Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released June 2, 2000, 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 8 Percent Poultry certified wholesome during April (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 2.79 billion pounds, down 8 percent from the amount certified in April 1999. Updated totals for March 2000 show that 3.22 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during April 2000 was 3.76 billion pounds, down 8 percent from a year ago. Inspections included 3.16 billion pounds of young chickens, 8 percent below last year; 68.4 million pounds of mature chickens, down 14 percent; 523 million pounds of turkeys, down 6 percent; and 12.0 million pounds of ducks, down 4 percent from April 1999. Young chickens slaughtered during April 2000 averaged 5.00 pounds per bird, down slightly from 5.01 pounds per bird in April 1999. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.13 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during April 2000 averaged 26.3 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from April 1999. Ante-mortem condemnations during April 2000 totaled 12.9 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.34 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.39 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 58.4 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.72 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.90 percent a year earlier. April 2000 contained 20 weekdays and five Saturdays, while April 1999 contained 22 weekdays and four Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Mar 2000 : 730,263 15,709 745,972 2,057 ----- Apr 1999 : 686,932 15,666 702,597 1,929 ----- Apr 2000 : 631,861 13,351 645,212 1,812 ----- : Jan-Apr 1999 : 2,675,146 60,486 2,735,632 7,692 ----- Jan-Apr 2000 : 2,690,928 56,411 2,747,339 7,844 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Mar 2000 : 3,644,607 81,749 3,726,356 13,779 1,089 Apr 1999 : 3,442,724 79,358 3,522,083 12,593 900 Apr 2000 : 3,160,434 68,442 3,228,876 12,049 759 : Jan-Apr 1999 : 13,403,936 305,605 13,709,541 51,223 3,276 Jan-Apr 2000 : 13,492,659 289,769 13,782,428 52,289 3,684 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Mar 2000 : 4.99 5.20 5.00 6.70 ----- Apr 1999 : 5.01 5.07 5.01 6.53 ----- Apr 2000 : 5.00 5.13 5.00 6.65 ----- : Jan-Apr 1999 : 5.01 5.05 5.01 6.66 ----- Jan-Apr 2000 : 5.01 5.14 5.02 6.67 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Mar 2000 : 10 22,443 173 22,626 ----- Apr 1999 : --- 21,775 175 21,950 ----- Apr 2000 : --- 19,744 154 19,898 ----- : Jan-Apr 1999 : --- 81,024 553 81,577 ----- Jan-Apr 2000 : 34 81,351 596 81,980 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Mar 2000 : 76 592,797 4,652 597,526 4,338,750 Apr 1999 : --- 552,727 4,693 557,419 4,092,995 Apr 2000 : --- 518,740 4,067 522,807 3,764,491 : Jan-Apr 1999 : --- 2,073,920 14,893 2,088,813 15,852,853 Jan-Apr 2000 : 271 2,140,595 15,802 2,156,668 15,995,069 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Mar 2000 : 7.81 26.41 26.91 26.41 ----- Apr 1999 : --- 25.38 26.83 25.39 ----- Apr 2000 : --- 26.27 26.39 26.27 ----- : Jan-Apr 1999 : --- 25.60 26.93 25.61 ----- Jan-Apr 2000 : 8.01 26.31 26.53 26.31 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: April 1999: 5,649, April 2000: 5,301. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: April 1999: 69, April 2000: 39. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Mar 2000 : Chilled : 2,448,854 45,137 2,493,991 3,628 345 Frozen : 237,670 3,181 240,851 6,292 340 : Total : 2,686,525 48,318 2,734,842 9,920 684 : Apr 1999 : Chilled : 2,306,204 44,116 2,350,320 3,426 320 Frozen : 221,911 3,220 225,131 5,448 211 : Total : 2,528,115 47,336 2,575,451 8,874 531 : Apr 2000 : Chilled : 2,126,288 38,733 2,165,021 3,462 192 Frozen : 196,650 2,559 199,208 4,982 275 : Total : 2,322,937 41,292 2,364,229 8,444 467 : : Jan-Apr 1999 : Chilled : 8,969,625 170,761 9,140,386 14,105 1,226 Frozen : 855,368 13,294 868,662 21,764 657 : Total : 9,824,993 184,055 10,009,048 35,869 1,883 : Jan-Apr 2000 : Chilled : 9,063,078 161,920 9,224,998 14,495 1,088 Frozen : 861,407 11,769 873,176 22,721 1,193 : Total : 9,924,485 173,689 10,098,174 37,215 2,280 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Mar 2000 : Chilled : 56 231,998 1,989 234,043 2,732,007 Frozen : 5 234,048 1,479 235,532 483,015 : Total : 61 466,046 3,468 469,575 3,215,022 : Apr 1999 : Chilled : --- 199,784 2,581 202,365 2,556,432 Frozen : --- 235,993 934 236,927 467,717 : Total : --- 435,778 3,515 439,293 3,024,149 : Apr 2000 : Chilled : --- 203,750 2,100 205,850 2,374,525 Frozen : --- 208,103 870 208,973 413,439 : Total : --- 411,853 2,970 414,823 2,787,963 : : Jan-Apr 1999 : Chilled : --- 768,677 8,141 776,818 9,932,535 Frozen : --- 865,783 2,998 868,781 1,759,864 : Total : --- 1,634,460 11,139 1,645,599 11,692,399 : Jan-Apr 2000 : Chilled : 199 831,637 8,322 840,158 10,080,738 Frozen : 17 855,580 3,383 858,981 1,756,070 : Total : 217 1,687,217 11,705 1,699,139 11,836,808 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Mar 2000 : 12,844 965 13,809 20 3 Apr 1999 : 12,768 1,734 14,502 16 6 Apr 2000 : 10,800 840 11,640 18 4 : Jan-Apr 1999 : 56,079 4,801 60,880 65 20 Jan-Apr 2000 : 51,903 3,825 55,728 78 12 : Percent 2/ : : Apr 1999 : 0.37 2.19 0.41 0.12 0.66 Apr 2000 : 0.34 1.23 0.36 0.15 0.55 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Mar 2000 : 55,799 5,618 61,417 284 12 Apr 1999 : 52,924 5,039 57,964 324 7 Apr 2000 : 42,302 4,826 47,128 257 9 : Jan-Apr 1999 : 214,919 18,920 233,839 1,221 23 Jan-Apr 2000 : 201,206 19,486 220,692 1,149 39 : Percent 3/ : : Apr 1999 : 1.71 7.06 1.83 2.86 0.92 Apr 2000 : 1.49 7.84 1.62 2.37 1.29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, April 2000 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Mar 2000 : --- 1,491 35 1,526 15,359 Apr 1999 : --- 1,314 35 1,349 15,873 Apr 2000 : --- 1,164 52 1,216 12,879 : Jan-Apr 1999 : --- 5,492 138 5,630 66,596 Jan-Apr 2000 : 16 5,505 176 5,697 61,516 : Percent 2/ : : Apr 1999 : --- 0.24 0.76 0.24 0.39 Apr 2000 : --- 0.22 1.28 0.23 0.34 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Mar 2000 : 1 13,006 301 13,308 75,021 Apr 1999 : --- 11,263 336 11,599 69,894 Apr 2000 : --- 10,665 342 11,007 58,401 : Jan-Apr 1999 : --- 42,160 1,035 43,195 278,277 Jan-Apr 2000 : 5 46,057 1,073 47,136 269,016 : Percent 3/ : : Apr 1999 : --- 2.26 7.96 2.31 1.90 Apr 2000 : --- 2.28 9.35 2.34 1.72 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 77,279 73,743 392,296 374,775 5.08 5.08 AR : 101,342 91,143 490,227 440,237 4.84 4.83 DE : 22,587 19,277 131,674 113,841 5.83 5.91 FL : 10,718 9,541 56,514 51,844 5.27 5.43 GA : 97,788 90,005 487,596 442,983 4.99 4.92 LA : 14,370 14,494 63,489 63,486 4.42 4.38 MD : 17,820 15,205 86,507 71,850 4.85 4.73 MS : 57,679 52,424 289,061 266,835 5.01 5.09 MO : 31,981 27,898 146,114 125,740 4.57 4.51 NC : 54,619 48,397 320,027 282,391 5.86 5.83 PA : 9,104 7,994 48,248 42,206 5.30 5.28 SC : 19,637 18,281 94,037 92,052 4.79 5.04 TN : 17,562 17,053 84,425 80,392 4.81 4.71 TX : 46,308 44,941 218,752 217,792 4.72 4.85 VA : 30,924 27,311 154,680 134,165 5.00 4.91 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 686,932 631,861 3,442,724 3,160,434 5.01 5.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 294,685 272,380 8,947 6,896 2.53 2.04 AR : 356,508 320,719 6,142 5,279 1.39 1.33 DE : 95,761 83,427 2,817 2,202 2.38 2.15 FL : 39,435 37,310 1,048 852 2.06 1.83 GA : 358,847 324,338 7,347 5,708 1.67 1.43 LA : 44,909 44,102 1,206 529 2.11 0.93 MD : 61,569 51,727 1,382 1,080 1.78 1.67 MS : 216,287 207,085 2,997 2,480 1.15 1.03 MO : 106,104 92,668 1,660 1,740 1.26 1.54 NC : 239,028 213,369 5,611 4,453 1.95 1.75 PA : 34,444 29,712 1,284 1,069 2.96 2.81 SC : 69,452 67,461 1,849 1,957 2.19 2.36 TN : 62,841 58,023 927 696 1.22 0.96 TX : 165,628 166,121 2,708 2,360 1.38 1.20 VA : 107,885 91,945 1,787 1,100 1.28 0.91 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,528,115 2,322,937 52,924 42,302 1.71 1.49 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 5,718 186,264 297,865 2,955 13,582 AR : --- 3,477 276,322 117,478 --- 5,393 DE : --- 4,746 108,532 64,025 --- --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- 3,076 126,064 247,869 690 10,406 LA : --- --- 21,178 11,480 --- 441 MD : --- 11,408 74,091 31,726 56 9,264 MS : --- --- 77,811 30,918 530 1,857 MO : --- 3,187 93,528 53,675 2,121 2,203 NC : --- 11,473 142,158 90,604 436 36,510 PA : --- --- 38,190 29,267 792 --- SC : --- --- 36,668 --- 102 --- TN : --- 308 42,356 24,768 547 874 TX : --- --- 143,299 48,734 654 2,236 VA : --- --- 60,573 23,382 36 --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 104,315 1,713,340 1,241,229 25,120 136,549 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 9,671 47,606 43,850 14,245 172,820 794,576 AR : 9,198 27,299 35,985 1,972 104,350 581,474 DE : 2,058 7,858 9,795 --- 43,398 240,412 FL : 1,475 --- 5,462 904 --- 7,841 GA : 10,188 35,528 29,584 6,971 200,902 671,278 LA : 751 4,498 5,152 --- --- 43,500 MD : 1,608 16,206 --- --- 21,203 165,562 MS : 3,569 12,466 12,225 789 78,388 218,553 MO : 1,819 12,356 13,533 637 58,586 241,645 NC : 6,499 43,128 31,980 6,691 118,923 488,402 PA : 1,664 3,582 --- --- 29,035 102,530 SC : 4,921 12,694 15,012 8,110 57,481 134,988 TN : 2,156 10,309 13,256 269 24,794 119,637 TX : 1,436 14,463 14,652 1,500 13,894 240,868 VA : 1,546 8,681 --- 1,755 15,076 111,049 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 63,345 295,489 321,368 53,125 1,051,933 5,005,813 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 15,666 13,351 79,358 68,442 5.07 5.13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 47,336 41,292 5,039 4,826 7.06 7.84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 9,178 323,524 17,088 3,510 126,080 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- 54 133 --- 523 710 GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 47,185 51,158 206,063 2,881 62,507 849,174 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,398 2,123 44,470 38,594 18.55 18.18 CA : 1,254 1,438 30,057 37,254 23.98 25.91 IA : 1,475 1,208 43,036 38,583 29.17 31.93 MN : 3,170 3,065 81,597 77,939 25.74 25.43 MO : 2,104 1,958 58,747 55,455 27.92 28.32 NC : 2,803 2,410 65,488 64,478 23.36 26.75 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 3,223 2,807 70,066 61,744 21.74 22.00 : US : 21,775 19,744 552,727 518,740 25.38 26.27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 36,642 31,436 628 693 1.57 2.00 CA : 24,254 29,913 395 509 1.46 1.52 IA : 33,301 30,042 1,128 1,025 2.91 2.95 MN : 64,006 62,008 2,012 2,035 2.74 2.90 MO : 46,560 43,514 1,269 1,173 2.40 2.35 NC : 51,838 51,098 1,110 1,379 1.88 2.38 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 54,278 48,827 913 883 1.45 1.59 : US : 435,778 411,853 11,263 10,665 2.26 2.28 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 4,258 --- --- --- CA : --- --- 6,140 --- --- --- IA : --- --- 5,583 1,756 --- --- MN : --- --- 15,802 3,525 --- 13 MO : --- --- 15,404 2,633 --- --- NC : --- --- 4,679 --- --- --- PA : --- 5 --- 849 --- --- VA : --- --- 3,754 126 --- --- : US : --- 63 76,522 15,082 5,863 57 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- 395 --- 375 --- 5,028 CA : 15 --- --- --- 503 6,658 IA : 93 --- --- --- --- 7,432 MN : 374 768 766 --- 1,044 22,292 MO : 88 789 887 --- --- 19,801 NC : 113 863 --- --- 923 6,578 PA : --- --- 500 --- 591 1,945 VA : 37 1,178 --- --- 1,332 6,427 : US : 1,069 7,533 8,825 2,560 11,008 128,582 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, April 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 8 5,258 1,299 51 30 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 13 116 449 7 611 7,842 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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 Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, April 2000........................... 12 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000...................... 11 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000....... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, April 2000.............................................. 15 Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, April 2000 with comparisons.............................. 6 Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, April 2000 with comparisons.............................. 4 Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, April 2000 with comparisons.............................. 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, April 2000........................... 10 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000...................... 8 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000...................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, April 2000........................... 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000......... 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1999-2000...... 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on July 7, 2000. 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