Pou 2-1 (05-01) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 4, 2001, 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 4 Percent Poultry certified wholesome during March 2001 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.08 billion pounds, down 4 percent from the amount certified in March 2000. Updated totals for February 2001 show that 2.78 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during March 2001 was 4.11 billion pounds, down 5 percent from a year ago. Inspections included 3.44 billion pounds of young chickens, 6 percent below last year; 73.6 million pounds of mature chickens, down 10 percent; 582 million pounds of turkeys, down 3 percent; and 14.0 million pounds of ducks, up 2 percent from March 2000. Young chickens slaughtered during March 2001 averaged 5.02 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from March 2000. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.15 pounds per bird, down 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during March 2001 averaged 26.9 pounds per bird, up 2 percent from March 2000. Ante-mortem condemnations during March 2001 totaled 17.4 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.42 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.35 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 63.6 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.72 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.92 percent a year earlier. March 2001 contained 22 weekdays and five Saturdays. March 2000 contained 23 weekdays and four Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 2001 : 627,357 12,734 640,092 2,001 ----- Mar 2000 : 730,560 15,709 746,269 2,057 ----- Mar 2001 : 685,976 14,296 700,271 2,130 ----- : Jan-Mar 2000 : 2,059,338 43,060 2,102,397 6,032 ----- Jan-Mar 2001 : 2,023,675 41,029 2,064,704 6,456 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 2001 : 3,145,744 66,369 3,212,113 13,252 811 Mar 2000 : 3,646,424 81,749 3,728,173 13,779 1,089 Mar 2001 : 3,440,813 73,575 3,514,388 14,015 722 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 10,335,476 221,327 10,556,803 40,240 3,031 Jan-Mar 2001 : 10,156,964 212,026 10,368,989 42,673 2,308 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 2001 : 5.01 5.21 5.02 6.62 ----- Mar 2000 : 4.99 5.20 5.00 6.70 ----- Mar 2001 : 5.02 5.15 5.02 6.58 ----- : Jan-Mar 2000 : 5.02 5.14 5.02 6.67 ----- Jan-Mar 2001 : 5.02 5.17 5.02 6.61 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 2001 : --- 19,043 170 19,213 ----- Mar 2000 : 10 22,452 173 22,634 ----- Mar 2001 : --- 21,511 152 21,663 ----- : Jan-Mar 2000 : 34 61,615 442 62,090 ----- Jan-Mar 2001 : --- 61,603 454 62,058 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 2001 : --- 512,615 4,389 517,004 3,743,180 Mar 2000 : 76 592,974 4,652 597,703 4,340,744 Mar 2001 : --- 578,174 4,259 582,433 4,111,557 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 271 1,622,032 11,735 1,634,038 12,234,112 Jan-Mar 2001 : --- 1,663,057 12,292 1,675,349 12,089,319 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 2001 : --- 26.92 25.80 26.91 ----- Mar 2000 : 7.81 26.41 26.91 26.41 ----- Mar 2001 : --- 26.88 28.01 26.89 ----- : Jan-Mar 2000 : 8.01 26.33 26.57 26.32 ----- Jan-Mar 2001 : --- 27.00 27.07 27.00 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. Totals may not add due to rounding. 2/ Of the Mature Chickens inspected, the number reported in thousands as heavy fowl (broiler breeding stock) was: March 2000: 6,338, March 2001: 5,618. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: March 2000: 129, March 2001: 38. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 2001 : Chilled : 2,117,068 38,889 2,155,957 3,628 141 Frozen : 204,899 795 205,694 5,925 278 : Total : 2,321,967 39,684 2,361,651 9,553 419 : Mar 2000 : Chilled : 2,449,782 45,137 2,494,919 3,628 345 Frozen : 238,092 3,181 241,273 6,292 340 : Total : 2,687,874 48,318 2,736,192 9,920 684 : Mar 2001 : Chilled : 2,338,019 43,693 2,381,712 3,864 152 Frozen : 226,213 658 226,871 6,341 279 : Total : 2,564,232 44,352 2,608,583 10,206 430 : : Jan-Mar 2000 : Chilled : 6,938,578 123,187 7,061,766 11,033 944 Frozen : 664,790 9,210 674,000 17,738 928 : Total : 7,603,368 132,398 7,735,766 28,771 1,871 : Jan-Mar 2001 : Chilled : 6,857,051 124,318 6,981,369 11,721 484 Frozen : 650,250 2,392 652,643 19,019 853 : Total : 7,507,302 126,710 7,634,012 30,740 1,337 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 2001 : Chilled : --- 200,466 2,784 203,250 2,362,977 Frozen : --- 203,960 587 204,547 416,444 : Total : --- 404,426 3,371 407,797 2,779,421 : Mar 2000 : Chilled : 56 232,062 1,989 234,108 2,733,000 Frozen : 5 234,112 1,479 235,596 483,501 : Total : 61 466,175 3,468 469,704 3,216,500 : Mar 2001 : Chilled : --- 231,787 2,498 234,285 2,620,013 Frozen : --- 224,903 782 225,686 459,177 : Total : --- 456,690 3,280 459,970 3,079,190 : : Jan-Mar 2000 : Chilled : 199 627,951 6,222 634,372 7,708,114 Frozen : 17 647,542 2,513 650,072 1,342,738 : Total : 217 1,275,493 8,735 1,284,444 9,050,852 : Jan-Mar 2001 : Chilled : --- 657,666 7,836 665,501 7,659,076 Frozen : --- 658,809 1,686 660,496 1,333,010 : Total : --- 1,316,475 9,522 1,325,997 8,992,087 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 2001 : 12,534 1,139 13,673 19 1 Mar 2000 : 12,851 965 13,816 20 3 Mar 2001 : 13,635 1,124 14,759 20 3 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 41,129 2,985 44,114 60 8 Jan-Mar 2001 : 42,768 3,498 46,266 63 8 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 2000 : 0.35 1.18 0.37 0.15 0.31 Mar 2001 : 0.40 1.53 0.42 0.15 0.46 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 2001 : 40,009 3,551 43,560 312 7 Mar 2000 : 55,919 5,618 61,537 284 12 Mar 2001 : 45,882 4,080 49,962 305 8 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 158,979 14,659 173,639 893 31 Jan-Mar 2001 : 132,810 11,381 144,191 1,006 24 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 2000 : 1.70 7.64 1.83 2.29 1.20 Mar 2001 : 1.48 6.16 1.58 2.42 1.27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 2001 : --- 1,737 46 1,783 15,475 Mar 2000 : --- 1,491 35 1,526 15,366 Mar 2001 : --- 2,603 50 2,653 17,436 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 16 4,341 124 4,481 48,663 Jan-Mar 2001 : --- 6,378 158 6,536 52,873 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 2000 : 0.14 0.25 0.74 0.26 0.35 Mar 2001 : --- 0.45 1.18 0.46 0.42 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 2001 : --- 12,107 279 12,387 56,266 Mar 2000 : 1 13,010 301 13,312 75,145 Mar 2001 : --- 13,040 305 13,345 63,620 : Jan-Mar 2000 : 5 35,396 731 36,132 210,694 Jan-Mar 2001 : --- 37,642 825 38,466 183,688 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 2000 : 1.51 2.44 7.18 2.47 1.92 Mar 2001 : --- 2.51 7.94 2.55 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, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 84,417 81,076 428,094 411,342 5.07 5.07 AR : 104,010 98,069 502,100 472,464 4.83 4.82 DE : 25,100 21,569 142,077 122,701 5.66 5.69 FL : 11,248 10,263 61,279 55,850 5.45 5.44 GA : 101,920 95,538 511,352 478,279 5.02 5.01 LA : 17,311 12,704 75,371 54,572 4.35 4.30 MD : 18,081 16,692 86,942 78,653 4.81 4.71 MS : 62,268 60,552 315,650 300,346 5.07 4.96 MO : 31,758 30,534 143,392 137,464 4.52 4.50 NC : 57,814 53,296 334,273 309,009 5.78 5.80 PA : 9,754 9,506 51,644 49,650 5.29 5.22 SC : 19,748 18,175 100,967 96,782 5.11 5.32 TN : 19,649 19,014 92,032 88,673 4.68 4.66 TX : 50,095 51,645 238,785 252,804 4.77 4.90 VA : 30,916 29,324 150,252 144,762 4.86 4.94 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 730,560 685,976 3,646,424 3,440,813 4.99 5.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 311,345 302,554 10,343 6,079 2.68 1.64 AR : 364,647 342,696 6,880 6,654 1.52 1.56 DE : 102,979 88,844 2,731 2,653 2.14 2.40 FL : 43,182 40,210 1,123 860 2.04 1.71 GA : 377,292 354,222 8,813 6,018 1.91 1.40 LA : 53,625 54,902 770 512 1.14 1.04 MD : 60,696 55,422 1,248 1,240 1.60 1.75 MS : 246,053 228,336 3,246 2,838 1.14 1.05 MO : 105,765 97,667 1,965 1,980 1.52 1.60 NC : 253,408 231,858 5,068 4,844 1.68 1.74 PA : 36,237 34,990 1,342 1,110 2.89 2.48 SC : 73,440 69,852 2,088 1,452 2.30 1.67 TN : 67,151 64,343 754 723 0.91 0.91 TX : 182,281 205,855 2,797 3,065 1.30 1.35 VA : 104,926 104,110 1,574 1,595 1.16 1.22 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,687,874 2,564,232 55,919 45,882 1.70 1.48 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 1,978 231,348 102,417 2,014 17,780 AR : --- 8,251 303,702 166,334 5,077 7,532 DE : --- 13,593 115,164 74,966 --- --- FL : --- 234 --- --- --- --- GA : --- 1,114 130,173 205,695 664 20,841 LA : --- --- 19,736 --- 170 892 MD : --- --- 64,052 44,817 214 --- MS : --- 849 92,426 38,281 536 3,831 MO : --- 3,262 --- 80,777 3,844 8,905 NC : --- 4,512 148,299 119,200 --- 64,793 PA : --- 1,484 39,077 28,441 454 --- SC : --- 661 18,741 41,905 132 --- TN : --- 186 44,892 18,924 475 2,179 TX : --- --- 198,079 85,768 857 5,052 VA : --- --- 73,899 50,266 --- --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 81,089 2,747,772 1,139,300 20,717 242,777 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 8,158 35,226 44,624 9,425 91,178 544,148 AR : 8,501 30,837 38,721 3,619 105,074 677,648 DE : 2,898 8,649 10,523 --- 39,465 265,258 FL : 1,144 3,565 3,598 --- 16,754 25,295 GA : 8,247 47,214 30,050 4,553 188,262 636,813 LA : 686 3,528 3,520 70 --- 28,602 MD : 2,082 --- --- 2,653 28,356 142,174 MS : 3,860 16,824 10,866 665 74,105 242,243 MO : 2,161 15,587 16,410 --- --- 130,946 NC : 7,190 36,510 27,546 5,897 84,704 498,651 PA : 1,771 5,613 8,652 --- 37,705 123,197 SC : --- --- 7,244 --- 14,862 83,545 TN : 2,786 8,026 8,568 --- --- 86,036 TX : 1,992 16,733 16,345 841 23,944 349,611 VA : 1,872 8,806 --- --- 21,959 156,802 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 59,551 292,474 315,622 43,469 965,468 5,908,239 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 15,709 14,296 81,749 73,575 5.20 5.15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 48,318 44,352 5,618 4,080 7.64 6.16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- 235 --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 7,633 293,505 13,655 699 130,291 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- 386 --- --- 621 GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 32,937 30,510 156,035 2,990 63,366 731,621 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,297 2,297 41,859 41,571 18.22 18.10 CA : 1,549 1,107 39,933 28,491 25.78 25.75 IA : 1,298 1,323 42,326 42,447 32.61 32.07 MN : 3,449 3,094 88,038 79,484 25.53 25.69 MO : 2,276 2,070 63,336 53,657 27.83 25.92 NC : 2,888 2,934 75,167 77,278 26.02 26.34 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 22,452 21,511 592,974 578,173 26.41 26.88 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 : 2000 : 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 34,651 34,678 771 628 2.05 1.68 CA : 31,771 24,391 603 604 1.68 2.36 IA : 32,772 32,300 1,211 1,316 3.18 3.44 MN : 68,959 62,977 2,865 2,637 3.62 3.69 MO : 49,430 42,284 1,269 1,269 2.23 2.63 NC : 59,492 60,888 1,621 1,484 2.40 2.13 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 466,175 456,690 13,010 13,040 2.44 2.51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of equivalent N.Y. dressed weight of quantity inspected. Percentages based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 5,448 --- --- --- CA : --- --- --- 85 --- --- IA : --- --- 7,251 3,742 --- --- MN : --- --- 13,460 3,559 --- 12 MO : --- --- 17,985 --- --- --- NC : --- --- 6,342 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- 12 5,371 202 --- --- : US : --- 148 92,908 17,092 6,321 126 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- 403 --- --- --- 5,851 CA : --- --- --- 79 272 436 IA : 89 --- 436 --- 1,263 12,781 MN : 137 951 729 --- 968 19,816 MO : --- --- --- --- --- 17,985 NC : --- 1,478 --- --- 1,551 9,371 PA : 148 --- --- --- --- 148 VA : --- --- --- --- --- 5,585 : US : 1,372 7,482 13,020 2,830 14,591 155,890 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, March 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- --- 3,828 811 32 131 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 9 138 207 12 390 5,558 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 2001........................... 12 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001...................... 11 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001....... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, March 2001.............................................. 15 Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 2001 with comparisons.............................. 6 Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 2001 with comparisons.............................. 4 Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 2001 with comparisons.............................. 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 2001........................... 10 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001...................... 8 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001...................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, March 2001........................... 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001......... 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 2000-2001...... 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on June 1, 2001. 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