Animal Production
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 935,700 animal production operations in the US include farms that raise livestock (such as beef cattle, poultry, sheep, and hogs); farms that employ animals to produce products (such as dairies, egg farms, and apiaries); and animal specialty farms (such as aquaculture (fish farms)).
Declining Red Meat and Poultry Consumption
Red meat’s share of the American diet has fluctuated over time.
Environmental Impacts Drive Regulation
Livestock production introduces environmental risks that, if not properly managed, can impact human health.
Industry size & Structure
The 935,700 livestock operations in the US include 545,800 cattle operations, 21,800 hog and pig farms, 75,600 poultry and egg farms, 79,400 sheep and goat farms, and 23,100 dairy farms.
- Livestock farms produce about $262 billion in average annual value on 393 million acres. The average livestock operation generates about $280,000 in annual revenue.
- The US Census Bureau defines a farm as an operation that produces or should have reasonably produced over $1,000 in revenue during a given year, including government payments.
- About 90% of livestock farms are owned by farm families in which the family owns and/or operates the farm and has done so for generations.
- More than 268,700 people are hired employees in the livestock industry, but 77% of total livestock labor is family members.
- Farm operations that generate more than $1 million in revenue account for 79% of livestock production value.
Industry Forecast
Animal Production Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Feb 23, 2025 - Rising Prices for Livestock Products
- Prices farmers received for livestock products far exceeded what they paid for them, providing a cushion against rapidly rising average wages for livestock workers. Prices received by farmers index for all livestock rose nearly 19% in November compared to a year ago, according to the latest data from the USDA. Meanwhile, the prices paid by farmers index for all livestock products rose just 1.4% over the same period. Average wages for livestock workers increased 1.9% year over year in the fourth quarter to $17.51 per hour, a penny shy of their high in Q1 2024, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for beef cattle are rising amid historically tight supplies heading into 2025, according to the USDA’s January Cattle Report.
- Poultry farmers and egg producers are on opposite sides of the debate over bird flu vaccinations, The Wall Street Journal reported in February. Egg companies are petitioning regulators to greenlight a vaccine that could be administered on farms to protect hens against the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, which is decimating egg-laying flocks and sending egg prices soaring, per WSJ. Poultry processors say vaccinating chickens would have a devastating impact on US poultry exports because countries that import chicken products would cut off purchases of US poultry. The Trump administration is considering changes to bird flu policy, including the current practice of culling entire flocks once the virus is detected. The failure to control bird flu has caused egg producers to change their position on vaccination, which they opposed during the previous outbreak on the grounds that it would be expensive and difficult to vaccinate more than 300 million hens.
- Prices for farm-level eggs rose by 54.6% in November 2024, after falling 20.6% in October 2024, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service Food Price Outlook. Farm-level egg prices are experiencing large monthly swings as the ongoing HPAI (bird flu) outbreak continues to affect poultry farmers’ egg-layer flocks. In November, prices for farm-level eggs were 94.4% percent higher compared to a year ago, when prices had fallen during a lull in the outbreak. Farm-level egg prices are predicted to increase 40.8% in 2024, with a prediction interval of 34.7-50.6%, according to the ERS report. At the retail level, egg prices rose 7.8% in November and, like farm-level prices, are also experiencing volatile month-to-month changes, reports the USDA. Indeed, egg prices are the most volatile category tracked by the department.
- With US cattle inventory at the lowest level in more than 70 years, farmers and ranchers are facing uncertainty about the future, Farm Bureau reports. The cattle shortage has fueled grocery store price hikes, wiped out billions in meat processor profits, and is driving mass layoffs at processors. Moreover, the possibility of new tariffs and immigration reform proposed by President-elect Donald Trump risks constraining supplies further still. High interest rates, farmer debt, bad weather and a shifting consumer preference toward cheaper chicken, has caused ranchers to cull heifers at too rapid a pace to rebuild the number of calves necessary to expand their herds. The USDA doesn’t expect a meaningful recovery to begin until 2027, as high borrowing costs and poor pastureland make it too risky to take on new cows — given the investment takes a few years to come to fruition, according to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
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