Pou 2-1 (12-99) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 6, 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 Down 1 Percent Poultry certified wholesome during October (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 3.00 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the amount certified in October 1998. Updated totals for September 1999 show that 3.01 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during October 1999 was 4.04 billion pounds, down 1 percent from a year ago. Inspections included 3.35 billion pounds of young chickens, down 1 percent; 77.7 million pounds of mature chickens, up 10 percent; 600 million pounds of turkeys, up slightly; and 12.1 million pounds of ducks, down 11 percent from October 1998. Young chickens slaughtered during October 1999 averaged 5.05 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from October 1998. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.47 pounds per bird, up 7 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during October 1999 averaged 25.4 pounds per bird, up 5 percent from October 1998. Ante-mortem condemnations during October 1999 totaled 14.2 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.35 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.34 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 60.6 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.67 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.82 percent a year earlier. October 1999 contained 21 weekdays (including one holiday) and five Saturdays. October 1998 contained 22 weekdays (including one holiday) and five Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Sep 1999 : 682,486 13,680 696,166 1,994 ----- Oct 1998 : 687,719 13,834 701,553 2,055 ----- Oct 1999 : 663,592 14,216 677,808 1,828 ----- : Jan-Oct 1998 : 6,575,467 143,059 6,718,526 19,504 ----- Jan-Oct 1999 : 6,792,566 148,218 6,940,785 19,141 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Sep 1999 : 3,395,418 74,571 3,469,989 13,167 1,920 Oct 1998 : 3,386,585 70,739 3,457,323 13,529 1,929 Oct 1999 : 3,350,224 77,722 3,427,946 12,094 1,580 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 31,762,238 729,379 32,491,618 128,426 12,791 Jan-Oct 1999 : 33,819,148 771,785 34,590,934 126,166 11,788 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Sep 1999 : 4.98 5.45 4.98 6.60 ----- Oct 1998 : 4.92 5.11 4.93 6.58 ----- Oct 1999 : 5.05 5.47 5.06 6.62 ----- : Jan-Oct 1998 : 4.83 5.10 4.84 6.58 ----- Jan-Oct 1999 : 4.98 5.21 4.98 6.59 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Sep 1999 : --- 22,949 185 23,133 ----- Oct 1998 : 1 24,614 194 24,809 ----- Oct 1999 : --- 23,478 194 23,672 ----- : Jan-Oct 1998 : 40 224,889 1,642 226,572 ----- Jan-Oct 1999 : 56 217,275 1,602 218,933 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Sep 1999 : --- 576,284 4,875 581,159 4,066,236 Oct 1998 : 5 594,694 5,043 599,742 4,072,523 Oct 1999 : --- 595,208 5,145 600,354 4,041,973 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 362 5,544,576 42,796 5,587,734 38,220,569 Jan-Oct 1999 : 491 5,519,223 42,385 5,562,100 40,290,987 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Sep 1999 : --- 25.11 26.40 25.12 ----- Oct 1998 : 10.15 24.16 25.97 24.17 ----- Oct 1999 : --- 25.35 26.54 25.36 ----- : Jan-Oct 1998 : 8.98 24.65 26.06 24.66 ----- Jan-Oct 1999 : 8.84 25.40 26.45 25.41 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: October 1998: 6,258, October 1999: 6,601. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: October 1998: 34, October 1999: 72. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Sep 1999 : Chilled : 2,291,131 42,188 2,333,319 3,550 356 Frozen : 206,817 3,121 209,938 5,555 766 : Total : 2,497,948 45,309 2,543,257 9,105 1,122 : Oct 1998 : Chilled : 2,269,656 39,906 2,309,562 3,410 503 Frozen : 227,269 5,018 232,288 6,280 656 : Total : 2,496,925 44,924 2,541,850 9,690 1,159 : Oct 1999 : Chilled : 2,251,376 43,818 2,295,194 3,619 337 Frozen : 215,274 3,611 218,885 4,948 599 : Total : 2,466,650 47,429 2,514,079 8,566 935 : : Jan-Oct 1998 : Chilled : 21,189,440 403,487 21,592,926 31,537 4,140 Frozen : 2,085,480 37,206 2,122,686 59,999 3,154 : Total : 23,274,920 440,693 23,715,613 91,536 7,294 : Jan-Oct 1999 : Chilled : 22,684,194 431,924 23,116,118 34,418 3,413 Frozen : 2,156,786 33,716 2,190,502 54,069 3,400 : Total : 24,840,980 465,640 25,306,620 88,487 6,813 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Sep 1999 : Chilled : --- 202,042 1,905 203,947 2,541,171 Frozen : --- 249,287 1,660 250,947 467,207 : Total : --- 451,329 3,564 454,894 3,008,378 : Oct 1998 : Chilled : 4 213,616 2,392 216,012 2,529,488 Frozen : --- 256,839 1,493 258,332 497,555 : Total : 4 470,456 3,885 474,344 3,027,043 : Oct 1999 : Chilled : --- 219,349 2,215 221,564 2,520,714 Frozen : --- 249,076 1,658 250,734 475,165 : Total : --- 468,424 3,874 472,298 2,995,878 : : Jan-Oct 1998 : Chilled : 34 2,037,311 22,475 2,059,820 23,688,423 Frozen : 215 2,317,757 10,094 2,328,065 4,513,905 : Total : 249 4,355,067 32,569 4,387,885 28,202,328 : Jan-Oct 1999 : Chilled : 35 1,972,141 20,215 1,992,391 25,146,340 Frozen : 313 2,372,060 11,417 2,383,790 4,631,760 : Total : 348 4,344,201 31,632 4,376,180 29,778,100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Sep 1999 : 13,552 952 14,505 44 8 Oct 1998 : 11,994 754 12,748 18 7 Oct 1999 : 11,882 869 12,751 19 18 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 138,128 13,622 151,750 151 51 Jan-Oct 1999 : 147,011 14,243 161,254 207 74 : Percent 2/ : : Oct 1998 : 0.35 1.07 0.37 0.13 0.38 Oct 1999 : 0.35 1.12 0.37 0.16 1.12 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Sep 1999 : 45,513 4,237 49,750 262 27 Oct 1998 : 50,550 4,277 54,827 292 29 Oct 1999 : 44,205 4,659 48,864 277 32 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 501,609 42,646 544,255 2,679 134 Jan-Oct 1999 : 499,659 47,248 546,907 2,842 125 : Percent 3/ : : Oct 1998 : 1.66 6.72 1.76 2.40 1.69 Oct 1999 : 1.47 6.66 1.58 2.54 2.24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, October 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Sep 1999 : --- 1,419 27 1,447 16,004 Oct 1998 : --- 1,239 29 1,268 14,041 Oct 1999 : --- 1,346 32 1,378 14,167 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 1 15,955 369 16,325 168,276 Jan-Oct 1999 : 1 15,214 410 15,625 177,160 : Percent 2/ : : Oct 1998 : 0.74 0.21 0.58 0.21 0.34 Oct 1999 : --- 0.23 0.62 0.23 0.35 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Sep 1999 : --- 11,773 302 12,074 62,113 Oct 1998 : --- 11,223 266 11,489 66,638 Oct 1999 : --- 11,134 340 11,474 60,647 : Jan-Oct 1998 : 7 109,914 2,629 112,551 659,619 Jan-Oct 1999 : 5 109,969 2,879 112,853 662,726 : Percent 3/ : : Oct 1998 : 8.67 2.10 5.86 2.13 1.82 Oct 1999 : 3.97 2.08 7.35 2.12 1.67 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 75,992 77,526 380,636 403,690 5.01 5.21 AR : 97,898 96,259 470,497 468,703 4.81 4.87 DE : 24,019 22,141 134,066 129,000 5.58 5.83 FL : 10,896 10,528 58,445 54,433 5.36 5.17 GA : 98,501 92,800 484,815 469,412 4.92 5.06 LA : 14,309 14,058 63,074 61,500 4.41 4.37 MD : 18,624 16,884 88,032 83,369 4.73 4.94 MS : 60,036 58,645 296,101 298,574 4.93 5.09 MO : 31,038 29,172 135,410 131,469 4.36 4.51 NC : 57,590 53,576 324,918 311,650 5.64 5.82 PA : 9,290 9,426 48,576 49,649 5.23 5.27 SC : 19,458 18,150 89,818 90,756 4.62 5.00 TN : 16,283 17,336 76,810 82,217 4.72 4.74 TX : 45,833 44,096 211,719 212,176 4.62 4.81 VA : 30,981 29,247 148,461 140,372 4.79 4.80 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 687,719 663,592 3,386,585 3,350,224 4.92 5.05 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 287,003 291,808 6,824 6,764 1.99 1.86 AR : 343,507 341,233 5,668 5,254 1.34 1.25 DE : 97,878 93,779 2,057 1,932 1.70 1.66 FL : 42,029 38,926 1,275 1,022 2.42 2.09 GA : 356,535 343,099 7,352 6,864 1.68 1.62 LA : 43,913 44,405 1,327 900 2.34 1.63 MD : 63,118 59,926 1,076 1,164 1.36 1.55 MS : 223,815 232,679 4,115 2,877 1.54 1.07 MO : 99,200 95,935 1,281 1,365 1.05 1.15 NC : 245,291 236,076 5,192 4,251 1.78 1.52 PA : 33,745 34,596 1,629 1,134 3.73 2.54 SC : 66,041 66,566 1,885 1,468 2.33 1.80 TN : 56,111 59,074 881 676 1.27 0.91 TX : 162,759 163,723 2,152 2,438 1.13 1.28 VA : 103,874 99,939 1,529 1,160 1.14 0.92 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,496,925 2,466,650 50,550 44,205 1.66 1.47 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, October 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 1,159 190,427 233,223 2,152 10,525 AR : --- 2,450 256,258 95,761 --- 4,419 DE : --- 2,600 119,995 40,166 130 --- FL : --- 282 --- --- --- --- GA : --- 1,765 153,811 220,396 1,155 8,241 LA : --- 133 31,220 27,315 218 929 MD : --- 3,030 95,793 25,894 62 6,246 MS : --- 1,032 117,440 51,606 1,124 2,051 MO : --- 3,024 70,516 23,634 2,175 1,643 NC : --- --- 142,534 56,323 --- 37,079 PA : --- --- 35,681 25,537 313 --- SC : --- 1,125 36,542 109,827 93 --- TN : --- 393 49,770 14,568 497 --- TX : --- --- 121,238 26,045 600 2,275 VA : --- 1,508 66,400 25,294 152 --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 37,374 1,783,461 1,049,183 29,924 125,862 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 10,962 43,806 67,461 17,063 133,080 709,858 AR : 10,649 33,503 42,883 3,523 94,169 543,615 DE : 2,569 11,762 15,131 5,623 37,696 235,672 FL : 2,193 2,741 --- --- --- 5,216 GA : 12,554 49,626 71,208 12,571 306,772 838,099 LA : 987 --- --- 1,158 6,155 68,115 MD : 1,661 11,984 --- --- 19,082 163,752 MS : 4,961 23,257 26,930 1,771 101,119 331,291 MO : 1,945 11,115 13,399 --- 29,612 157,063 NC : 7,242 35,321 33,986 4,912 122,109 439,506 PA : 2,254 4,529 --- --- 33,025 101,339 SC : 4,512 11,666 11,802 3,400 45,092 224,059 TN : 2,205 8,906 --- --- 22,926 99,265 TX : 1,882 13,581 17,292 1,172 14,360 198,445 VA : 1,821 9,541 8,743 3,263 33,597 150,319 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 75,058 310,099 456,060 66,539 1,196,610 5,130,170 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 13,834 14,216 70,739 77,722 5.11 5.47 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 44,924 47,429 4,277 4,659 6.72 6.66 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, October 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 8,485 294,980 12,646 2,031 142,961 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 36,601 56,610 217,939 2,807 57,723 832,783 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,177 2,015 39,158 37,849 17.99 18.79 CA : 2,004 2,087 46,831 52,595 23.37 25.20 IA : 1,401 1,530 35,792 44,451 25.55 29.05 MN : 4,198 3,880 93,973 94,876 22.39 24.45 MO : 2,006 2,162 54,015 58,977 26.93 27.28 NC : 2,673 2,764 61,366 67,041 22.96 24.26 PA : 1,025 1,054 24,100 23,695 23.50 22.47 VA : 3,340 3,254 71,762 70,077 21.48 21.54 : US : 24,614 23,478 594,694 595,208 24.16 25.35 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, October 1998-1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 32,094 31,028 604 629 1.71 1.85 CA : 37,608 41,704 689 768 1.64 1.62 IA : 28,007 34,707 754 1,094 2.34 2.73 MN : 74,749 74,924 2,070 2,153 2.45 2.52 MO : 44,530 46,345 1,106 1,305 2.28 2.46 NC : 48,907 52,150 1,144 1,307 2.07 2.17 PA : 19,245 18,174 362 420 1.67 1.97 VA : 56,099 54,709 934 825 1.45 1.31 : US : 470,456 468,424 11,223 11,134 2.10 2.08 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, October 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 6,291 542 --- --- CA : --- --- 10,534 633 124 --- IA : --- --- 6,964 1,955 --- --- MN : --- --- 20,618 4,116 2,049 24 MO : --- --- --- 2,737 --- --- NC : --- --- 6,386 --- --- --- PA : --- --- 4,925 --- 88 --- VA : --- --- 4,088 176 --- --- : US : --- 287 107,558 17,697 7,037 107 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : 22 475 --- --- 2,055 9,385 CA : 31 --- --- 76 605 12,003 IA : 79 --- 1,725 --- 988 11,711 MN : 182 1,528 983 --- 1,983 31,483 MO : --- --- 738 11 1,488 4,974 NC : 134 1,253 --- --- 1,162 8,935 PA : --- --- --- --- 833 5,846 VA : 18 --- --- --- --- 4,282 : US : 872 10,227 10,091 1,878 14,260 170,014 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, October 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- --- 3,672 1,056 7 52 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 203 230 131 1,206 6,557 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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., October 1998-1999................................................. 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 11 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., October 1998-1999................................................. 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., October 1998-1999................................................. 15 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., October 1998...................................................... 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., October 1998............................................. 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., October 1998................................. 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999................ 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., October 1998-1999............................. 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on January 7, 2000. 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