According to the USDA – National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) livestock slaughter report released on Jan. 19,  commercial red meat production for the U.S. totaled 4.40 billion pounds in December 2016, up 3 percent from the 4.27 billion pounds produced in December 2015. Beef production, at 2.17 billion pounds, was 6 percent above the previous year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.61 million head, up 7 percent from December 2015. The average live weight was down 7 pounds from the previous year, at 1,381 pounds. Click here to download the full report from USDA-NASS…