Livestock Mandatory 

Reporting

Beef
LMR Boxed Beef Criteria

• Packers that slaughter 125,000 head per year are 

required to report.

• LMR covers over 90% of boxed beef volume.

• First time sales only.

• Distributors, grinders, exporters, etc. who do not 

slaughter, do not submit LMR sales data. 
Boxed Beef LMR Definition:

• “Those carlot-based portions of a beef carcass 

including fresh and frozen primals, subprimals, 

cuts fabricated from subprimals (excluding 

portion control cuts)....and fresh and frozen 

ground beef, beef trimmings, and boneless 

processing beef.”

• Beef Offal/Variety meat sales are not covered.
LMR Staff and Data

Three reporters carry out the beef reporting:

 2 reporters cover the fed cattle source product 

reporting.

 1 reporter covers cow sourced product.

Handle an average of 15,000 records per day:

 Generate, edit and publish 6 daily & 11 weekly 

beef reports. Daily reports have 1 hour 

turnaround.
Reporting Form

Boxed Beef Daily Report– [Form LPS-126]: Files 

submitted at 10am and 2pm. Notable criteria:

• Destination – domestic, overseas, or NAFTA

• Sales type – negotiated, formula, or forward contract

• Delivery period – 0-21, 22-60, 60-90, or 90+ days

• Refrigeration – fresh, frozen, or aged

• Class – steer/heifer, cow, bull, dairybred, etc.

• Classification – Prime, Choice, Select, etc.

• Branded designation – brand parameters or unbranded

• Specific item – packer SKU#, or IMPS item

• Quantity sold – in pounds

• FOB plant price – $cwt
Afternoon daily spot reports:

• Boxed Beef Cutout and Boxed Beef Cuts 

(LM_XB403)

• Boneless Processing Beef and Beef Trimmings 

(LM_XB401)

• Cutter Cow Cutout and Cow Cuts (LM_XB405)
Weekly Reports:

• Spot Mkt Boxed Beef Cutout & Cuts (LM_XB459)

• Formula Sales Boxed Beef (LM_XB454)

• Forward Sales Boxed Beef (LM_XB455)

• Spot Mkt Branded Boxed Beef (LM_XB452)

• Spot Mkt Prime Boxed Beef (LM_XB456)

• Spot Mkt Ungraded Boxed Beef (LM_XB462)

• Spot Mkt Bnls. Beef & Trimmings (LM_XB460)

• Formula Bnls. Beef & Trimmings (LM_XB450)

• Spot Mkt Cutter Cow Cutout & Cuts (LM_XB461)
Weekly Comprehensive Reports:

• Comprehensive Boxed Beef Cutout 

(LM_XB463)

• Boxed Beef Item Summary
LM_XB454 Formula

LM_XB463 Comprehensive

LM_XB459 Negotiated

LM_XB452 Branded

U. S. National Parks Image
LM_XB452

LM_XB402, LM_XB403, LM_XB459

LM_XB454

Packer submits company beef item code 

number, which our LMR system translates 

to an IMPS 180 boneless strip 
Data Review

• Reporters review submitted files prior to deadlines.

• Reporters analyze data on a line item basis.

• Reviewable data is withheld until verified. Many 

factors contribute to reviewing particular data.

• We try to aggregate items needing verification in 

respect for packer representative’s time.

• Occasionally we’ll ask for sales documentation to 

support verbal confirmation.
Crosscheck

• Carcass cutout value calculations generated via the LMR 

system are verified through in-house spreadsheet programs. 

These spreadsheets also help identify data overlooked 

earlier, and expedite 3/70/20 implementation.

• LM_XB402, LM_XB403, LM_XB459, and LM_XB463 cutout 

value calculations are crosschecked every time before 

publication.
Confidentiality

• For all beef reports, 3/70/20 is applied to each specific individual beef item.

• Individual beef items failing 3/70/20 on a daily report may pass under 

weekly report criteria.

• Items failing 3/70/20 are still used in carcass cutout calculations.
Contact information

William Worlie

Supervisory Market Reporter

USDA - AMS - Livestock, Poultry, & Grain Market News

515-284-4460

William.Worlie@ams.usda.gov

Visit us online at:

https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/ls-home