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Source
Scope and Coverage
Variables
Methodology
Source
Retail prices are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) Consumer Price
Index (CPI). Wholesale and farm prices are from USDA's
Agricultural Marketing
Service. Conversion factors developed by ERS are used
to convert retail weight to carcass-weight equivalence.
Scope and Coverage
Data cover selected cuts of beef, pork, and poultry,
as well as eggs and dairy products. Price spreads are reported for last 6 years, 12 quarters, and 24 months. The retail
price file provides monthly estimates for the last 6 months.
The historical file provides data since 1970.
Variables
| Variable name |
Definition |
| Values |
| Retail prices |
Average retail prices for the selected
product as reported by BLS, measured in dollars per
pound for meat, dollars per dozen for eggs, and dollars
per gallon or carton for dairy products |
| Retail value |
Average value of the selected cut
of meat at the grocery store, measured in cents per
pound of retail weight |
| Wholesale value |
Average value of the meat as it leaves
the packing plant, measured in cents per pound of
retail weight |
| Gross farm value |
Value of the animal when it is sold,
measured in cents per pound of retail weight |
| Net farm value |
Gross farm value minus the value
of byproducts; represents the value of the meat to
the farmer |
| Byproduct allowance |
Value of hides, skins, fats, bones,
and edible and inedible offal |
| Spreads |
| Total spread |
Retail value minus net farm value |
| Wholesale to retail |
Retail value minus wholesale value |
| Farm to wholesale |
Wholesale value minus net farm value |
| Farmers' share |
Net farm value divided by retail
value |
| Retail to consumer spread (poultry
only) |
Difference between what the retail
grocery store pays for the product (wholesale price
plus a delivery charge) and what the store charges
the consumer |
| Market prices |
| 5-market steer price (dollars per
hundredweight) |
Average monthly value for the 5-market
steer price as published by AMS, measured in dollars
per hundredweight live-weight basis |
| 51-52 percent lean hogs (dollars
per hundredweight) |
Average monthly value for 51-52 percent
lean hogs as reported by AMS, converted from carcass
weight to live-weight basis |
| All fresh beef retail price (cents
per pound) |
Composite value based on Choice beef, other beef, and hamburger retail prices; developed
to estimate the average retail value of total beef
production |
| Wholesale broiler composite (cents
per retail pound) |
Composite value based on wholesale
prices for whole birds and chicken parts; developed
to estimate the average retail value of all broiler
production |
| Retail broiler composite (cents per
retail pound) |
Retail value of the composite wholesale
value for broilers |
Methodology
ERS starts with a standard animal in calculating beef
and pork price spreads. This standard animal is cut up
in a fixed way at the packing plant, and its wholesale
cuts are in turn cut up in a standard way at the retail
level. The total value of the animal at the farm could
be compared with the total value of the animal at wholesale
and retail.
ERS calculates its price spreads on a per-pound-of-retail
product basis. It takes 2.40 pounds of the standard steer
to produce a pound of retail beef and 1.14 pounds of wholesale
beef to produce a pound of retail beef. For hogs, the
conversion factors are 1.869 pounds of hog per pound of
retail cuts and 1.04 pounds of wholesale cuts per pound
of retail cuts. The gross farm values in the price spread
tables are the farm price of live animals multiplied by
the farm-to-retail conversion factor, and the wholesale
values are the average price of the animal's wholesale
meat cuts times the wholesale-retail conversion factor.
In addition to their meat, cattle and hogs also produce
a number of byproducts when they are slaughtered: organs,
bones, hides/skins, etc. ERS does not calculate retail
values for these parts, but the price-spread tables do
include estimated byproduct values at the wholesale level.
The wholesale values and retail values are directly comparable.
The byproduct value is subtracted from the gross farm
value to produce the net farm value. The net farm value
is meant to measure the farm value of an animal's meat.
For more detail on how beef and pork price spreads are
calculated and how price spread changes affect livestock
prices, see Beef
and Pork Values and Prices Spreads Explained (May 2004).
The main difference between broiler spreads and those
for beef and pork is that there is no farm price. The
vast majority of broilers are produced under contracts,
where the integrator (poultry slaughter company) usually
supplies chicks and feed and pays growers a per-unit fee
for the birds they produce.
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