By David Anderson
By-product values for cattle and hogs have surged higher in recent weeks to the highest levels since January 2023 for cattle and January 2024 for hogs. By-products include the hides, offal, variety meats (organs), and many other items. By-product values are often referred to as the “drop credit” because it’s the value of anything that “drops” off the carcass in the packing plant.
Cattle
Steers hide, and offal values have climbed from $12.32 per cwt to $14.35 per cwt over the last two months. In the case of by-products, the values are quoted in dollars per cwt of the live steer. Hides and offal were worth about $11.50 per cwt at this time last year.
Some by-product values have more than doubled in value compared to a year ago. Honeycomb tripe and liver prices are 112 percent and 106 percent higher than last year. Cheek meat, head meat, and lips are up from 52 percent to 78 percent above a year ago. Hide values are a bit mixed. Heavy steer hides are up 10 percent, and butt branded steer hides are 33 percent higher than a year ago. Cow hides are as much as 60 percent lower than last year.
What is driving these values higher? The first reason is reduced supplies. As cattle slaughter has declined, there are reduced supplies of hides and offal. Another reason is surging exports. Variety meat exports during the first quarter of 2026 were 14.1 percent larger than during the first quarter of 2025. Cattle hide exports increased from 36.7 million metric tons to 44.7 million tons over the same period. In terms of value, variety meat exports increased 45.5 percent and hides increased 18 percent. While a lot of attention has been paid to reduced beef and veal exports this year, hides and offal exports are a bright spot in trade.
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