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Byproduct Value Important to Cattle Prices

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The importance of strong domestic beef demand and U.S. beef exports to U.S. cattle markets has been well documented. Beef exports, on both volume and value, reached record highs in 2022 amid record U.S. beef production, but have since declined. Headwinds include declining U.S beef production and record-high U.S. beef prices.

Beef byproducts are less glamorous, and their importance is sometimes overlooked by cattle producers. However, the value of byproducts, sometimes referred to as “offal” or “drop value,” also plays an important role in cattle prices.

Beef byproducts include all items, both edible and inedible, from harvested cattle that are not part of the dressed carcass. Hides were historically the most valuable byproduct, but have been overtaken by beef tallow and tongues. Other beef byproducts include livers, hearts, oxtails, tripe, and meat and bone meal. Edible byproducts are often called “variety meats.” Inedible byproducts are used for a wide variety of pharmaceutical, cosmetic, household and industrial products.

The value of beef byproduct exports also reached record highs in 2022 and has declined. However, beef byproduct values declined 12.7% compared to beef exports declining 21.2%

Values for individual beef byproducts are influenced by many fundamental supply-and-demand factors. The U.S. is the world’s largest beef producer and beef byproduct producer.

So, export demand is especially important because the amount of U.S. byproducts produced is large in comparison to domestic demand. Tastes and preferences for traditional beef cuts and variety meats differ throughout the world. Fortunately, some foreign customers actually prefer variety meats such as livers and hearts, unlike many U.S. consumers. Tongues, for example, are popular in Japan. In some countries, particular variety meats are preferred over traditional cuts for lower-income consumers.

The leading destinations for U.S. beef byproducts have been Japan, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes a daily by-product drop value report for fed cattle.

AMS reports the quantity, price and value for a number of the most important byproducts for a typical 1,400 lb. steer. Values are reported on a per hundredweight (cwt.) live basis.

Currently, the byproduct value for a 1,400 lb. steer was quoted at $14.73/cwt. or $206.22 per head (hd.). AMS reported the market value of an average live steer at $260.50/cwt., so byproducts accounted for about 5.7% of the steer’s value. Values of selected individual byproduct items included packer tallow at $3.97/cwt. ($55.28/hd.), tongues at $1.77/cwt. ($24.78/hd.) and steer hides at $1.43/cwt. ($20.02/hd.).

Tim Petry, Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist

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Graphic description of variety meat export prices

Infographic about U.S. beef variety meat exports. The headline states that most edible variety meats are exported, with total export value of 1.08 billion dollars in 2025, and annual exports above 1 billion dollars from 2021 through 2025.

A left panel lists average amounts per animal: tongues to Japan are 1.79 pounds and 15.36 dollars; tripe totals 3.36 pounds and 5.34 dollars; livers total 5.2 pounds and 4.26 dollars; lips total 3.28 pounds and 3.41 dollars; hearts total 2.9 pounds and 2.36 dollars; intestines total 1.05 pounds and 1.11 dollars.

A central cow silhouette labels export products and destinations: tongues and lips go mainly to Japan and Mexico; liver, heart, and kidneys go to markets including Egypt, South America, Mexico, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, China, Gabon, and South Africa; stomach and intestines go to Mexico, Japan, and China.

Text on the right states that exports equal 25 pounds per animal, with a value of 45.54 dollars per head.

A source note cites U.S. Meat Export Federation 2025 estimates using USDA data.

Chart description for Fed Steer Prices

The image is a line chart titled “Fed Steer Prices – 5 Market Weighted Average, Weekly.” The vertical axis is labeled “$ per hundredweight (Cwt.)” and ranges from about 130 to 270 dollars. The horizontal axis shows months from January through December.

There are three lines:

A purple line labeled “Avg. 2020–24”
A blue line labeled “2025”
A red line labeled “2026”

Purple line (Average 2020–2024):
The purple line stays relatively steady throughout the year, starting around 140 in January and gradually increasing to about 150–155 by late fall and winter. The changes are small and gradual, with only minor ups and downs.

Blue line (2025):
The blue line begins near 200 in January, rises gradually to about 240–245 in late summer, then dips in the fall to around 230, drops sharply to near 210 in early winter, and finishes the year around 230. Overall, 2025 shows moderate volatility with a mid-year peak.

Red line (2026):
The red line starts higher than the other lines, around 230 in January, climbs steadily through the spring, reaching about 260–265 by late spring or early summer. The red line stops mid-year (no data shown for later months) and remains above both the 2025 and the multi-year average throughout the period shown.

Key takeaway:
Prices in 2026 are significantly higher than both the 2025 line and the 2020–2024 average, with a strong upward trend early in the year. The 2025 line peaks in late summer but is consistently below 2026, while the historical average (purple) remains the lowest and most stable across all months.

Source noted on chart: USDA AMS.

Byproduct Value Important to Cattle Prices

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