• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

To Honor and Protect the Ranching Way of Life

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Why Join
    • Leadership
    • Staff
    • TSCRA Partners
    • FAQs
    • Newsroom
    • Sponsorships
    • Employment
  • What We Do
    • Theft and Law
    • Issues and Policy
    • Education
    • Young Cattle Raisers
    • The Cattleman Magazine
    • Disaster Relief Fund
    • Cattle Raisers Insurance
    • Cattle Raisers Trading Co
    • Students and Youth
  • Events
    • Cattle Raisers Convention
    • Summer Meeting
    • Policy Conference
    • Ranch Gatherings
    • Ranching 101
  • Join
  • Member Center
  • TSCRA Store
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Cow-Calf Corner: Beef by-product values surge higher

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist


By-product values for cattle have increased dramatically in the past few months.  Hide and offal values, which have generally declined in recent years, bottomed during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 to the lowest levels since 2009.  In the past 13 months, steer hide and offal values have risen from $6.93/cwt. on a live fed steer basis in July 2020 to an August, 2021 value of $14.99, an increase of 116 percent.  The current by-product value is the highest since January of 2015.  Figure 1 shows the monthly average steer hide and offal values for the past decade.

Source:  Compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) from USDA-AMS reports

The sharp jump in by-product values is due to increases in hide values along with several other products included in the by-product totals.  The largest component of by-product values is the hides.  The August steer hide values is up 115 percent year over year. In recent years, hides have dropped from roughly half of total by-product values to about 30 percent of the total.  Despite the doubling of hide values in the past year, hides still only represent 31.7 percent of current by-product value.  This is because numerous other by-product values have likewise increased sharply in the past year.

Edible and inedible tallow values are also up sharply in recent months.  Inedible tallow values are up 177 percent year over year while edible tallow values have increased 85 percent.  Edible and inedible tallow combined represent 25.4 percent of August total by-product values. Tongue prices are up 111 percent year over year in August and account for 19.5 percent of total by-product values.  Livers (1.2 percent of the total value); heart (1.4 percent); cheeks (3.7 percent); tripe (4.1 percent) and meat scraps (4.2 percent) combine to account for an additional 14.6 percent of total August by-product value.  Cheek, meat scrap and tripe values are all up 30 to 90 percent since last year.  Finally, a number of minor items adds another 9.3 percent to total by-product values. 

The majority of hides and offals are exported.  Over the past decade, exports of hides, variety meat, and tallow have added an average of $2.42 billion to total beef industry exports.  In 2020, the value of hide, variety meat and tallow exports was $1.7 billion.


Cow-Calf Corner is a weekly newsletter by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Agency

Written by:
Kristin Hawkins
Published on:
September 13, 2021

Categories: TSCRA Update

Recent Posts

U.S. drought monitor and summary report for March 21

March 23, 2023

This week's drought summary This week, heavy precipitation fell in parts of the West, especially …

Continue Reading about U.S. drought monitor and summary report for March 21

Cow-calf Corner: BQA low stress cattle handling principles

March 22, 2023

Bob LeValley, Oklahoma Beef Quality Assurance Coordinator Cattle producers have long recognized …

Continue Reading about Cow-calf Corner: BQA low stress cattle handling principles

Crime Watch: Heifers missing near Ennis

March 21, 2023

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Robert Pemberton, District 10 in …

Continue Reading about Crime Watch: Heifers missing near Ennis

Footer

Who We Are

Why Join
Leadership
Staff
TSCRA Partners
FAQs
Newsroom
Sponsorships
Employment

What We Do

Theft and Law
Issues and Policy
Education
Young Cattle Raisers
The Cattleman Magazine
Cattle Raisers Insurance
Cattle Raisers Trading Co.
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

Information

Cattle Raisers Blog
News Releases
Bereavements
Events
Media Kit
Tip Hotline
Get Involved
Links

Membership

Membership Center
Membership Center Instructions
Join
Renew
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

PO BOX 101988
FORT WORTH, TX 76185

1-800-242-7820

© 2023 Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; All Rights Reserved.

COPYRIGHT | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE