Pou 2-1 (2-02) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 1, 2002, 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 4 Percent Poultry certified wholesome during December 2001 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 2.91 billion pounds, up 4 percent from the amount certified in December 2000. Updated totals for November 2001 show that 3.04 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during December 2001 was 3.92 billion pounds, up 4 percent from a year ago. Inspections included 3.31 billion pounds of young chickens, up 4 percent from last year; 67.7 million pounds of mature chickens, up 18 percent; 528 million pounds of turkeys, up 3 percent; and 13.4 million pounds of ducks, down 10 percent from December 2000. Young chickens slaughtered during December 2001 averaged 5.13 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from December 2000. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.22 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during December 2001 averaged 26.8 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from December 2000. Ante-mortem condemnations during December 2001 totaled 14.5 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.37 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.57 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 44.5 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.26 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.63 percent a year earlier. December 2001 contained 21 weekdays (including 1 holiday)and five Saturdays. December 2000 contained 21 weekdays (including 1 holiday)and five Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Nov 2001 : 667,593 12,321 679,914 2,046 ----- Dec 2000 : 630,905 11,152 642,057 2,245 ----- Dec 2001 : 644,907 12,985 657,893 1,998 ----- : Jan-Dec 2000 : 8,261,114 165,027 8,426,141 24,494 ----- Jan-Dec 2001 : 8,371,359 159,796 8,531,155 26,237 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Nov 2001 : 3,395,784 65,068 3,460,852 13,772 1,065 Dec 2000 : 3,190,610 57,394 3,248,004 14,874 864 Dec 2001 : 3,307,033 67,729 3,374,762 13,403 575 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 41,293,525 876,685 42,170,210 161,752 14,307 Jan-Dec 2001 : 42,123,659 853,018 42,976,677 174,106 13,276 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Nov 2001 : 5.09 5.28 5.09 6.73 ----- Dec 2000 : 5.06 5.15 5.06 6.62 ----- Dec 2001 : 5.13 5.22 5.13 6.71 ----- : Jan-Dec 2000 : 5.00 5.31 5.00 6.60 ----- Jan-Dec 2001 : 5.03 5.34 5.04 6.64 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Nov 2001 : --- 24,516 159 24,676 ----- Dec 2000 : --- 19,445 306 19,751 ----- Dec 2001 : --- 19,516 228 19,744 ----- : Jan-Dec 2000 : 81 265,642 2,347 268,069 ----- Jan-Dec 2001 : 20 267,029 2,360 269,408 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Nov 2001 : --- 620,389 4,319 624,712 4,100,401 Dec 2000 : --- 505,404 8,241 513,645 3,777,387 Dec 2001 : --- 521,631 6,540 528,171 3,916,910 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 657 6,798,821 61,711 6,861,188 49,207,458 Jan-Dec 2001 : 161 6,966,397 63,085 7,029,643 50,193,703 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Nov 2001 : --- 25.31 27.14 25.32 ----- Dec 2000 : --- 25.99 26.95 26.01 ----- Dec 2001 : --- 26.73 28.69 26.75 ----- : Jan-Dec 2000 : 8.13 25.59 26.30 25.59 ----- Jan-Dec 2001 : 8.21 26.09 26.73 26.09 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2000: 4,419, December 2001: 5,218. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: December 2000: 55, December 2001: 85. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Nov 2001 : Chilled : 2,276,638 38,568 2,315,206 4,007 174 Frozen : 224,513 796 225,309 5,624 481 : Total : 2,501,152 39,363 2,540,515 9,631 655 : Dec 2000 : Chilled : 2,168,094 33,282 2,201,376 4,457 265 Frozen : 189,628 1,528 191,156 6,093 290 : Total : 2,357,723 34,810 2,392,532 10,550 556 : Dec 2001 : Chilled : 2,213,381 39,392 2,252,772 4,458 152 Frozen : 226,205 1,184 227,390 5,048 198 : Total : 2,439,586 40,576 2,480,162 9,505 350 : : Jan-Dec 2000 : Chilled : 27,890,542 494,964 28,385,507 45,351 3,562 Frozen : 2,604,629 34,377 2,639,006 70,629 5,201 : Total : 30,495,172 529,342 31,024,513 115,979 8,763 : Jan-Dec 2001 : Chilled : 28,407,687 500,160 28,907,847 48,840 2,977 Frozen : 2,735,342 14,857 2,750,199 75,203 5,086 : Total : 31,143,029 515,017 31,658,046 124,044 8,063 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Nov 2001 : Chilled : --- 247,884 2,504 250,391 2,569,778 Frozen : --- 241,782 837 242,619 474,033 : Total : --- 489,666 3,340 493,009 3,043,811 : Dec 2000 : Chilled : --- 200,959 4,788 205,748 2,411,847 Frozen : --- 195,503 2,127 197,629 395,168 : Total : --- 396,462 6,915 403,377 2,807,015 : Dec 2001 : Chilled : --- 209,871 4,029 213,900 2,471,282 Frozen : --- 203,359 1,115 204,474 437,109 : Total : --- 413,231 5,143 418,374 2,908,391 : : Jan-Dec 2000 : Chilled : 219 2,594,744 31,656 2,626,618 31,061,038 Frozen : 276 2,759,690 15,604 2,775,569 5,490,405 : Total : 495 5,354,433 47,260 5,402,188 36,551,443 : Jan-Dec 2001 : Chilled : 56 2,677,185 37,510 2,714,752 31,674,416 Frozen : 61 2,826,311 10,977 2,837,349 5,667,837 : Total : 117 5,503,496 48,487 5,552,101 37,342,253 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2001 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Nov 2001 : 12,031 763 12,794 30 3 Dec 2000 : 18,497 1,189 19,686 24 6 Dec 2001 : 12,145 940 13,085 23 1 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 171,243 15,237 186,480 279 60 Jan-Dec 2001 : 172,077 14,678 186,755 365 64 : Percent 2/ : : Dec 2000 : 0.58 2.07 0.61 0.16 0.64 Dec 2001 : 0.37 1.39 0.39 0.17 0.12 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Nov 2001 : 29,811 3,534 33,345 258 12 Dec 2000 : 41,080 2,881 43,960 416 8 Dec 2001 : 30,596 3,917 34,513 240 11 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 540,784 52,346 593,130 3,866 142 Jan-Dec 2001 : 462,647 45,126 507,773 3,687 348 : Percent 3/ : : Dec 2000 : 1.43 5.58 1.50 3.11 1.03 Dec 2001 : 1.03 6.43 1.14 1.99 2.06 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December 2001 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Nov 2001 : --- 1,346 34 1,380 14,208 Dec 2000 : --- 1,700 34 1,734 21,449 Dec 2001 : --- 1,314 54 1,368 14,477 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 17 19,323 503 19,844 206,663 Jan-Dec 2001 : 2 22,187 708 22,897 210,080 : Percent 2/ : : Dec 2000 : --- 0.34 0.42 0.34 0.57 Dec 2001 : --- 0.25 0.82 0.26 0.37 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Nov 2001 : --- 10,302 219 10,521 44,135 Dec 2000 : --- 10,578 422 11,000 55,385 Dec 2001 : --- 9,351 369 9,721 44,484 : Jan-Dec 2000 : 9 137,616 3,681 141,306 738,443 Jan-Dec 2001 : 3 138,922 3,824 142,749 654,556 : Percent 3/ : : Dec 2000 : --- 2.33 5.70 2.38 1.63 Dec 2001 : --- 1.99 6.27 2.04 1.26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 : 74,514 76,968 375,655 393,684 5.04 5.11 AR : 87,908 89,049 434,847 433,556 4.95 4.87 DE : 19,815 20,266 114,504 122,240 5.78 6.03 FL : 9,680 10,056 53,827 59,133 5.56 5.88 GA : 88,430 91,089 438,441 456,793 4.96 5.01 LA : 13,176 13,608 63,612 64,807 4.83 4.76 MD : 15,093 15,168 71,393 71,129 4.73 4.69 MS : 52,691 57,798 266,432 296,536 5.06 5.13 MO : 27,102 27,907 127,303 128,925 4.70 4.62 NC : 55,028 51,547 319,058 311,127 5.80 6.04 PA : 7,881 8,589 42,010 45,596 5.33 5.31 SC : 17,782 18,144 93,731 99,784 5.27 5.50 TN : 18,016 17,792 84,809 85,474 4.71 4.80 TX : 46,208 48,028 225,199 236,854 4.87 4.93 VA : 27,256 26,726 130,014 133,188 4.77 4.98 WA : 3,945 3,942 20,664 21,244 5.24 5.39 : US : 630,905 644,907 3,190,610 3,307,033 5.06 5.13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 275,789 288,483 5,153 4,476 1.52 1.26 AR : 315,162 317,742 5,905 4,541 1.51 1.16 DE : 83,285 88,428 2,090 1,861 2.03 1.69 FL : 38,322 35,724 867 628 1.79 1.18 GA : 322,476 331,981 4,834 3,380 1.23 0.82 LA : 45,097 45,841 612 383 1.07 0.66 MD : 51,246 49,956 966 800 1.50 1.25 MS : 206,737 224,203 2,403 1,608 1.00 0.60 MO : 93,453 93,866 1,478 970 1.29 0.84 NC : 241,551 243,263 4,615 3,144 1.61 1.12 PA : 29,346 31,603 1,137 1,127 3.01 2.75 SC : 66,335 73,524 1,641 790 1.95 0.88 TN : 63,387 61,707 692 639 0.91 0.83 TX : 175,705 184,124 3,756 2,100 1.85 0.98 VA : 94,431 97,264 1,178 1,118 1.01 0.93 WA : 15,589 15,274 239 285 1.28 1.49 : US : 2,357,723 2,439,586 41,080 30,596 1.43 1.03 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 851 118,598 58,620 2,406 7,055 AR : --- 3,910 235,336 111,163 --- 2,921 CA : --- --- 87,416 2,743 376 1,406 DE : --- --- 95,047 35,700 104 4,248 FL : --- 110 --- --- --- --- GA : --- 1,328 92,122 80,916 412 4,041 LA : --- --- 15,725 10,914 --- 744 MD : --- --- 50,034 26,418 64 --- MS : --- 391 56,228 20,982 --- 1,332 MO : --- --- 67,813 22,988 1,382 4,326 NC : --- 1,155 106,697 45,530 52 14,893 PA : --- 343 34,027 29,055 317 --- SC : --- 112 --- 24,539 37 1,020 TN : --- 199 38,988 17,445 348 714 TX : --- 152 112,235 61,582 272 1,534 VA : --- --- 58,950 34,461 52 --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 28,039 1,309,589 617,552 17,196 59,122 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 5,607 25,067 29,758 5,298 94,595 347,855 AR : 6,812 35,203 28,966 3,560 55,835 483,706 CA : 514 6,396 1,826 724 12,276 113,677 DE : 2,409 12,979 10,658 --- 22,292 183,437 FL : 773 4,135 --- --- --- 5,018 GA : 5,632 33,618 22,353 4,468 113,440 358,330 LA : 759 --- 3,153 --- --- 31,295 MD : --- --- --- 293 24,057 100,866 MS : 2,693 10,868 10,517 715 36,670 140,396 MO : 1,673 7,804 8,394 906 20,754 136,040 NC : 4,232 26,831 19,996 4,459 48,385 272,230 PA : 1,661 4,749 5,373 310 50,226 126,061 SC : --- 4,413 2,500 2,516 8,534 43,671 TN : 1,789 7,996 4,920 --- 10,509 82,908 TX : 1,257 10,205 --- 1,253 12,994 201,484 VA : 1,472 7,160 --- --- 12,948 115,043 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 43,310 237,057 233,096 40,456 580,298 3,165,715 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 11,152 12,985 57,394 67,729 5.15 5.22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 34,810 40,576 2,881 3,917 5.58 6.43 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 1,977 325,324 15,745 285 132,594 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 28,186 31,917 144,449 1,943 65,156 747,576 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 1,802 2,210 31,292 39,042 17.37 17.66 CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- IA : 1,241 1,082 37,534 35,937 30.26 33.21 MN : 2,961 2,593 74,502 68,120 25.16 26.27 MO : 1,713 1,721 44,732 47,451 26.11 27.57 NC : 2,617 2,667 68,533 72,079 26.19 27.03 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 2,811 2,690 60,384 59,218 21.48 22.02 : US : 19,445 19,516 505,404 521,631 25.99 26.73 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 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 : 27,265 32,220 562 599 2.00 1.71 CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- IA : 29,461 27,608 933 1,087 2.76 3.36 MN : 56,851 53,415 2,167 1,537 3.23 2.51 MO : 34,036 36,741 1,024 889 2.54 2.08 NC : 53,909 56,957 1,433 1,189 2.32 1.83 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 46,097 46,690 711 728 1.31 1.37 : US : 396,462 413,231 10,578 9,351 2.33 1.99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 6,839 --- --- --- CA : --- --- 6,219 --- --- --- IA : --- --- --- 1,625 1,856 --- MN : --- --- 16,976 --- --- --- MO : --- --- 10,589 --- --- --- NC : --- --- --- --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- 961 41 --- VA : --- --- 4,058 --- --- --- : US : --- 122 81,387 10,599 4,688 67 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- 641 --- --- --- 7,480 CA : --- --- 51 --- 240 6,510 IA : 56 --- 471 18 --- 4,026 MN : 127 573 786 63 1,515 20,040 MO : 51 361 --- --- --- 11,001 NC : 146 --- --- --- --- 146 PA : --- --- 234 --- --- 1,236 VA : --- --- 365 106 --- 4,529 : US : 900 6,795 9,502 2,400 12,460 128,920 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, December 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 241 3,244 1,506 --- 195 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 20 93 186 14 578 6,077 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, December 2001......................... 12 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001.................... 11 Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001..... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, December 2001............................................ 15 Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December 2001 with comparisons............................ 6 Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December 2001 with comparisons............................ 4 Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December 2001 with comparisons............................ 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, December 2001......................... 10 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001.................... 8 Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001.................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, Selected States and United States, December 2001......................... 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001....... 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, December 2000-2001.... 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on March 1, 2002. 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