The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released the April “Cold Storage” report, which showed that total red meat supplies in freezers were down 5% from the previous month and down 7% from last year.

The decline in beef inventories was the biggest news of the report. Total beef in freezers declined 38 million lb., down 8% from the previous month and down 4% from last year.

In the “Daily Livestock Report,” Steiner Consulting Group (SCG) said frozen beef inventories in March 2003 registered a similar decline, but no other March going back to the 1970s has shown a decline as big as this year.

Frozen boneless beef inventories fell 40 million lb., setting a record for a decline during March. The previous record was set in March 2003, with a decline of 35 million lb. during the month.

Frozen pork supplies were down 3% from the previous month and down 10% from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 27% from last month but were down a significant 68% from last year.

Total frozen poultry supplies on March 31, 2017, were up 2% from the previous month and up 2% from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down 3% from the previous month and down 3% from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 13% from last month and up 16% from March 31, 2016.

Total natural cheese stocks in refrigerated warehouses on March 31, 2017, were up 3% from the previous month and up 8% from March 31, 2016. Butter stocks were up 1% from last month and up 12% from a year ago.