Pou 2-1 (2-07) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 28, 2007, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call Fleming Gibson at 202-690-3237, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Down Slightly from Last Year Poultry certified wholesome during January 2007 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.55 billion pounds, down slightly from the amount certified in January 2006. December 2006 revised certified total at 3.20 billion pounds, was down 6 percent from December 2005. The December revision represented an increase of 20.4 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during January 2007 was 4.81 billion pounds, up 1 percent from 4.75 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 4.12 billion pounds, up slightly from January 2006. Mature chickens, at 63.3 million pounds, were down 10 percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 615 million pounds, up 9 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 16.7 million pounds, up 5 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during January 2007 averaged 5.50 pounds per bird, unchanged from January 2006. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.90 pounds per bird, up 6 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during January 2007 averaged 29.6 pounds per bird, down 2 percent from January 2006. Ante-mortem condemnations during January 2007 totaled 17.2 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.36 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.33 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 47.8 million pounds, were 1.33 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.37 percent a year earlier. January 2007 contained 23 weekdays (including two holidays) and 4 Saturdays, while January 2006 had 22 weekdays (including two holidays) and 4 Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, January, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date :Pct Commodity : Jan : Dec : Jan :Jan :Dec :---------------------: of : 2006 : 2006 : 2007 :2006:2006: 2006 : 2007 :2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :--------- 1,000 Head -------- Pct ---- 1,000 Head ---- Pct : Number : Slaughtered : : Chickens : Young : 744,882 679,262 748,998 101 110 744,882 748,998 101 Mature : 12,602 9,865 10,728 85 109 12,602 10,728 85 Light : 6,437 4,167 4,634 72 111 6,437 4,634 72 Heavy : 6,165 5,698 6,094 99 107 6,165 6,094 99 Total : 757,484 689,127 759,726 100 110 757,484 759,726 100 : Turkeys : Young : 18,521 19,091 20,565 111 108 18,521 20,565 111 Old : 188 198 194 103 98 188 194 103 Total : 18,709 19,289 20,759 111 108 18,709 20,759 111 : Ducks : 2,347 2,405 2,470 105 103 2,347 2,470 105 : : :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct --- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :4,095,723 3,724,613 4,116,055 100 111 4,095,723 4,116,055 100 Mature : 70,398 58,910 63,303 90 107 70,398 63,303 90 Light : 21,299 13,616 15,176 71 111 21,299 15,176 71 Heavy : 49,099 45,294 48,127 98 106 49,099 48,127 98 Total :4,166,121 3,783,523 4,179,358 100 110 4,166,121 4,179,358 100 : Turkeys : Young : 560,735 536,539 609,562 109 114 560,735 609,562 109 Old : 5,126 5,367 5,185 101 97 5,126 5,185 101 Total : 565,861 541,906 614,747 109 113 565,861 614,747 109 : Ducks : 15,882 16,176 16,676 105 103 15,882 16,676 105 Other : Poultry 2/: 300 311 341 114 110 300 341 114 : Total : Poultry :4,748,164 4,341,916 4,811,122 101 111 4,748,164 4,811,122 101 : : : --------- Pounds -------- Pct ---- Pounds ---- Pct : Avg Live : Weight : : Chickens : Young : 5.50 5.48 5.50 100 100 5.50 5.50 100 Mature : 5.59 5.97 5.90 106 99 5.59 5.90 106 Light : 3.31 3.27 3.27 99 100 3.31 3.27 99 Heavy : 7.96 7.95 7.90 99 99 7.96 7.90 99 Total : 5.50 5.49 5.50 100 100 5.50 5.50 100 : Turkeys : Young : 30.28 28.10 29.64 98 105 30.28 29.64 98 Old : 27.27 27.11 26.73 98 99 27.27 26.73 98 Total : 30.25 28.09 29.61 98 105 30.25 29.61 98 : Ducks : 6.77 6.73 6.75 100 100 6.77 6.75 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, squab, and any other voluntary poultry. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, January, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date : Pct Commodity : Jan : Dec : Jan :Jan :Dec :---------------------: of : 2006 : 2006 : 2007 :2006:2006: 2006 : 2007 :2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct --- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Chilled : : Chickens : Young :2,766,547 2,473,843 2,731,219 99 110 2,766,547 2,731,219 99 Mature : 42,533 36,688 39,032 92 106 42,533 39,032 92 Light : 10,683 6,950 7,728 72 111 10,683 7,728 72 Heavy : 31,850 29,738 31,304 98 105 31,850 31,304 98 Total :2,809,080 2,510,531 2,770,251 99 110 2,809,080 2,770,251 99 : Turkeys : Young : 245,238 243,582 273,258 111 112 245,238 273,258 111 Old : 3,228 3,289 3,435 106 104 3,228 3,435 106 Total : 248,466 246,871 276,693 111 112 248,466 276,693 111 : Ducks : 5,788 5,554 5,660 98 102 5,788 5,660 98 Other : Poultry 2/: 163 183 180 110 98 163 180 110 : Total : Poultry :3,063,497 2,763,139 3,052,784 100 110 3,063,497 3,052,784 100 : Frozen : : Chickens : Young : 282,956 251,576 279,932 99 111 282,956 279,932 99 Mature : 432 140 195 45 139 432 195 45 Light : 2 2 Heavy : 430 140 195 45 139 430 195 45 Total : 283,388 251,716 280,127 99 111 283,388 280,127 99 : Turkeys : Young : 197,737 179,882 205,769 104 114 197,737 205,769 104 Old : 656 826 476 73 58 656 476 73 Total : 198,393 180,708 206,245 104 114 198,393 206,245 104 : Ducks : 5,563 6,001 6,222 112 104 5,563 6,222 112 Other : Poultry 2/: 19 23 25 132 109 19 25 132 : Total : Poultry : 487,363 438,448 492,619 101 112 487,363 492,619 101 : Total : Chilled and: Frozen : : Chickens : Young :3,049,503 2,725,419 3,011,151 99 110 3,049,503 3,011,151 99 Mature : 42,965 36,828 39,227 91 107 42,965 39,227 91 Light : 10,685 6,950 7,728 72 111 10,685 7,728 72 Heavy : 32,280 29,878 31,499 98 105 32,280 31,499 98 Total :3,092,468 2,762,247 3,050,378 99 110 3,092,468 3,050,378 99 : Turkeys : Young : 442,975 423,464 479,027 108 113 442,975 479,027 108 Old : 3,884 4,115 3,911 101 95 3,884 3,911 101 Total : 446,859 427,579 482,938 108 113 446,859 482,938 108 : Ducks : 11,351 11,555 11,882 105 103 11,351 11,882 105 Other : Poultry 2/: 182 206 205 113 100 182 205 113 : Total : Poultry :3,550,860 3,201,587 3,545,403 100 111 3,550,860 3,545,403 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, squab, and any other voluntary poultry. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, January, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Jan : Dec : Jan : Jan : Dec :---------------: of : 2006 : 2006 : 2007 :2006 :2006 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :12,969 12,758 14,257 110 112 12,969 14,257 110 Mature : 771 709 855 111 121 771 855 111 Light : 292 171 265 91 155 292 265 91 Heavy : 479 538 590 123 110 479 590 123 Total :13,740 13,467 15,112 110 112 13,740 15,112 110 : Turkeys : Young : 1,700 1,496 1,944 114 130 1,700 1,944 114 Old : 43 43 104 242 242 43 104 242 Total : 1,743 1,539 2,048 117 133 1,743 2,048 117 : Ducks : 28 47 35 125 74 28 35 125 : Total Poultry :15,511 15,053 17,195 111 114 15,511 17,195 111 : : : Percent : Percent of Live : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 0.32 0.34 0.35 109 103 0.32 0.35 109 Mature : 1.10 1.20 1.35 123 113 1.10 1.35 123 Light : 1.37 1.26 1.75 128 139 1.37 1.75 128 Heavy : 0.98 1.19 1.23 126 103 0.98 1.23 126 Total : 0.33 0.36 0.36 109 100 0.33 0.36 109 : Turkeys : Young : 0.30 0.28 0.32 107 114 0.30 0.32 107 Old : 0.84 0.80 2.01 239 251 0.84 2.01 239 Total : 0.31 0.28 0.33 106 118 0.31 0.33 106 : Ducks : 0.18 0.29 0.21 117 72 0.18 0.21 117 : Total Poultry : 0.33 0.35 0.36 109 103 0.33 0.36 109 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of live weight pounds inspected. Poultry Slaughter: Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, January, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Jan : Dec : Jan : Jan : Dec :---------------: of : 2006 : 2006 : 2007 :2006 :2006 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Carcass and Parts : : Chickens : Young :36,817 31,222 35,443 96 114 36,817 35,443 96 Mature : 3,314 2,707 2,870 87 106 3,314 2,870 87 Light : 1,730 1,098 1,182 68 108 1,730 1,182 68 Heavy : 1,584 1,609 1,688 107 105 1,584 1,688 107 Total :40,131 33,929 38,313 95 113 40,131 38,313 95 : Turkeys : Young : 8,522 7,338 8,752 103 119 8,522 8,752 103 Old : 235 192 323 137 168 235 323 137 Total : 8,757 7,530 9,075 104 121 8,757 9,075 104 : Ducks : 401 378 387 97 102 401 387 97 Other Poultry : 3 4 4 133 100 3 4 133 : Total Poultry :49,292 41,841 47,779 97 114 49,292 47,779 97 : : : Percent : Percent of : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 1.19 1.13 1.16 98 103 1.19 1.16 98 Mature : 7.16 6.85 6.82 95 100 7.16 6.82 95 Light : 13.93 13.64 13.27 95 97 13.93 13.27 95 Heavy : 4.68 5.11 5.09 109 100 4.68 5.09 109 Total : 1.28 1.21 1.24 97 102 1.28 1.24 97 : Turkeys : Young : 1.89 1.70 1.79 95 105 1.89 1.79 95 Old : 5.71 4.46 7.63 134 171 5.71 7.63 134 Total : 1.92 1.73 1.84 96 107 1.92 1.84 96 : Ducks : 3.41 3.17 3.15 92 100 3.41 3.15 92 Other Poultry : 1.62 1.90 1.91 118 100 1.62 1.91 118 : Total Poultry : 1.37 1.29 1.33 97 103 1.37 1.33 97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : December : January : December : January :December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 81,665 86,211 447,032 475,117 5.47 5.51 AR : 85,606 97,679 449,463 506,849 5.25 5.19 DE : 24,552 27,122 164,862 184,859 6.71 6.82 GA : 101,308 110,255 526,717 573,752 5.20 5.20 KY : 21,927 23,945 118,678 128,399 5.41 5.36 LA : 15,274 15,995 87,868 92,588 5.75 5.79 MD : 11,809 12,074 56,413 58,125 4.78 4.81 MS : 55,727 62,488 315,342 355,899 5.66 5.70 MO : 31,799 33,598 146,817 157,535 4.62 4.69 NC : 55,307 62,664 382,690 431,788 6.92 6.89 OH : 3,666 3,924 20,078 21,115 5.48 5.38 PA : 8,817 10,551 47,494 56,923 5.39 5.39 SC : 22,889 24,121 144,598 153,247 6.32 6.35 TN : 20,574 23,402 104,728 120,405 5.09 5.14 TX : 50,975 55,126 271,080 290,442 5.32 5.27 VA : 24,861 27,170 129,577 140,409 5.21 5.17 : Oth Sts : 62,506 72,673 311,176 368,603 4.98 5.07 : US : 679,262 748,998 3,724,613 4,116,055 5.48 5.50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------------- 1,000 Pounds --------------- --- Percent --- : AL : 328,829 350,545 3,720 4,050 1.12 1.14 AR : 323,603 363,142 4,532 5,216 1.38 1.42 DE : 118,874 133,488 1,630 2,047 1.35 1.51 GA : 389,748 424,585 3,258 3,994 0.83 0.93 KY : 85,327 92,363 1,046 832 1.21 0.89 LA : 64,035 67,636 349 384 0.54 0.56 MD : 40,316 42,436 641 653 1.57 1.52 MS : 224,043 251,566 2,559 2,869 1.13 1.13 MO : 107,596 115,775 1,041 1,314 0.96 1.12 NC : 292,128 328,791 3,911 4,473 1.32 1.34 OH : 14,779 15,350 309 316 2.05 2.02 PA : 31,818 38,376 710 820 2.18 2.09 SC : 106,119 112,552 862 994 0.81 0.88 TN : 75,570 86,914 811 940 1.06 1.07 TX : 205,659 220,533 2,246 2,343 1.08 1.05 VA : 90,462 98,099 727 873 0.80 0.88 : Oth Sts : 226,513 269,000 2,870 3,325 1.25 1.22 : US : 2,725,419 3,011,151 31,222 35,443 1.13 1.16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :------------------------------------------------------------------ : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : * 74 83,741 89,223 AR : 653 649 155,025 191,495 DE : 1,203 1,693 75,779 97,586 GA : * 352 75,847 92,271 KY : * * 36,349 36,107 LA : 47 42 12,950 13,650 MD : * 275 30,496 * MS : * * 42,025 46,355 MO : 408 453 72,539 89,477 NC : * 619 91,215 101,460 OH : * * 5,311 6,911 PA : 117 * 17,295 22,963 SC : * * 9,369 9,960 TN : 92 116 44,270 52,271 TX : * 45 60,123 62,846 VA : * * 28,341 34,058 : Oth Sts : 5,058 1,861 172,530 227,629 : US : 7,578 6,179 1,013,205 1,174,262 : Mature : Light : 1,594 1,762 141,944 134,933 Heavy : 248 227 47,405 44,633 : US : 1,842 1,989 189,349 179,566 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :------------------------------------------------------------------ : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 69,091 89,209 * 541 3,654 3,985 AR : 49,023 63,033 1,595 1,940 3,009 3,297 DE : 28,623 36,281 * * * * GA : 70,462 147,122 * 181 7,008 8,132 KY : * * * * * * LA : 5,822 6,076 * 68 477 464 MD : * * 17 41 * * MS : 35,516 33,635 149 99 848 812 MO : 10,488 14,886 * 270 1,403 1,848 NC : 45,339 58,297 59 * * * OH : 1,566 2,005 15 * 96 145 PA : 14,278 16,361 * * 385 416 SC : * * * 20 * * TN : 19,623 25,818 * 46 464 611 TX : 30,409 28,212 88 63 1,480 1,447 VA : 15,167 18,901 * 44 * * : Oth Sts : 82,211 115,627 2,550 1,521 33,698 42,386 : US : 477,618 655,463 4,473 4,834 52,522 63,543 : Mature : Light : 30,441 27,182 131 133 59,691 61,590 Heavy : 1,509 2,647 55 79 6,055 6,333 : US : 31,950 29,829 186 212 65,746 67,923 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Included in "Other States" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :------------------------------------------------------------------ : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 1,984 2,142 7,980 7,899 10,167 9,649 AR : 3,679 3,994 15,714 15,533 22,133 23,526 DE : 1,269 1,617 3,647 4,664 4,819 5,731 GA : 1,724 1,968 24,204 27,195 10,485 11,666 KY : * 237 4,505 4,298 5,068 6,306 LA : 183 198 2,956 2,342 1,073 1,177 MD : * * * 3,388 * * MS : 1,372 1,596 3,998 3,929 3,805 3,884 MO : 955 1,035 2,824 5,427 8,123 8,810 NC : 1,889 2,133 18,982 21,840 14,133 16,611 OH : * * 878 979 * 302 PA : 548 697 1,315 1,871 * 4,888 SC : 363 514 2,093 2,532 1,304 * TN : 586 562 3,035 * 3,006 3,693 TX : 708 636 4,049 6,223 6,270 6,651 VA : 936 871 2,426 2,663 3,749 4,228 : Oth Sts : 4,004 3,786 13,248 17,591 34,016 32,997 : US : 20,200 21,986 111,854 128,374 128,151 140,119 : Mature : Light : 10,538 17,600 2,355 2,286 87,312 83,448 Heavy : 990 935 9,471 7,134 9,824 10,005 : US : 11,528 18,535 11,826 9,420 97,136 93,453 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Other : Total 1/ :------------------------------------------------------------------ : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 13,909 12,091 125,665 152,426 316,786 367,239 AR : 15,222 10,881 102,970 121,296 369,023 435,644 DE : * * * 37,589 155,873 199,564 GA : 4,161 4,927 68,402 79,432 262,924 373,246 KY : 194 692 * * * * LA : * 27 3,500 4,093 27,081 28,137 MD : * 376 * * * * MS : * * * 101,355 150,227 192,618 MO : * 647 50,101 75,639 148,011 198,492 NC : 8,360 6,665 64,380 69,124 255,901 291,380 OH : * * * * * * PA : * * 7,705 10,474 46,062 58,293 SC : 1,849 1,898 * 44,280 55,802 74,597 TN : * * 4,304 * 76,494 95,760 TX : * 2,811 49,620 48,259 156,695 157,193 VA : 1,638 * * 19,065 72,098 84,710 : Oth Sts : 17,107 13,626 350,657 210,393 612,368 665,953 : US : 62,440 54,641 827,304 973,425 2,705,345 3,222,826 : Mature : Light : 1,327 219 47,596 83,736 382,929 412,889 Heavy : 964 777 65,365 84,213 141,886 156,983 : US : 2,291 996 112,961 167,949 524,815 569,872 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Included in "Other States" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ The sum of the individual diseases does not add to total for "Other States." Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : December : January : December : January :December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- ---- Pounds --- : AR : 2,654 2,874 50,227 56,575 18.92 19.69 MN : 2,533 2,739 68,437 73,959 27.02 27.00 MO : 1,230 1,384 38,139 44,000 31.00 31.79 : Oth Sts : 12,674 13,568 379,736 435,028 29.96 32.06 : US : 19,091 20,565 536,539 609,562 28.10 29.64 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, by State and United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : December : January : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Pounds -------------- --- Percent --- : AR : 40,456 45,652 804 945 1.95 2.03 MN : 54,624 58,621 1,170 1,220 2.10 2.04 MO : 30,052 34,562 631 752 2.06 2.13 : Oth Sts : 298,332 340,192 4,733 5,835 1.56 1.69 : US : 423,464 479,027 7,338 8,752 1.70 1.79 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Turkeys Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, United States, December 2006-January 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Young : Old :----------------------------------------------------------- Cause : December : January : December : January -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : 65 143 Septicaemia : 63,907 62,763 2,025 2,556 Airsacculitis : 7,597 9,193 223 452 Synovitis : 3,732 3,899 1 37 Tumors : 57 132 116 163 Bruises : 406 350 39 19 Cadaver : 3,517 3,327 29 34 Contamination : 2,711 3,259 38 89 Overscald : 1,230 987 1 6 Other : 21,670 23,703 117 2,170 : Total : 104,892 107,756 2,589 5,526 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reliability of Poultry Slaughter Estimates Data Sources: Data for poultry slaughter estimates are collected by inspectors of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA for all Federally Inspected (FI) plants. Over 99 percent of the total U.S. slaughter for any species is under FI. The number of head slaughtered daily, by species and class, as well as condemnations and total live and dressed weights are obtained by shift for each plant. Approximately 320 plants slaughtered poultry in the U.S. under Federal Inspection in 2005. Young chickens were killed in 35 states, young turkeys in 24 states. 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 February and reflect any late reports or corrections which occurred after the monthly revisions were published. Procedures and Reliability: Plant inspectors submit data electronically for each shift a plant operates. An edit provides checks for the detection of errors such as invalid plant information, duplication, and erroneous data. Data are accumulated to monthly totals for this release. Data for 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 included. Estimates for missing shifts are made only after verifying that the plant was in operation. Adjustments are based on a shift determined to be similar to the one missing. Late reports replace imputed data as they become available. While there is a varying degree of incompleteness from month to month, it has only a minimal impact on the published 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. State data are published for selected States for young chickens and young turkeys. Data for all States not published are included in the "Other States" category. Also included in this category are data for published States that are confidential (denoted by an *). Data for all States are included in the U.S. totals. Terms and Definitions Used for Poultry Slaughter Estimates: 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. Included with young turkeys. Mature Chickens - Fowl from breeder and market egg flocks and stags and cocks. Old Turkeys - Fully matured birds held for egg production, usually over 15 months of age. Other Poultry Chilled or Frozen - Includes all other ready-to-cook products which bear the USDA 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 - Young birds grown to a matured market age, about 5 months. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch(202) 720-3570 Darin Jantzi, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section(202) 720-3570 Mark Aitken - Layers, Eggs(202) 690-8632 David Colwell - Cold Storage(202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Catfish Processing, Mink, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised(202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey(202) 720-3244 Toby Paterson - Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture . . .(202) 720-0585 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 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