"Corn is the primary source of carbohydrate energy for livestock and poultry in the United States.
As such, higher corn prices are expected to have some impact on the cost of meat production. Meat producers consistently cite feed grains as the most important inputs in meat production. To gain a better understanding of how much corn is actually represented in meat products, it is interesting to examine the amount of corn required to produce one pound of each respective type of meat (this is commonly referred to as the “feed-to-weight” ratio).
- There are 56 pounds of corn in a bushel. When corn is $3.50 per bushel, a pound of corn is worth 6.3 cents. At $4.00 per bushel, a pound of corn is worth 7.1 cents.
- According to the Beef Checkoff, it takes 2.6 pounds of corn to produce one pound of beef, live weight (includes bone, fat, etc.). This equates to 18.6 cents worth of corn when corn is $4.00 per bushel.
- The National Pork Board says it takes 3.6 pounds of corn to produce one pound of pork, live weight. This equates to 25.7 cents worth of corn when corn is $4.00 per bushel.
- It takes 2.0 pounds of corn to produce one pound of chicken, live weight, according to the National Chicken Council. This equates to 14.3 cents worth of corn when corn is $4.00 per bushel."
Source: National Corn Growers Association (pdf)
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