relative environmental impacts of processes along the full beef value chain were assessed using a third party validated BASF Corporation Eco-Efficiency Analysis methodology. Results and discussion: Value chain LCA results indicated that the feed and cattle production phases were the largest contributors to most environmental impact categories. Impact metrics included water emissions (7005 L diluted water eq/CB), cumulative energy demand (1110 MJ/CB), and land use (47.4 m2a eq/CB). Air emissions were acidification potential (726 g SO2 eq/CB), photochemical ozone creation potential (146.5 g C2H4 eq/CB), global warming potential (48.4 kg CO2 eq/CB), and ozone depletion potential (1686 μg CFC11 eq/CB). The remaining metrics calculated were abiotic depletion potential (10.3 mg Ag eq/CB), consumptive water use (2558 L eq/CB), and solid waste (369 g municipal waste eq/CB). Of the relative points adding up to 1 for each impact category, the feed phase contributed 0.93 to the human toxicity potential. Conclusions: This LCA is the first of its kind for beef and has been third party verified in accordance with ISO 14040:2006a and 14044:2006b and 14045:2012 standards. An expanded nationwide study of beef cattle production is now being performed with region-specific cattle production data aimed at identifying region-level benchmarks and opportunities for further improvement in US beef sustainability. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Electronic Supplementary Material ESM 1 - Tables S1 to S11 (docx). File Name: Web Page, url: https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art:10.1007/s11367-018-1464-6/MediaObjects/11367_2018_1464_MOESM1_ESM.docx Direct download, docx. Table S1: Feed phase input data (resource use and emissions) from USMARC and IFSM simulations used in the U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and sources of their life-cycle inventories (LCI). Table S2: Cattle phase input data (resource use and emissions) from USMARC and IFSM simulations in the U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and the sources of their respective life-cycle inventories (LCI). Table S3: Packing and case-ready phases input data (resource use and emissions) used in the U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and the sources of their respective life-cycle inventories (LCI). Allocation factor of case-ready (i.e. % packaged at case ready) = 0.63. Table S4: Retail and consumer phases input data (resource use and emissions) used in U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and their respective life-cycle inventory (LCI) sources. Allocation factor for retail and consumer (i.e. at-home consumption portion of total consumption sold through retail) = 0.47. Table S5: Restaurant phase input data (resource use and emissions) used in U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and their respective life-cycle inventory (LCI) sources. Allocation factor (i.e. restaurant fraction of total beef consumption) = 0.53. Table S6: Essential raw materials considered in the U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment and respective weighting factors used for the determination of their Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP). Table S7: Scoring system for toxic properties described by H-phrases for U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment (Landsiedel and Saling (2002) before our modification). Table S8: Land occupation and transformation weighting factors for U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment based on Ecosystem Damage Potentials (EDPs) from the Ecoinvent 2.2 life cycle inventory database (Frischknecht et al. 2005). Table S9: Air emissions and their respective weighting (equivalence) factors used in U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment. Table S10: Solid waste relative disposal costs used in U.S. beef life cycle impact assessment (Klein 2011). Table S11: Water emissions categories and their respective weighting factors based on regional regulatory limits used in the U.S. beef life cycle assessment.

Beef consumption in the United States reached a new high in 2021, when ** billion pounds were consumed. This is an increase in consumption of about *** percent compared to the previous year and the highest consumption recorded during the period under consideration. United States beef production The United States is the world’s top producer of beef and veal. In 2022, production exceeded **** million metric tons. To keep up with the production demand, the U.S. was home to about ** million beef cows in 2022, more than three times the number of dairy cows recorded that year. The shift towards plant-based foods There is a large trend among Generation Z consumers to adopt a more vegetarian or vegan diet. Over half of Gen Z consumers are mostly vegetarian, at a minimum, as of 2022. ** percent, however, are completely vegan, meaning they eat no animal products at all. With this shift away from animal proteins, it is no surprise that the consumption of meat substitutes is expected to exponentially grow within the next several years. By 2027, U.S. meat substitute consumption is forecast to reach ***** million kilograms.

The environmental impacts of beef cattle production and their effects on the overall sustainability of beef have become a national and international concern. Our objective was to quantify important environmental impacts of beef cattle production in the United States. Surveys and visits of farms, ranches and feedlots were conducted throughout seven regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northern Plains, Southern Plains, Northwest and Southwest) to determine common practices and characteristics of cattle production. These data along with other information sources were used to create about 150 representative production systems throughout the country, which were simulated with the Integrated Farm System Model using local soil and climate data. The simulations quantified the performance and environmental impacts of beef cattle production systems for each region. A farm-gate life cycle assessment was used to quantify resource use and emissions for all production systems including traditional beef breeds and cull animals from the dairy industry. Regional and national totals were determined as the sum of the production system outputs multiplied by the number of cattle represented by each simulated system. The average annual greenhouse gas and reactive N emissions associated with beef cattle production over the past five years were determined to be 243 ± 26 Tg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) and 1760 ± 136 Gg N, respectively. Total fossil energy use was found to be 569 ± 53 PJ and blue water consumption was 23.2 ± 3.5 TL. Environmental intensities expressed per kg of carcass weight produced were 21.3 ± 2.3 kg CO2e, 155 ± 12 g N, 50.0 ± 4.7 MJ, and 2034 ± 309 L, respectively. These farm-gate values are being combined with post farm-gate sources of packing, processing, distribution, retail, consumption and waste handling to produce a full life cycle assessment of U.S. beef. This study is the most detailed, yet comprehensive, study conducted to date to provide baseline measures for the sustainability of U.S. beef. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Appendix A. Supplementary Data - Tables S1 to S8 (docx). File Name: Web Page, url: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0308521X18305675-mmc1.docx Direct download, docx.

Table S1. Important characteristics of farms and ranches simulated throughout seven regions of the U.S.

Table S2. Important characteristics of representative finishing facilities simulated in seven regions of the U.S.

Table S3. Important characteristics of dairy farms simulated throughout seven regions of the U.S.

Table S4. Summary of 25 years of weather data (daily solar radiation, daily mean temperature, annual precipitation and daily wind speed)1 used to simulate beef cattle operations in each area of the eastern regions.

Table S5. Soil characteristics used for locations simulated across the U.S.

Table S6. Cattle numbers by state and region as obtained or estimated from NASS (2017).

Table S7. Cattle numbers by state and region divided between traditional beef and dairy breeds as obtained or estimated from NASS (2017).

Table S8. Important resource inputs and emissions from representative cow-calf, stocker / background and feedlot operations expressed per unit of final carcass weight (CW) produced.

Market Size statistics on the Beef Cattle Production industry in the US

Learn about the expected growth in the United States beef market over the next decade, driven by increasing demand for cattle meat. Market performance is projected to gradually increase in both volume and value terms, with a forecasted CAGR of +0.0% for volume and +0.2% for value from 2024 to 2035.

The timeline shows the commercial red meat production in the United States from 2008 to 2023. In 2023, the total commercial red meat production of the United States amounted to about 54.44 billion pounds.

United States Red Meat Production: Annual: Commercial: Beef data was reported at 26,988.000 lb mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 26,967.100 lb mn for 2023. United States Red Meat Production: Annual: Commercial: Beef data is updated yearly, averaging 24,986.000 lb mn from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2024, with 55 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28,290.700 lb mn in 2022 and a record low of 21,089.000 lb mn in 1973. United States Red Meat Production: Annual: Commercial: Beef data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Economic Research Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.RI025: Red Meat Production.

Forecast: Beef Production in the US 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In the U.S., there have been approximately three times more beef cows than dairy cows each year since 2001. As of 2025, it was estimated that there were about 28 million beef cows and only about 9.3 million dairy cows. Beef vs. dairy cows Both beef and dairy cows are bred for their respective purposes and farmers often look for different qualities in each. Dairy cows are often bigger, as they can produce a larger volume of milk. Beef cows, on the other hand, are generally shorter, and there is more emphasis on their muscle growth, among other qualities. In 2024, over 26 billion pounds of beef were produced in the United States. U.S. milk production and consumption The United States is among the top consumers of milk worldwide, surpassed only by India and the European Union. The annual consumption of milk in the U.S. that year was about 20 million metric tons in 2024. To keep up with this level of consumption, milk production in the U.S. has increased by over 60 billion pounds since 1999 and is expected to exceed 227 billion pounds by 2025. California and Wisconsin were the top producing states as of 2024, producing about 42 and 32 billion pounds of milk, respectively.

Livestock and Meat International Trade Data

The Livestock and Meat International Trade Data product includes monthly and annual data for imports of live cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, beef and veal, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken meat, turkey meat, eggs, and egg products. This product does not include any Dairy Data. Using official trade statistics reported by the U.S. Census, this data product provides data aggregated by commodity and converted to the same units used in the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE). These units are carcass-weight-equivalent (CWE) pounds for meat products and dozen equivalents for eggs and egg products. Live animal numbers are not converted. With breakdowns by partner country and historical data back to 1989, these data can be used to analyze trends in livestock, meat, and poultry shipments alongside domestic production data and WASDE estimates. Timely analysis and discussion can be found in the monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook report.

This includes all of the same monthly data as the Excel tables, as well as disaggregated, unconverted data. These files are machine-readable, providing a convenient format for Python users and programmers.

Details

The Livestock and Meat Trade Data Set contains monthly and annual data for imports of live cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats, as well as beef and veal, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken meat, turkey meat, and eggs. The tables report physical quantities, not dollar values or unit prices. Data on beef and veal, pork, lamb, and mutton are on a carcass-weight-equivalent basis. Breakdowns by country are included.

United States Red Meat Production: Commercial: Beef data was reported at 2,152.900 lb mn in Mar 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,020.200 lb mn for Feb 2025. United States Red Meat Production: Commercial: Beef data is updated monthly, averaging 1,925.500 lb mn from Jan 1944 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 963 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,512.000 lb mn in Oct 2002 and a record low of 366.000 lb mn in Sep 1946. United States Red Meat Production: Commercial: Beef data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Economic Research Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.RI025: Red Meat Production.

Current valuations of USD 43,625.2 million in 2025 are expected to surge to USD 70,386.9 million by 2035, supported by a projected 7.4% CAGR during the forecast period. Processed Beef USA market is thus on the upward path, fueled by this trend of people preferring convenient sources of protein content.

Forecast: Veal and Beef Production in the US 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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US Beef Market Size 2025-2029

The US beef market size is forecast to increase by USD 9.1 billion at a CAGR of 3.5% between 2024 and 2029.

The US beef market is experiencing significant growth due to rising consumer preferences and demand for protein-rich foods, particularly beef. However, this market faces challenges in areas such as beef preservation and sustainability. Innovations like cell culture technology and plant-based meat alternatives, made from wheat gluten and other plant-based proteins, are gaining popularity among health-conscious consumers, especially those with type 2 diabetes. 
Logistics and dining out continue to be major areas of focus, with the need for efficient supply chain management and food safety regulations. Overall, the beef market In the US is undergoing significant changes, driven by consumer preferences, technological innovations, and sustainability concerns.

What will be the Size of the US Beef Market During the Forecast Period?

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The US beef market, a significant segment of the animal-sourced protein industry, continues to exhibit robust growth In the food sector. With increasing health consciousness among consumers, beef's nutrient-dense profile, including high protein value, essential nutrients, and relatively lower calorie content compared to other meats, positions it as a preferred choice for many. The market's sizeable consumer base includes cafes and eateries catering to middle-class populations and the working population, who seek convenient food options. Beef's versatility, with offerings ranging from steaks and ground cuts to burgers and rolls, appeals to diverse dietary preferences. The industry's focus on sustainable practices and the use of feed materials ensures a steady supply of high-quality beef.
However, the rise of plant-based proteins and changing dietary habits, particularly among younger generations, may impact the market's growth trajectory. The beef industry remains a vital contributor to the food sector, offering a rich source of essential nutrients for consumers.

How is this US Beef Industry segmented and which is the largest segment?

The beef in US industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD billion' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Distribution Channel

  Offline
  Online


Type

  Loin
  Brisket
  Shank
  Others


Product

  Fresh beef
  Processed beef


Geography

  US

By Distribution Channel Insights

The offline segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The US beef market caters to the demand for animal sourced protein In the food sector, with beef being a preferred choice due to its high nutritional value, particularly in terms of protein, iron, and zinc. Middle class consumers and the working population prioritize beef for its taste and health benefits, leading to its popularity in cafes and eateries. Convenience foods, such as steaks, ground cuts, burgers, rolls, and roasts, are widely consumed due to their ease of preparation and long shelf life. companies In the beef industry focus on sustainability, offering premium and organic beef, as well as sustainable farming practices and traceability.

Food safety and nutritional content are key concerns, with an increasing emphasis on disease resistance and meat quality through genetic engineering and sustainable practices. The market includes various cuts, such as brisket, shank, and loin, and cater to diverse consumer preferences, including Kosher and Halal requirements. Distribution channels include meat processing facilities, retail outlets, and online channels, with branded products and premiumization trends driving growth. Research organizations and industry reports highlight the importance of sustainable farming practices, environmental impact, and consumer preferences in shaping the future of the beef market. The market is expected to grow, driven by increasing health consciousness and dietary preferences, as well as the availability of plant-based protein alternatives, such as soy, peas, and wheat gluten, and lab-grown meat.

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The Offline segment was valued at USD 38.00 billion in 2019 and showed a gradual increase during the forecast period.

Market Dynamics

Our researchers analyzed the data with 2024 as the base year, along with the key drivers, trends, and challenges. A holistic analysis of drivers will help companies refine their marketing strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

What are the key market drivers leading to the rise In the adoption of Beef in US Industry?

Rising consumer preferences and demand for beef is the key driver of the market.The US beef market is experiencing significant changes du

The U.S. beef market expanded modestly to $79.4B in 2024, surging by 4.4% against the previous year. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +2.5% from 2012 to 2024; the trend pattern indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, the market attained the peak level at $80.4B in 2022; however, from 2023 to 2024, consumption remained at a lower figure.

Statistics illustrates market overview of beef (cattle meat) in the United States from 2007 to 2024.