Animal protein research

Sales of meat snacks have grown by over 45% in the past four years to $4.4 billion.

The brightest spot in the animal protein segment over the past couple of years has been consumer demand. Americans are still overwhelmingly choosing protein as retail meat department dollar sales were up 6.8% and unit sales were 2% higher for the 52 weeks ending January 2026, according to Circana sales data.

• beef
• pork
• poultry

The U.S. broiler industry has kept pace with extraordinary growth in chicken consumption but is now facing supply and production challenges.

• chicken

Despite rising price points for meat and poultry and expanding protein-centric competition, animal protein demand remained strong throughout 2025. Exceptional demand and softening feed prices are encouraging expansion in the animal protein space.

• livestock
• protein
• beef

Record high beef prices are getting a lot of attention, and the argument can be made that extraordinary demand is the key driver.

• beef

The National Pork Board’s new marketing campaign capitalizes on flavor and features a variety of recipes and convenient cooking techniques

• pork

As the U.S. cattle herd continues to shrink to the lowest inventory since 1951, feedlots are pulling cattle from nearly every source they can find. Tight supplies and unwavering consumer demand have pushed cattle prices to new record highs, further straining packer margins.

• beef
• dairy

Egg prices are soaring not just because of bird flu, but also due to strong consumer demand and shifting market dynamics that are keeping supplies tight.

• eggs

Turkey remains the most budget‑friendly protein for Thanksgiving, with stable supplies and competitive prices giving shoppers more value at the holiday table.

• turkey

America’s beef supply relies heavily on a large network of small producers to raise calves. In fact, 25% of the beef cow inventory can be found on operations with 50 or fewer head.

• beef

Crossbreeding beef bulls with dairy cows is creating higher‑value calves, helping offset tight beef supplies and opening new revenue opportunities for dairy producers.

• cattle
• breeding
• genetics

Across the board in animal protein, producers have been dealing with input inflation. Pork producers in particular have been struggling, as hog values languished through mid-year and have not kept pace with costs. In what is expected to be a short-term boost to pork values and hog prices, buyers scrambled to gain pork inventory ahead of new mandates from California Proposition 12. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 11 to uphold Prop 12, which bans the sale of pork in California from farms using gestation crates.

• pork