Understanding beef by-product values

The beef industry produces an enormous set of products.  Among the thousands of different products are a wide range of edible and inedible by-products. USDA reports by-product values in several daily and weekly reports for steers, cattle, and cows. There are additional reports for detailed variety meat, hide and tallow values. Over the last fifteen years, steer by-product values have averaged $11.77/cwt. on a live weight basis. That is roughly $165/head, or about 9.5 percent of the total value of a fed steer.  In the 2009-2023 period, steer by-product values have varied from a…