Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 2, 1999, 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 Up 1 Percent Poultry Certified Wholesome during December (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 2.85 billion pounds, up 1 percent from the amount certified in December 1997. Updated totals for November 1998 show that 2.70 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total Live Weight of Poultry Inspected during December 1998 was 3.88 billion pounds. Inspections included 3.24 billion pounds of young chickens, 75.6 million pounds of mature chickens, 548 million pounds of turkeys, and 13.6 million pounds of ducks. Young chickens slaughtered during December 1998 averaged 4.98 pounds per bird, up 2 percent from last year. The average live weight of mature chickens was 4.99 pounds per bird, 3 percent above a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during December 1998 averaged 24.9 pounds per bird, up slightly from December 1997. Ante-mortem condemnations during December 1998 totaled 20.6 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.53 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.37 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 64.4 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.84 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.83 percent a year earlier. December 1998 contained 23 weekdays (including one holiday) and four Saturdays, the same as December 1997. Pou 2-1 (2-99) Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Nov 1998 : 600,633 11,135 611,768 1,931 ----- Dec 1997 : 647,883 13,621 661,504 2,042 ----- Dec 1998 : 651,561 15,154 666,715 2,029 ----- : Jan-Dec 1997 : 7,735,903 167,635 7,903,539 21,978 ----- Jan-Dec 1998 : 7,826,045 169,348 7,995,393 23,463 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Nov 1998 : 2,998,583 60,230 3,058,813 12,676 880 Dec 1997 : 3,148,429 65,728 3,214,157 13,592 1,038 Dec 1998 : 3,244,007 75,556 3,319,564 13,585 631 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 37,207,401 839,202 38,046,603 146,534 17,733 Jan-Dec 1998 : 37,999,433 865,166 38,864,599 154,687 14,302 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Nov 1998 : 4.99 5.41 5.00 6.57 ----- Dec 1997 : 4.86 4.83 4.86 6.66 ----- Dec 1998 : 4.98 4.99 4.98 6.69 ----- : Jan-Dec 1997 : 4.81 5.01 4.81 6.67 ----- Jan-Dec 1998 : 4.86 5.11 4.86 6.59 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Nov 1998 : 2 24,279 101 24,383 ----- Dec 1997 : --- 23,472 125 23,597 ----- Dec 1998 : 33 21,864 135 22,033 ----- : Jan-Dec 1997 : 68 288,400 1,762 290,230 ----- Jan-Dec 1998 : 76 271,033 1,879 272,987 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Nov 1998 : 18 587,112 2,756 589,887 3,662,257 Dec 1997 : --- 580,854 3,316 584,171 3,812,957 Dec 1998 : 280 544,079 3,482 547,842 3,881,622 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 658 6,908,440 45,387 6,954,485 45,165,355 Jan-Dec 1998 : 660 6,675,768 49,035 6,725,463 45,759,051 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Nov 1998 : 7.41 24.18 27.28 24.19 ----- Dec 1997 : --- 24.75 26.59 24.76 ----- Dec 1998 : 8.43 24.88 25.76 24.87 ----- : Jan-Dec 1997 : 9.62 23.95 25.75 23.96 ----- Jan-Dec 1998 : 8.69 24.63 26.10 24.64 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: December 1997: 4,416, December 1998: 5,343. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: December 1997: 69, December 1998: 57. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Nov 1998 : Chilled : 1,986,155 35,270 2,021,425 3,634 248 Frozen : 205,518 1,614 207,131 5,248 270 : Total : 2,191,673 36,884 2,228,556 8,881 517 : Dec 1997 : Chilled : 2,079,478 38,133 2,117,611 3,736 393 Frozen : 226,131 2,432 228,563 5,911 254 : Total : 2,305,609 40,565 2,346,175 9,646 647 : Dec 1998 : Chilled : 2,153,885 42,258 2,196,142 4,185 229 Frozen : 205,881 3,551 209,433 5,430 130 : Total : 2,359,766 45,809 2,405,575 9,615 359 : : Jan-Dec 1997 : Chilled : 24,797,531 481,501 25,279,032 36,948 5,654 Frozen : 2,473,210 27,745 2,500,955 67,466 4,480 : Total : 27,270,741 509,247 27,779,987 104,414 10,133 : Jan-Dec 1998 : Chilled : 25,327,144 481,014 25,808,158 39,356 4,616 Frozen : 2,495,785 42,371 2,538,156 70,677 3,554 : Total : 27,822,929 523,385 28,346,315 110,033 8,171 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Nov 1998 : Chilled : 14 249,193 1,558 250,765 2,276,071 Frozen : --- 210,306 554 210,860 423,509 : Total : 14 459,499 2,112 461,625 2,699,580 : Dec 1997 : Chilled : --- 236,488 1,383 237,871 2,359,611 Frozen : --- 221,438 1,135 222,573 457,301 : Total : --- 457,926 2,518 460,444 2,816,911 : Dec 1998 : Chilled : 209 212,853 1,603 214,665 2,415,221 Frozen : --- 214,813 1,043 215,856 430,849 : Total : 209 427,666 2,645 430,521 2,846,070 : : Jan-Dec 1997 : Chilled : 86 2,643,868 22,073 2,666,027 27,987,661 Frozen : 395 2,798,967 12,524 2,811,887 5,384,788 : Total : 482 5,442,835 34,597 5,477,914 33,372,449 : Jan-Dec 1998 : Chilled : 257 2,499,357 25,636 2,525,249 28,377,380 Frozen : 215 2,742,876 11,691 2,754,781 5,367,168 : Total : 472 5,242,232 37,326 5,280,030 33,744,549 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Nov 1998 : 11,233 690 11,924 15 1 Dec 1997 : 11,553 973 12,526 13 6 Dec 1998 : 17,870 1,170 19,041 23 1 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 130,531 13,893 144,424 149 94 Jan-Dec 1998 : 167,222 15,482 182,705 188 53 : Percent 2/ : : Dec 1997 : 0.37 1.48 0.39 0.09 0.62 Dec 1998 : 0.55 1.55 0.57 0.17 0.22 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Nov 1998 : 48,502 3,595 52,097 300 12 Dec 1997 : 47,400 3,658 51,058 295 10 Dec 1998 : 49,228 4,517 53,744 293 5 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 571,738 51,506 623,244 2,954 177 Jan-Dec 1998 : 599,333 50,758 650,091 3,272 152 : Percent 3/ : : Dec 1997 : 1.67 6.18 1.77 2.41 1.02 Dec 1998 : 1.69 6.64 1.80 2.40 0.96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December 1998 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Nov 1998 : --- 1,087 15 1,103 13,042 Dec 1997 : --- 1,412 23 1,435 13,980 Dec 1998 : 2 1,474 29 1,504 20,569 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 2 20,052 313 20,367 165,033 Jan-Dec 1998 : 3 18,516 413 18,932 201,878 : Percent 2/ : : Dec 1997 : --- 0.24 0.68 0.25 0.37 Dec 1998 : 0.77 0.27 0.82 0.27 0.53 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Nov 1998 : --- 10,496 146 10,642 63,051 Dec 1997 : --- 11,105 224 11,328 62,691 Dec 1998 : 14 10,130 207 10,350 64,394 : Jan-Dec 1997 : 21 136,311 2,540 138,872 765,246 Jan-Dec 1998 : 22 130,540 2,982 133,543 787,058 : Percent 3/ : : Dec 1997 : --- 2.12 7.49 2.15 1.83 Dec 1998 : 5.44 2.07 6.60 2.10 1.84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 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 : 74,600 70,952 358,151 352,988 4.80 4.98 AR : 97,626 96,835 466,274 472,434 4.78 4.88 CA : 19,852 21,673 104,546 112,139 5.27 5.17 DE : 21,677 22,294 122,934 128,882 5.67 5.78 FL : 11,720 11,008 55,602 59,684 4.74 5.42 GA : 91,992 96,751 451,588 475,484 4.91 4.91 LA : 12,649 12,977 58,389 58,304 4.62 4.49 MD : 17,552 16,776 85,275 80,987 4.86 4.83 MS : 57,372 57,797 272,572 284,805 4.75 4.93 MO : 28,972 29,363 125,407 132,589 4.33 4.52 NC : 50,394 53,065 278,104 301,282 5.52 5.68 PA : 9,305 8,474 47,263 43,428 5.08 5.13 SC : 18,912 15,891 89,432 76,700 4.73 4.83 TN : 13,044 16,307 60,547 82,309 4.64 5.05 TX : 42,689 43,511 194,919 203,837 4.57 4.68 VA : 29,049 29,084 140,522 142,843 4.84 4.91 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 647,883 651,561 3,148,429 3,244,007 4.86 4.98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 267,131 262,721 7,446 6,120 2.31 1.93 AR : 338,165 337,432 5,579 5,820 1.33 1.37 CA : 74,574 79,301 1,540 1,491 1.64 1.48 DE : 87,625 93,624 2,308 2,593 2.09 2.24 FL : 39,319 41,321 1,111 2,101 2.22 3.91 GA : 335,376 348,200 6,504 7,344 1.60 1.72 LA : 41,377 41,440 931 1,133 1.77 2.16 MD : 60,250 57,147 1,255 1,303 1.64 1.79 MS : 208,414 206,945 3,350 4,088 1.37 1.59 MO : 91,553 95,792 1,706 1,649 1.51 1.38 NC : 203,658 224,335 4,677 4,536 1.87 1.67 PA : 33,100 30,756 1,278 1,376 3.00 3.52 SC : 67,139 55,254 1,667 1,272 2.07 1.84 TN : 43,796 59,746 582 878 1.07 1.19 TX : 147,131 155,174 2,456 2,226 1.40 1.21 VA : 98,337 100,997 1,565 1,568 1.24 1.22 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,305,609 2,359,766 47,400 49,228 1.67 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, December 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- --- 178,258 190,799 1,547 19,364 AR : --- 3,983 329,269 129,682 7,800 6,529 CA : --- 7,525 118,298 6,243 1,105 4,526 DE : --- 8,850 117,190 79,147 73 --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- 3,198 167,865 309,486 1,789 13,633 LA : --- 226 35,717 38,788 91 2,119 MD : --- 5,314 95,803 55,524 --- 9,168 MS : --- 4,244 130,860 207,539 2,023 7,180 MO : --- 4,958 83,780 23,834 2,083 2,175 NC : --- 7,352 146,944 86,681 1,450 67,523 PA : --- --- 36,987 51,230 228 --- SC : --- 1,007 31,763 58,520 --- 3,998 TN : --- --- 54,175 15,747 --- --- TX : --- --- 134,406 50,413 527 3,181 VA : --- --- 82,987 40,626 --- --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 70,069 1,972,501 1,422,652 34,634 197,436 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 13,236 33,932 63,630 13,504 209,468 723,738 AR : 11,383 37,250 47,383 13,926 103,214 690,419 CA : 447 7,233 2,852 624 21,204 170,057 DE : 2,781 11,597 17,306 --- 63,972 300,916 FL : 1,666 2,149 7,004 --- --- 10,819 GA : 13,780 47,699 68,946 11,530 347,148 985,074 LA : 1,884 9,590 --- --- 14,834 103,249 MD : 1,913 13,604 --- 3,629 32,619 217,574 MS : 5,878 31,861 29,909 6,459 220,957 646,910 MO : 2,915 15,955 17,393 --- 31,907 185,000 NC : 8,264 49,560 53,390 4,449 107,356 532,969 PA : 1,830 2,467 --- 266 38,024 131,032 SC : 3,183 --- 17,351 6,231 37,959 160,012 TN : 2,731 7,962 --- --- 18,314 98,929 TX : 1,499 16,006 12,837 1,237 8,499 228,605 VA : 2,473 8,123 11,007 --- 60,597 205,813 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 82,896 343,757 503,670 81,273 1,496,120 6,205,008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 13,621 15,154 65,728 75,556 4.83 4.99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 40,565 45,809 3,658 4,517 6.18 6.64 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 8,698 354,955 19,370 851 147,130 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 33,207 36,736 177,750 1,885 48,904 829,486 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 2,097 1,871 36,655 32,053 17.48 17.13 CA : 1,981 1,681 47,734 40,396 24.09 24.02 IA : 1,163 1,060 31,379 31,245 26.98 29.48 MN : 3,435 3,679 75,946 83,679 22.11 22.74 MO : 2,027 1,766 55,297 49,497 27.28 28.04 NC : 3,598 2,749 91,974 67,240 25.56 24.46 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 2,720 3,236 51,589 69,771 18.96 21.56 : US : 23,472 21,864 580,854 544,079 24.75 24.88 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 28,898 25,427 455 524 1.38 1.82 CA : 37,795 32,384 748 556 1.74 1.53 IA : 24,321 23,934 747 658 2.64 2.34 MN : 59,870 66,694 2,125 2,199 3.11 2.92 MO : 43,279 39,774 1,203 991 2.42 2.23 NC : 73,994 53,137 1,441 1,065 1.74 1.76 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 40,385 54,067 757 971 1.63 1.55 : US : 457,926 427,666 11,105 10,130 2.12 2.07 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 4,673 --- --- --- CA : --- --- 9,313 140 --- --- IA : --- --- 4,367 1,521 --- 9 MN : --- --- 16,114 2,272 --- --- MO : --- --- 14,518 --- --- --- NC : --- --- 5,423 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- 645 --- --- VA : --- 12 3,942 --- --- --- : US : --- 134 83,603 11,508 4,760 162 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- --- --- --- 4,673 CA : 15 --- --- --- --- 9,468 IA : 50 --- 459 --- --- 6,406 MN : 153 1,089 1,394 --- 1,641 22,663 MO : --- 341 --- --- 1,894 16,753 NC : --- --- --- --- 823 6,246 PA : --- --- --- --- 663 1,308 VA : 19 1,351 209 --- 1,399 6,932 : US : 910 9,144 9,599 2,878 44,122 166,820 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, December 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 22 3,312 578 19 35 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 157 68 7 1,327 5,525 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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., December 1997-1998................................................ 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 11 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., December 1997-1998................................................ 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., December 1997-1998................................................ 14 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., December 1997..................................................... 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., December 1997............................................ 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., December 1997................................ 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 15 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............... 12 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., December 1997-1998............................ 12 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on March 2, 1999. 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