Animal Production NAICS 112

        Animal Production

Unlock access to the full platform with more than 900 industry reports and local economic insights.

Get Free Trial

Get access to this Industry Profile including 18+ chapters and more than 50 pages of industry research.

Purchase Report

Industry Summary

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.


Recent Developments

Aug 23, 2025 - Rebuilding Cattle Herds
  • US cattle ranchers are slowly starting to rebuild their herds after slashing the nation’s inventory to its lowest level in more than 70 years, Reuters reported in August. Years of drought that dried up pasture land used for grazing and drove up feed costs caused ranchers to send cattle to slaughter rather than invest in growing their herds, leading to record high prices for beef. Following six years of shrinking herd size, by the beginning of 2025 the herd had dwindled to 86.7 million cattle, the smallest number for the time period since 1951, according to US government data. Now, with drought easing, producers in Texas, Nebraska, and South Dakota are cautiously rebuilding their stock, according to Reuters. While still in early stages, the herd expansion signals hope for inflation-weary consumers and for meatpackers losing money buying high-priced cattle to slaughter.
  • Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork supplier, recently rolled out a new genetic line of hogs that grow faster on less feed, The Wall Street Journal reports. Pork production is a low-margin business, with feed accounting for about 60% of the cost of raising a hog. As such, reducing the amount of feed used to raise hogs boosts producers’ profits. To produce hogs that gain weight faster on less feed, Smithfield crossed three different breeds that each have different traits, according to WSJ. The maternal line, responsible for characteristics such as the number of piglets produced in a year, incorporates commercially available genetic traits from outside companies. The father’s side focuses on traits related to growth and meat quality, using a male pig bred by Smithfield. The new “more efficient” hog line took about five years to develop and is beginning to make an impact on Smithfield’s profits, according to its CEO.
  • Lucrative niche markets for breeding pigs and other US livestock genetic material including cattle semen have dried up since President Trump started a trade war with China, Reuters reports. Valued between $2,500-$5,000 each, breeding pigs are a small but profitable market for US exporters. However, retaliatory tariffs levied by China in response to US import tariffs resulted in some pigs being sent to slaughter for less than $200 a piece, per Reuters. US farmers and exporters said the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing has cost them millions of dollars and jeopardized hard-won trade relationships, with China turning to Denmark for breeding pigs. China was also the biggest importer of semen from US dairy cows. However, “Not one unit of semen is going to China right now,” Jay Weiker, president of the National Association of Animal Breeders, told Reuters in May.
  • The US agricultural trade deficit is widening, driven by shifting global trade dynamics and rising import demand, the American Farm Bureau reports citing data from the USDA’s May 2025 Outlook for US Agricultural Trade. From January through April, the US imported $78.2 billion in agricultural products while exporting just $58.5 billion. The $19.7 billion deficit is the largest ever recorded for the first four months of a year and signals that the 2025 deficit could surpass previous records. By comparison, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s forecast for fiscal year 2025 exports of livestock, dairy, and poultry is expected to post a $7.9 billion trade surplus with exports projected at $38.8 billion for the year versus imports of $30.9 billion.

Industry Revenue

Animal Production


Industry Structure

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.
    • Cattle production is the most important agricultural industry in the US, accounting for the largest share of total cash receipts for farm commodities, according to the USDA.

                                Industry Forecast

                                Industry Forecast
                                Animal Production Industry Growth
                                Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum

                                Vertical IQ Industry Report

                                For anyone actively digging deeper into a specific industry.

                                50+ pages of timely industry insights

                                18+ chapters

                                PDF delivered to your inbox