Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released November 4, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call John Lange (202) 720-0585 or Mike Barker (202)720-3243, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Unchanged Poultry Certified Wholesome during September (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 2.80 billion pounds, unchanged from the amount certified in September 1997. Updated totals for August 1998 show that 2.73 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total Live Weight of Poultry Inspected during September 1998 was 3.80 billion pounds. Inspections included 3.17 billion pounds of young chickens, 69.0 million pounds of mature chickens, 547 million pounds of turkeys, and 13.5 million pounds of ducks. Young chickens slaughtered during September 1998 averaged 4.84 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from last year. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.16 pounds per bird, down 4 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during September 1998 averaged 23.8 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from September 1997. Ante-mortem condemnations during September 1998 totaled 17.8 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.47 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.35 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 64.1 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.87 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.81 percent a year earlier. September 1998 contained 22 weekdays (including one holiday) and four Saturdays, the same as September 1997. Pou 2-1 (11-98) Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Aug 1998 : 650,835 14,169 665,004 1,962 ----- Sep 1997 : 648,473 12,478 660,950 1,856 ----- Sep 1998 : 655,157 13,363 668,521 2,045 ----- : Jan-Sep 1997 : 5,820,853 127,597 5,948,450 16,267 ----- Jan-Sep 1998 : 5,886,358 129,087 6,015,445 17,442 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Aug 1998 : 3,092,606 72,941 3,165,546 12,547 1,486 Sep 1997 : 3,122,243 66,745 3,188,988 12,300 2,419 Sep 1998 : 3,171,032 68,965 3,239,998 13,481 1,934 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 27,910,241 637,615 28,547,856 108,350 12,906 Jan-Sep 1998 : 28,369,106 657,257 29,026,363 114,821 10,839 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Aug 1998 : 4.75 5.15 4.76 6.40 ----- Sep 1997 : 4.81 5.35 4.82 6.63 ----- Sep 1998 : 4.84 5.16 4.85 6.59 ----- : Jan-Sep 1997 : 4.79 5.00 4.80 6.66 ----- Jan-Sep 1998 : 4.82 5.09 4.83 6.58 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Aug 1998 : 40 22,232 158 22,430 ----- Sep 1997 : --- 25,081 264 25,345 ----- Sep 1998 : --- 22,771 213 22,984 ----- : Jan-Sep 1997 : 66 213,278 1,314 214,658 ----- Jan-Sep 1998 : 40 200,282 1,448 201,770 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Aug 1998 : 356 534,873 4,040 539,270 3,718,849 Sep 1997 : --- 579,854 6,413 586,267 3,789,975 Sep 1998 : --- 541,958 5,342 547,300 3,802,713 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 640 5,101,527 33,685 5,135,852 33,804,963 Jan-Sep 1998 : 356 4,948,350 37,754 4,986,460 34,138,483 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Aug 1998 : 8.96 24.06 25.53 24.04 ----- Sep 1997 : --- 23.12 24.27 23.13 ----- Sep 1998 : --- 23.80 25.05 23.81 ----- : Jan-Sep 1997 : 9.69 23.92 25.64 23.93 ----- Jan-Sep 1998 : 8.96 24.71 26.07 24.71 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: September 1997: 5,400, September 1998: 5,222. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: September 1997: 92, September 1998: 56. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Aug 1998 : Chilled : 2,059,188 39,947 2,099,135 2,962 452 Frozen : 205,785 3,357 209,142 5,986 401 : Total : 2,264,973 43,304 2,308,277 8,948 854 : Sep 1997 : Chilled : 2,080,358 38,205 2,118,562 2,833 828 Frozen : 203,582 2,658 206,241 5,937 611 : Total : 2,283,940 40,863 2,324,803 8,770 1,439 : Sep 1998 : Chilled : 2,105,554 38,561 2,144,115 3,297 463 Frozen : 209,996 2,942 212,938 6,083 660 : Total : 2,315,550 41,503 2,357,053 9,380 1,123 : : Jan-Sep 1997 : Chilled : 18,623,445 365,136 18,988,581 27,342 4,222 Frozen : 1,816,162 19,703 1,835,865 49,968 3,053 : Total : 20,439,607 384,839 20,824,446 77,310 7,275 : Jan-Sep 1998 : Chilled : 18,916,216 362,928 19,279,145 28,082 3,623 Frozen : 1,853,900 32,188 1,886,088 53,720 2,498 : Total : 20,770,117 395,116 21,165,233 81,802 6,121 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Aug 1998 : Chilled : 30 189,233 2,239 191,502 2,294,051 Frozen : 215 220,829 821 221,866 437,395 : Total : 245 410,062 3,061 413,367 2,731,446 : Sep 1997 : Chilled : --- 209,196 2,981 212,177 2,334,401 Frozen : --- 248,431 1,951 250,382 463,170 : Total : --- 457,627 4,932 462,559 2,797,571 : Sep 1998 : Chilled : --- 192,488 2,712 195,200 2,343,074 Frozen : --- 231,410 1,463 232,872 452,554 : Total : --- 423,898 4,174 428,072 2,795,628 : : Jan-Sep 1997 : Chilled : 73 1,922,618 17,279 1,939,971 20,960,115 Frozen : 395 2,101,663 8,261 2,110,320 3,999,206 : Total : 469 4,024,281 25,541 4,050,291 24,959,321 : Jan-Sep 1998 : Chilled : 30 1,823,577 20,083 1,843,690 21,154,540 Frozen : 215 2,059,772 8,601 2,068,588 4,010,894 : Total : 245 3,883,349 28,684 3,912,278 25,165,433 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Aug 1998 : 16,354 2,113 18,467 19 6 Sep 1997 : 10,797 1,028 11,824 18 6 Sep 1998 : 14,843 1,216 16,059 19 6 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 98,976 11,156 110,133 109 55 Jan-Sep 1998 : 125,816 12,841 138,657 132 43 : Percent 2/ : : Sep 1997 : 0.35 1.54 0.37 0.15 0.25 Sep 1998 : 0.47 1.76 0.50 0.14 0.33 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Aug 1998 : 50,051 4,312 54,363 268 18 Sep 1997 : 45,888 3,953 49,841 215 23 Sep 1998 : 48,309 4,236 52,545 279 15 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 431,607 39,992 471,599 2,166 126 Jan-Sep 1998 : 450,640 38,362 489,003 2,381 105 : Percent 3/ : : Sep 1997 : 1.63 6.58 1.74 1.94 1.04 Sep 1998 : 1.69 6.83 1.80 2.30 0.84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, September 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Aug 1998 : 1 1,832 72 1,905 20,396 Sep 1997 : --- 1,363 25 1,388 13,237 Sep 1998 : --- 1,633 40 1,674 17,759 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 1 16,050 251 16,302 126,599 Jan-Sep 1998 : 1 14,714 340 15,054 153,886 : Percent 2/ : : Sep 1997 : --- 0.24 0.39 0.24 0.35 Sep 1998 : --- 0.30 0.75 0.31 0.47 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Aug 1998 : 7 10,903 229 11,139 65,789 Sep 1997 : --- 11,226 306 11,532 61,611 Sep 1998 : --- 11,036 225 11,260 64,099 : Jan-Sep 1997 : 19 102,325 1,970 104,315 578,206 Jan-Sep 1998 : 7 98,676 2,363 101,047 592,536 : Percent 3/ : : Sep 1997 : --- 2.15 5.31 2.19 1.81 Sep 1998 : --- 2.26 4.68 2.29 1.87 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 74,105 71,184 358,306 355,015 4.84 4.99 AR : 98,755 94,588 475,566 450,115 4.82 4.76 CA : 20,822 20,708 103,940 102,821 4.99 4.97 DE : 22,659 23,019 128,654 126,524 5.68 5.50 FL : 11,315 10,547 50,995 55,394 4.51 5.25 GA : 92,676 97,408 453,232 471,745 4.89 4.84 LA : 14,459 13,780 63,663 61,716 4.40 4.48 MD : 17,954 17,941 86,400 85,171 4.81 4.75 MS : 57,843 56,505 261,908 272,219 4.53 4.82 MO : 28,188 29,976 120,903 128,302 4.29 4.28 NC : 53,180 53,876 297,011 291,161 5.59 5.40 PA : 9,468 8,943 48,651 45,861 5.14 5.13 SC : 16,779 17,249 77,395 81,441 4.61 4.72 TN : 14,296 15,291 64,862 72,280 4.54 4.73 TX : 40,790 42,537 186,101 189,368 4.56 4.45 VA : 29,424 28,915 141,584 134,863 4.81 4.66 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 648,473 655,157 3,122,243 3,171,032 4.81 4.84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 264,651 261,986 8,163 7,314 2.53 2.29 AR : 340,629 326,234 5,753 5,969 1.34 1.47 CA : 75,878 75,442 1,484 1,368 1.59 1.48 DE : 92,978 91,816 1,785 1,877 1.54 1.65 FL : 38,051 38,019 1,256 1,089 2.74 2.18 GA : 336,060 343,849 5,571 6,991 1.37 1.65 LA : 45,802 42,897 1,375 1,318 2.40 2.37 MD : 62,149 60,196 1,097 1,107 1.41 1.44 MS : 199,177 202,859 2,902 3,540 1.23 1.44 MO : 88,217 92,669 1,335 1,268 1.23 1.10 NC : 214,968 216,490 4,797 4,443 1.79 1.70 PA : 34,143 32,207 1,149 1,130 2.62 2.74 SC : 56,450 59,364 1,447 1,770 2.08 2.42 TN : 46,999 52,286 581 869 0.99 1.34 TX : 141,709 146,015 2,757 2,006 1.65 1.18 VA : 98,105 94,996 1,578 1,592 1.24 1.31 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,283,940 2,315,550 45,888 48,309 1.63 1.69 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, September 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 2,775 204,449 163,231 5,449 28,426 AR : --- 3,417 302,494 90,483 15,516 5,835 CA : --- 5,168 103,223 8,920 1,031 3,577 DE : --- 3,820 100,932 32,822 78 --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- 5,082 158,905 202,308 2,511 13,086 LA : --- 316 47,605 35,078 442 1,723 MD : --- 3,506 84,339 20,840 72 10,455 MS : --- --- 119,167 122,582 2,314 7,419 MO : --- 3,022 59,622 17,346 1,894 1,829 NC : --- 2,846 146,869 63,069 340 54,225 PA : --- 1,393 26,919 15,904 172 --- SC : --- 981 33,119 --- --- 3,551 TN : --- 537 54,186 10,837 --- --- TX : --- 2,373 103,807 23,150 861 2,721 VA : --- --- 80,296 51,446 --- --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 44,337 1,847,902 983,393 47,884 188,534 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 15,393 34,538 69,888 13,512 284,365 822,026 AR : 13,579 34,097 54,133 3,464 124,041 647,059 CA : 1,055 5,377 2,418 415 40,869 172,053 DE : 2,680 11,557 17,937 5,077 53,761 228,664 FL : 1,992 2,302 7,682 --- --- 11,976 GA : 15,216 35,744 58,801 12,582 320,463 824,698 LA : 2,583 --- --- --- 28,766 116,513 MD : 1,969 12,206 --- 1,985 22,290 157,662 MS : 8,741 35,684 29,687 1,728 161,915 489,237 MO : 2,959 12,348 19,915 2,408 41,481 162,824 NC : 9,006 29,798 69,253 10,020 145,669 531,095 PA : 2,572 2,888 --- 317 35,023 85,188 SC : 4,240 16,885 19,854 6,434 63,036 148,100 TN : 3,181 8,951 11,925 766 21,078 111,461 TX : 1,820 13,185 13,931 1,168 7,883 170,899 VA : 3,432 9,950 18,746 --- 62,984 226,854 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 96,815 305,062 512,335 67,865 1,820,676 5,914,803 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 12,478 13,363 66,745 68,965 5.35 5.16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 40,863 41,503 3,953 4,236 6.58 6.83 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, September 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 5,023 291,260 19,750 1,389 141,677 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- 12 406 --- --- 418 GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 30,434 37,744 176,533 2,308 53,946 760,064 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,415 2,025 40,098 34,406 16.60 16.99 CA : 1,688 1,508 38,704 34,451 22.92 22.85 IA : 1,298 1,274 33,138 34,229 25.52 26.87 MN : 4,214 3,862 90,715 83,981 21.53 21.75 MO : 2,271 1,823 58,893 47,036 25.93 25.80 NC : 3,429 2,834 82,819 67,973 24.15 23.98 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 2,981 3,062 55,466 65,425 18.61 21.36 : US : 25,081 22,771 579,854 541,958 23.12 23.80 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, September 1997-98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 33,399 28,004 515 526 1.43 1.70 CA : 30,950 27,875 507 746 1.46 2.41 IA : 25,688 26,210 640 746 2.15 2.42 MN : 71,536 66,323 2,521 2,260 3.09 2.99 MO : 47,657 36,815 1,325 997 2.50 2.35 NC : 64,606 53,183 1,397 1,280 1.87 2.09 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 41,575 49,500 731 944 1.46 1.60 : US : 457,627 423,898 11,226 11,036 2.15 2.26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, September 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 4,172 657 --- --- CA : --- --- 10,115 --- --- --- IA : --- --- 5,646 1,533 --- --- MN : --- --- 16,639 2,088 917 13 MO : --- --- 17,371 4,484 --- --- NC : --- --- 6,248 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- 11 4,592 292 --- --- : US : --- 53 98,727 22,163 5,096 106 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- --- --- --- 4,829 CA : --- --- --- --- --- 10,115 IA : 38 138 489 --- --- 7,844 MN : 206 1,042 1,570 --- 1,498 23,973 MO : --- --- --- --- 2,180 24,035 NC : --- --- --- 306 1,115 7,669 PA : --- --- --- --- 331 331 VA : 18 1,202 144 --- 1,635 7,894 : US : 988 8,059 8,977 5,701 14,683 164,553 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, September 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- --- 2,987 649 --- 114 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 13 246 93 6 868 4,976 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.............................................................. 16 Mature Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, U.S., September 1997-1998............................................... 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 11 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., September 1997-1998............................................... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., September 1997-1998............................................... 14 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., September 1997.................................................... 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., September 1997........................................... 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., September 1997............................... 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 15 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998.............. 12 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., September 1997-1998........................... 12 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on December 3, 1998. 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