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interstate livestock movements

overview
The data set for U.S. interstate livestock movements is a one-time collection of annual shipment data compiled from USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and State animal health departments. The data include total numbers of cattle, hogs, and sheep shipped into States (10 years of annual data from NASS), as well as an annual approximation of state-to-state and regional livestock flows (2001 or most recent available, from State animal health departments).

source report
We highly recommend reading the Interstate Livestock Movements report for information on the economics of livestock shipping patterns, data sources, and the methods used to compile the data.

total inshipments
U.S. livestock inshipments, 2001Total inshipments are the total number of livestock (cattle, hogs, and sheep) shipped into a State for feeding or breeding and exclude animals brought in for immediate slaughter. These data represent the most comprehensive data set because NASS reports U.S. and State totals for each species. Ten years of electronic data are also available. Shipping patterns between regions and States cannot be determined from these data because they do not provide information on origin. For example, the map at the left illustrates total livestock inshipments to Iowa and all other States, but does not indicate from where shipments originate.

livestock flows
Regional and state-to-state livestock movements are approximated by compiling data from State certificates of veterinary inspection for animals destined for feeding or breeding purposes and exclude animals for immediate slaughter. Since source-destination data are not available from all States, shipping patterns generated from these data underestimate actual flows, and hence only provide a general sense of livestock movements. For example, the map at lower left illustrates the source of most, but not all, cattle inshipments for the Northern Plains, because tabulated data are not available from Nebraska. Shipments from other States to Nebraska are: 1) used as a proxy in the lower right map and 2) included in regional flows (lower left map). Shipment data to Nebraska are available from 17 States (thus, do not provide complete coverage).

 
Click to go to regional flows   Click to go to state-to-state flows


questions and answers
Answers to questions such as: What are the two sources of data used in this data product? When would I use one source instead of the other?

 

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for more information, contact: Kenneth Mathews
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page updated: June 26, 2003

 

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