HDR1012000150080502971500Poultry Slaughter Released May 2, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call Jim Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Down 2 Percent Poultry Certified Wholesome during March (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 2.59 billion pounds, down 2 percent from the amount certified in March 1996. Updated totals for February 1997 show that 2.52 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total Live Weight of Poultry Inspected during March 1997 was 3.52 billion pounds. Inspections included 2.93 billion pounds of young chickens, 67.3 million pounds of mature chickens, 511 million pounds of turkeys, and 11.6 million pounds of ducks. Young chickens slaughtered during March 1997 averaged 4.83 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from the average live weight a year ago. The average live weight of mature chickens was down 11 percent from 5.38 pounds per bird the previous year to 4.79 pounds. Turkeys slaughtered during March 1997 averaged 23.8 pounds per bird, up fractionally from March 1996. Ante-mortem condemnations during March 1997 totaled 12.1 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.34 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.41 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 60.4 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.91 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.97 percent a year earlier. March 1997 contained 21 weekdays and five Saturdays, the same as March 1996. Each weekday represents approximately 5 percent of the month's total. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 1997 : 588,238 12,452 600,690 1,582 ----- Mar 1996 : 617,555 13,243 630,798 1,514 ----- Mar 1997 : 605,540 14,043 619,583 1,715 ----- : Jan-Mar 1996 : 1,880,313 40,746 1,921,059 4,810 ----- Jan-Mar 1997 : 1,855,950 41,455 1,897,405 5,192 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 1997 : 2,853,397 63,527 2,916,924 10,491 1,023 Mar 1996 : 2,956,400 71,281 3,027,681 10,212 602 Mar 1997 : 2,926,616 67,318 2,993,934 11,561 1,154 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 9,042,554 212,648 9,255,202 32,249 1,777 Jan-Mar 1997 : 9,011,471 204,839 9,216,310 34,695 3,401 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 1997 : 4.85 5.10 4.86 6.63 ----- Mar 1996 : 4.79 5.38 4.80 6.75 ----- Mar 1997 : 4.83 4.79 4.83 6.74 ----- : Jan-Mar 1996 : 4.81 5.22 4.82 6.71 ----- Jan-Mar 1997 : 4.86 4.94 4.86 6.68 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 1997 : --- 20,538 107 20,645 ----- Mar 1996 : 16 22,483 116 22,615 ----- Mar 1997 : --- 21,334 113 21,447 ----- : Jan-Mar 1996 : 44 66,521 426 66,991 ----- Jan-Mar 1997 : 16 64,670 322 65,009 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 1997 : --- 496,147 2,912 499,059 3,427,498 Mar 1996 : 138 533,780 3,024 536,942 3,575,437 Mar 1997 : 4 507,994 2,908 510,906 3,517,555 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 424 1,598,609 10,955 1,609,989 10,899,217 Jan-Mar 1997 : 188 1,565,101 8,720 1,574,009 10,828,415 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 1997 : --- 24.16 27.15 24.17 ----- Mar 1996 : 8.89 23.74 26.08 23.74 ----- Mar 1997 : 8.87 23.81 25.81 23.82 ----- : Jan-Mar 1996 : 9.54 24.03 25.70 24.03 ----- Jan-Mar 1997 : 11.91 24.20 27.06 24.21 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. Totals may not add due to rounding. 2/ Of the Mature Chickens inspected, the number reported in thousands as heavy fowl (broiler breeding stock) was: March 1996: 5,930, March 1997: 4,639. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: March 1996: 80, March 1997: 92. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 1997 : Chilled : 1,921,460 36,044 1,957,504 2,980 356 Frozen : 161,660 1,985 163,645 4,543 194 : Total : 2,083,120 38,029 2,121,149 7,523 551 : Mar 1996 : Chilled : 1,977,572 40,899 2,018,471 2,663 150 Frozen : 177,610 2,065 179,675 4,695 197 : Total : 2,155,182 42,964 2,198,146 7,358 347 : Mar 1997 : Chilled : 1,957,706 39,308 1,997,014 3,063 391 Frozen : 182,116 1,337 183,453 5,121 249 : Total : 2,139,822 40,645 2,180,467 8,184 640 : : Jan-Mar 1996 : Chilled : 6,042,835 123,007 6,165,842 8,987 436 Frozen : 567,237 5,869 573,106 14,244 602 : Total : 6,610,072 128,876 6,738,948 23,231 1,038 : Jan-Mar 1997 : Chilled : 6,034,161 118,188 6,152,349 9,427 1,177 Frozen : 541,367 4,676 546,043 15,401 678 : Total : 6,575,528 122,863 6,698,392 24,828 1,855 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 1997 : Chilled : --- 194,313 2,039 196,353 2,157,193 Frozen : --- 195,152 171 195,323 363,706 : Total : --- 389,465 2,210 391,676 2,520,899 : Mar 1996 : Chilled : --- 212,805 1,634 214,439 2,235,724 Frozen : 109 209,524 602 210,235 394,802 : Total : 109 422,330 2,236 424,675 2,630,526 : Mar 1997 : Chilled : 3 199,177 1,578 200,758 2,201,226 Frozen : --- 200,084 669 200,752 389,575 : Total : 3 399,261 2,246 401,510 2,590,801 : : Jan-Mar 1996 : Chilled : --- 629,906 5,575 635,481 6,810,746 Frozen : 336 631,339 2,697 634,371 1,222,324 : Total : 336 1,261,245 8,272 1,269,852 8,033,070 : Jan-Mar 1997 : Chilled : 70 611,108 5,364 616,542 6,779,494 Frozen : 69 617,364 1,335 618,769 1,180,891 : Total : 139 1,228,472 6,699 1,235,311 7,960,385 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 1997 : 9,796 1,035 10,831 8 6 Mar 1996 : 11,862 1,114 12,976 7 3 Mar 1997 : 9,370 902 10,272 9 7 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 40,184 3,462 43,647 24 9 Jan-Mar 1997 : 32,253 3,545 35,798 27 16 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 1996 : 0.40 1.56 0.43 0.06 0.49 Mar 1997 : 0.32 1.34 0.34 0.08 0.58 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 1997 : 49,694 3,651 53,345 218 12 Mar 1996 : 47,950 4,259 52,209 154 5 Mar 1997 : 45,855 4,238 50,094 233 10 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 150,351 12,315 162,666 479 25 Jan-Mar 1997 : 147,372 12,475 159,847 739 33 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 1996 : 1.80 6.64 1.92 1.68 1.01 Mar 1997 : 1.74 7.00 1.86 2.24 0.99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 1997 : --- 1,495 20 1,515 12,359 Mar 1996 : --- 1,555 40 1,595 14,581 Mar 1997 : --- 1,812 16 1,828 12,116 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 2 5,158 153 5,313 48,992 Jan-Mar 1997 : --- 6,627 96 6,724 42,564 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 1996 : 0.16 0.29 1.33 0.30 0.41 Mar 1997 : 0.49 0.36 0.56 0.36 0.34 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 1997 : --- 10,936 145 11,081 64,655 Mar 1996 : 1 10,713 247 10,961 63,329 Mar 1997 : --- 9,927 154 10,081 60,418 : Jan-Mar 1996 : 4 34,014 733 34,750 197,920 Jan-Mar 1997 : 7 33,544 447 33,999 194,617 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 1996 : 1.13 2.23 9.06 2.27 1.97 Mar 1997 : 2.18 2.17 5.88 2.19 1.91 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. Totals may not add due to rounding. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds (live weight) inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. 3/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 73,110 64,536 354,451 312,997 4.85 4.85 AR : 95,323 93,016 450,981 444,153 4.73 4.78 CA : 18,494 19,800 92,892 100,074 5.02 5.05 DE : 22,771 22,102 126,045 121,068 5.54 5.48 FL : 11,301 10,467 50,358 47,250 4.46 4.51 GA : 86,507 87,136 424,784 445,740 4.91 5.12 LA : 13,533 11,510 63,392 49,461 4.68 4.30 MD : 17,270 16,387 82,188 78,687 4.76 4.80 MS : 51,486 55,179 242,497 253,106 4.71 4.59 MO : 26,554 28,579 111,521 124,041 4.20 4.34 NC : 54,148 49,714 279,408 270,269 5.16 5.44 PA : 7,951 8,648 40,348 43,325 5.07 5.01 SC : 18,803 16,850 82,505 77,407 4.39 4.59 TN : 13,520 13,264 59,937 60,291 4.43 4.55 TX : 37,261 37,817 169,459 171,197 4.55 4.53 VA : 28,452 27,789 135,754 133,993 4.77 4.82 WA : 2,833 2,540 14,823 13,030 5.23 5.13 : US : 617,555 605,540 2,956,400 2,926,616 4.79 4.83 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 258,654 231,986 7,469 7,059 2.34 2.51 AR : 321,692 321,522 7,203 5,709 1.77 1.43 CA : 68,002 72,722 1,313 1,325 1.57 1.47 DE : 91,373 86,815 2,818 2,452 2.48 2.25 FL : 35,837 33,819 560 784 1.24 1.84 GA : 313,882 323,664 6,538 6,496 1.71 1.62 LA : 45,918 35,524 1,110 849 1.95 1.91 MD : 58,233 56,264 1,452 1,408 1.96 1.99 MS : 182,417 193,720 2,793 2,535 1.28 1.11 MO : 80,635 89,756 1,899 1,872 1.89 1.68 NC : 205,970 202,661 4,115 4,710 1.64 1.94 PA : 28,346 30,273 1,316 1,165 3.62 2.99 SC : 60,976 56,680 1,328 1,552 1.79 2.23 TN : 43,930 43,563 655 728 1.21 1.34 TX : 129,012 129,721 2,160 2,378 1.42 1.54 VA : 94,700 92,336 2,026 1,973 1.66 1.64 WA : 11,035 9,539 405 358 3.03 3.06 : US : 2,155,182 2,139,822 47,950 45,855 1.80 1.74 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 6,975 191,906 317,575 6,026 10,452 AR : --- 8,190 334,182 134,811 13,447 9,606 CA : --- 6,278 89,979 8,077 1,572 8,896 DE : --- --- 108,116 136,141 --- --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- 2,282 GA : --- 2,775 158,619 264,481 1,680 15,059 LA : --- 220 38,682 --- 481 2,671 MD : --- 14,794 91,749 64,127 68 9,488 MS : --- 5,891 104,710 38,014 1,348 7,954 MO : --- 8,793 128,413 33,930 2,525 2,535 NC : --- 30,638 149,973 128,398 92 37,403 PA : --- --- 33,988 49,986 348 --- SC : --- --- 27,983 --- 162 3,290 TN : --- 593 50,916 19,729 --- --- TX : --- --- 137,401 50,097 507 3,152 VA : --- --- 89,738 70,003 144 --- WA : --- --- 29,656 --- --- 1,226 : US : --- 135,856 1,960,017 1,485,274 43,703 156,001 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 12,032 26,388 60,727 7,012 261,791 900,884 AR : 14,474 30,631 64,861 4,982 106,575 721,759 CA : 914 8,224 2,760 509 45,085 172,294 DE : 3,466 6,535 13,353 --- 42,670 310,281 FL : 1,764 2,706 10,397 --- --- 17,149 GA : 15,763 44,745 45,251 17,672 218,945 784,990 LA : 2,276 5,305 --- --- --- 49,635 MD : 2,201 9,208 --- 1,653 22,579 215,867 MS : 5,663 21,040 26,147 754 116,278 327,799 MO : 3,028 12,289 21,551 --- 46,157 259,221 NC : 7,180 22,221 --- 2,675 141,717 520,297 PA : 2,055 2,860 --- --- --- 89,237 SC : 2,988 15,952 19,359 3,019 80,788 153,541 TN : 2,316 7,653 10,799 --- 40,996 133,002 TX : 1,423 10,211 17,102 740 17,297 237,930 VA : 3,630 8,889 29,438 927 101,509 304,278 WA : --- 1,019 393 --- --- 32,294 : US : 88,305 253,602 481,388 50,359 1,419,209 6,073,714 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 13,243 14,043 71,281 67,318 5.38 4.79 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 42,964 40,645 4,259 4,238 6.64 7.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- 3 --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 6,343 263,108 18,561 536 165,892 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- 37 --- 8 --- 48 GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 35,015 65,725 194,443 1,744 50,830 802,197 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,281 2,131 45,074 36,516 19.76 17.14 CA : 1,557 1,537 32,784 34,554 21.05 22.48 IA : 917 752 28,883 20,651 31.51 27.46 MN : 2,836 3,111 60,955 69,792 21.49 22.43 MO : 1,931 1,990 49,279 53,278 25.52 26.77 NC : 4,112 3,442 97,455 86,237 23.70 25.06 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 3,196 2,699 61,089 52,831 19.11 19.57 : US : 22,483 21,334 533,780 507,994 23.74 23.81 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 37,053 30,275 824 466 2.03 1.42 CA : 26,813 28,093 406 404 1.38 1.30 IA : 22,356 16,266 900 507 3.46 2.73 MN : 47,868 54,832 1,510 2,033 2.75 3.24 MO : 39,118 41,789 1,493 1,258 3.37 2.62 NC : 76,901 67,593 1,580 1,483 1.80 1.91 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 48,175 40,361 791 853 1.44 1.79 : US : 422,330 399,261 10,713 9,927 2.23 2.17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 5,710 402 --- --- CA : --- --- 6,438 --- --- 7 IA : --- --- --- 4,882 --- --- MN : --- 24 16,564 6,079 957 --- MO : --- --- 23,409 3,348 --- --- NC : --- --- 5,998 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- --- 598 --- --- : US : --- 41 99,076 23,541 5,552 63 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- 416 1,104 --- 899 8,531 CA : --- 383 --- --- --- 6,828 IA : --- --- --- --- 211 5,093 MN : --- --- 2,165 339 2,569 28,697 MO : 147 237 --- --- 1,174 28,315 NC : 193 2,139 --- --- 1,591 9,921 PA : --- --- --- --- 267 267 VA : 38 706 298 --- --- 1,640 : US : 1,193 7,646 9,609 1,714 11,899 160,334 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, March 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- --- 2,135 449 20 20 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 5 141 191 36 750 3,747 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poultry Slaughter Estimates Data Sources: Primary data for commercial poultry slaughter estimates are obtained from the Poultry Inspection Form (FSIS 6000-21) completed by inspectors of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA. This form provides actual counts of birds slaughtered in Federally Inspected (FI) plants. Over 99 percent of the total U.S. slaughter for any species is under FI. The FSIS 6000-21 forms collect number of head slaughtered daily under FI by species and class as well as condemnations and total live and dressed weights. Approximately 350 plants in the U.S. are operated under Federal Inspection. Annual totals of poultry slaughtered under State-administered Non-Federal Inspection (NFI) are published in the April release. Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late reports received by FSIS from plants and are usually less than one-half of 1 percent of the preliminary totals. Revisions for the previous month and year-to-date totals are published in each monthly release. Final data are published in the annual summary released in April and reflect any late reports or corrections which occurred after the monthly revision were published. Procedures and Reliability: Plant inspectors submit forms (FSIS 6000-21) weekly summarizing the plant's activity. When inconsistencies in the data are detected, the reports are returned to the inspectors for correction. Inspectors correct or validate the report and resubmit it. The reports cover weekly activities through Saturday night and reported data are allocated to the appropriate month as it enters the database. A NASS computer program provides a review of current data with historical data for each plant. An edit provides checks for the detection of errors such as invalid plant information, duplication, and erroneous data. The program also generates a missing reports listing for a telephone follow-up. Data are summarized weekly and accumulated to a monthly total for this release. Major slaughter plants with missing reports are adjusted prior to publication to assure that all plants slaughtering a significant portion of a specific class are accounted for each week. Estimates for missing weeks are made only after verifying that the plant was in operation. Adjustments are based on either the previous week's information or a week determined to be similar to the one missing. Late reports replace imputed data as they become available. While there will continue to be a varying degree of incompleteness from month to month, it is expected to have only a minimal impact on the final totals. Poultry slaughter estimates are based on a census of operating plants and, therefore, have no sampling error. However, they may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplications, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process, and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Generally, no State data are published if less than three plants operate for a species in a State, or if one plant has 60 percent or more of the total head for that species. These data are included in the U.S. totals. Definitions Used To Report Federally Inspected Slaughter Ante-Mortem Condemnations - Birds condemned prior to their entry into the slaughter plant. Certified Ready-to-Cook - The weight of poultry certified wholesome by inspection after post-mortem condemnation pounds are removed. Ready-to-cook represents poultry meat ready for the marketing channel. Ducks - Includes all ducks regardless of age and weight. Fryer-Roaster Turkeys - Young immature birds, usually under 16 weeks of age. Mature Chickens - Fowl from breeder and market egg flocks and stags and cocks. New York Dressed Weight - Carcass weight after only feathers and blood are removed. This weight is approximately 90% of live weight. Old Turkeys (Breeders) - Fully matured birds held for egg production, usually over 15 months of age. Other Poultry - Includes all other ready-to-cook products which bear the U.S.D.A. Inspected for Wholesomeness legend. Post-Mortem Condemnations - Carcasses or parts condemned by the inspector because of disease or mishandling and removed from the slaughter line and destroyed. Young Chickens - Commercially grown broilers-fryers and other young immature birds such as roasters and capons. Young Turkeys (Mature) - Young birds grown to a matured market age, about 5 months. Index Page Definitions.............................................................. 17 Mature Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, U.S., March 1996-1997................................................... 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 12 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., March 1996-1997................................................... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., March 1996-1997................................................... 15 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., March 1996........................................................ 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., March 1996............................................... 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., March 1996................................... 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997.................. 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., March 1996-1997............................... 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on June 4, 1997. 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