Iowa’s Beef Industry
FAST FACTS
30,000
Number of cattle
operations
99
Number of iowa
counties
producing beef
3,850,000
total cattle inventory
did you know?
♦ In Iowa, 40,000 jobs are related to the beef industry.
♦ Cash receipts from cattle and calves in Iowa totaled $2.88 billion in 2008.
♦ Cattle raised in Iowa consumed 148 million bushels of corn in 2006.
♦ The average beef cow herd size in iowa is 39 head.
♦ Iowa produces 7.48% of the nations grain fed beef.
♦ Roughly 16,892,894 people can be fed with the beef produced in Iowa every year.
♦ Iowa’s ethanol industry continues to depend on Iowa’s beef industry to utilize Distillers
grains, a co-product of the dry-mill ethanol production process, as a feed ingredient.
♦ More than 4 million tons of distillers grain was produced in iowa in 2007.
Beef Checkoff Research Shows:
♦ Beef demand has increased 15 percent since 1998.
♦ More than 4,500 new beef products have been introduced
since 1998.
♦ There are 29 cuts of beef that meet government guidelines
for lean or extra lean.
♦ Beef is consumed 77.8 million times each day across America.
♦ Beef is the #1 food source for protein, vitamin b12 and zinc.
♦ Nine out of 10 households will eat beef at home in the next
two weeks. That’s 251 million people.
♦ According to our consumers, beef tenderness has improved
25 percent since 1998.
Beef facts
♦ Iowa’s beef industry contributes $5.1 Billion In business
activity to Iowa’s economy.
♦ U.S. beef consumption was 63.5 pounds per person in 2008.
♦ The u.s. beef industry is worth an estimated $175
billion and is made up of more than 1 million
businesses, farms and ranches operating in all 50 states.
♦ In January 2008, there were an estimated 97 million
cattle in the u.s.
♦ While the u.s. has less than 10 percent of the world’s cattle
inventory, it produces nearly 25 percent of the world’s beef
supply.
♦ Total consumer expenditures on beef topped $74 billion in 2007.
Iowa Beef Industry Council-funded by Iowa Beef Producers through the beef checkoff. For more information about beef, visit
www.iabeef.org or call us at 515-296-2305. Your Beef Checkoff, investing in beef safety, nutrition and promotion.