From USDA NASS
Commercial red meat production in West Virginia during May 2025 totaled 600,000 pounds. This was down 19 percent from May 2024. Commercial red meat production is the carcass weight after slaughter including beef, veal, pork, lamb and mutton. Individual commodity production is total live weight of commercial slaughter.
Commercial cattle slaughter totaled 832,000 pounds live weight, down 27 percent from May 2024. Cattle slaughter totaled 600 head, down 400 head from the previous year. The average live weight was up 108 pounds from the previous year, at 1,292 pounds. Commercial hog slaughter totaled 104,000 pounds live weight, down 31 percent from last year. Hog slaughter totaled 400 head, down 100 head from the previous year. The average live weight was down 29 pounds from the previous year, at 277 pounds.
Cold Storage
Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on May 31, 2025 were up 1 percent from the previous month, but down 2 percent from May 31, 2024.
Butter stocks were up 7 percent from last month, but down 5 percent from a year ago.
Total frozen poultry supplies on May 31, 2025 were up 2 percent from the previous month, but down 6 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were up slightly from the previous month and up 1 percent from last year.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 8 percent from last month, but down 18 percent from May 31, 2024.
Total frozen fruit stocks were down 5 percent from last month and down 4 percent from a year ago.
Total frozen vegetable stocks were down 8 percent from last month and down 6 percent from a year ago.
Total red meat supplies in freezers were down 2 percent from the previous month and down 4 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were down 3 percent from the previous month and down 1 percent from last year. Frozen pork supplies were down 1 percent from the previous month and down 7 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were down 7 percent from last month and down 26 percent from last year.
Maple Syrup
West Virginia Maple syrup production totaled 15,000 gallons in 2025, up from 12,000 gallons in 2024. Number of taps was 68,000, down from 70,000 taps in 2024. Yield per tap was 0.215 gallon, up from 0.171 gallon in 2024.
Acreage totaled 2,200 acres in 2025, unchanged from the previous year. The 2024 average price per gallon was $47.50. Retail prices in 2024 were $62.10 per gallon, with 4,000 gallons sold. Value added sold in 2024 totaled 1,000 gallons.
There were 10,912 gallons of Grade A syrup made, and 88 gallons of processing grade made in 2024. Value of production was $570,000 in 2024. Comparison data for 2023 were not available. Wholesale, bulk, and sap data for 2024 were withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. Sales data for 2025 will be in the Crop Production Report released in June 2026.
Poultry Slaughter
Poultry certified wholesome during May 2025 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 4.43 billion pounds, down 2 percent from the amount certified in May 2024. The April 2025 revised certified total at 4.38 billion pounds, was down 1 percent from April 2024. The April revision represented an increase of 1.10 million pounds from last month’s preliminary pounds certified.
The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during May 2025 was 5.85 billion pounds, down 2 percent from 5.95 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 5.29 billion pounds, down slightly from May 2024. Mature chickens, at 59.8 million pounds, were down 17 percent from the previous year.
Turkey inspections totaled 490 million pounds, down 13 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 15.0 million pounds, up 3 percent from last year.
Young chickens slaughtered during May 2025 averaged 6.64 pounds per bird, up 2 percent from May 2024. The average live weight of mature chickens was 7.08 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during May 2025 averaged 32.4 pounds per bird, down 2 percent from May 2024.
