Feedstuffs annual feed tonnage statistics
By Tim Lundeen For decades, the editors of Feedstuffs have developed annual primary feed production estimates for the U.S., based on annual animal inventory data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Using a proprietary set of equations, Feedstuffs estimates the 2021 total feed production required to support the U.S. animal inventory at 132.7 million tons, a 3.2% increase from 2020 (Figure and Tables 1 and 2). Primary feed production is defined as manufactured animal feed, including mixes of feed grains, mill byproducts, animal proteins and microingredients, intended as the primary ration for livestock and poultry, excluding forage components, such as hay, silages and other forages or grazing access, provided to ruminants. For the Feedstuffs estimates, no distinction is made between commercial feed production and feed manufactured on-farm or by integrators. On a regional basis, significant growth occurred in the Delta states (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi; up 37.0%) and the Lake states (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin; up 18.2%) while the Northeast contracted the most at -2.6%. By type of feed, dairy feeds were projected to increase 30.5% over 2020 while turkey feeds saw a 14.2% contraction.
Tables 3-12 show 2021 animal inventories broken out by USDA reporting region (specific reporting dates are shown in a footnote in Table 12)Nationally, the Jan. 1, 2022, all cattle and calves inventory totaled 91.9 million head, 2% fewer than the 93.9 million head on Jan. 1, 2021, USDA reported. Beef cows, at 30.1 million head, were down 2% from the prior year, while milk cows, at 9.38 million head, were down 1%. Cattle on feed for slaughter in the U.S. for all feedlots totaled 14.7 million head, up slightly from 2021. The U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1, 2021, was 74.2 million head, down 4% from Dec. 1, 2020, USDA reported in its December 2021 Quarterly Hogs & Pigs report. The breeding herd, at 6.18 million head, was up slightly from the previous year, but the market hog inventory, at 68.0 million head, was down 4%. The all sheep and lamb inventory on Jan. 1, 2022, totaled 5.1 million head, down 2% from 2021, USDA reported. The breeding flock was 3.71 million head, while the market flock was 1.36 million head. Shorn wool production during 2021 was 22.5 million lb., down 3% from 2020, representing a total value of $38.2 million.
In the poultry sector, the U.S. annual average number of layers was down 1% in 2021, at 389 million hens. Hens produced an average of 285 eggs per layer in 2021. USDA set the value of broilers produced during 2021 at $31.5 billion, up 48% from 2020. The chicken industry produced 9.13 billion broilers in 2021, down 1% from 2020, for a total live weight of 59.2 billion lb. USDA reported a 2021 production value of $5.89 billion for turkeys, up 14%. Turkey producers raised 217 million turkeys in 2021, down 3% from 2020, for a total of 7.18 billion lb. of turkey. Catfish growers had sales of $421 million in 2021, up 12% from the previous year, USDA said. Four states (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas) accounted for 97% of the total sales. Water surface acres used for catfish production as of Jan. 1, 2022, totaled 58.310 acres, down 3% from a year earlier. Tables 13 and 14 give a national spotlight on the economics of livestock and poultry production in the U.S., and Tables 15 and 16 show trends in processed feed use and hay production.
Tim Lundeen is chief editor at TarnWordsmithing.com, where he writes about innovations in animal agriculture research. He previously spent 20-plus years as staff editor at Feedstuffs. He can be reached at leftytpl@yahoo.com.
