Pou 2-1 (3-07) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 30, 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 2 Percent from Last Year Poultry certified wholesome during February 2007 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.15 billion pounds, down 2 percent from the amount certified in February 2006. January 2007 revised certified total at 3.55 billion pounds, was down slightly from January 2006. The January revision represented an increase of 4.15 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during February 2007 was 4.26 billion pounds, down 1 percent from 4.30 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 3.63 billion pounds, down 2 percent from February 2006. Mature chickens, at 58.1 million pounds, were down 2 Percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 563 million pounds, up 7 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 14.6 million pounds, up slightly from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during February 2007 averaged 5.43 pounds per bird, down slightly from February 2006. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.91 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during February 2007 averaged 28.8 pounds per bird, down 3 percent from February 2006. Ante-mortem condemnations during February 2007 totaled 16.9 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.40 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.34 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 46.5 million pounds, were 1.46 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.43 percent a year earlier. February 2007 contained 20 weekdays (including one holiday) and 4 Saturdays, while February 2006 had 20 weekdays (including one holiday) and 4 Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, February, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date :Pct Commodity : Feb : Jan : Feb :Feb :Jan :---------------------: of : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 :2006:2007: 2006 : 2007 :2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :--------- 1,000 Head -------- Pct ---- 1,000 Head ---- Pct : Number : Slaughtered : : Chickens : Young : 678,251 749,922 667,518 98 89 1,423,133 1,417,440 100 Mature : 10,073 10,728 9,828 98 92 22,675 20,556 91 Light : 4,492 4,634 4,322 96 93 10,929 8,956 82 Heavy : 5,581 6,094 5,506 99 90 11,746 11,600 99 Total : 688,324 760,650 677,346 98 89 1,445,808 1,437,996 99 : Turkeys : Young : 17,621 20,565 19,371 110 94 36,142 39,936 110 Old : 132 194 133 101 69 320 327 102 Total : 17,753 20,759 19,504 110 94 36,462 40,263 110 : Ducks : 2,148 2,470 2,163 101 88 4,495 4,633 103 : : :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct --- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :3,696,466 4,121,661 3,626,446 98 88 7,792,189 7,748,107 99 Mature : 59,207 63,303 58,121 98 92 129,605 121,424 94 Light : 15,204 15,176 14,139 93 93 36,503 29,315 80 Heavy : 44,003 48,127 43,982 100 91 93,102 92,109 99 Total :3,755,673 4,184,964 3,684,567 98 88 7,921,794 7,869,531 99 : Turkeys : Young : 523,618 609,562 558,942 107 92 1,084,353 1,168,504 108 Old : 3,427 5,185 3,637 106 70 8,553 8,822 103 Total : 527,045 614,747 562,579 107 92 1,092,906 1,177,326 108 : Ducks : 14,529 16,676 14,595 100 88 30,411 31,271 103 Other : Poultry 2/: 256 341 276 108 81 556 617 111 : Total : Poultry :4,297,503 4,816,728 4,262,017 99 88 9,045,667 9,078,745 100 : : : --------- Pounds -------- Pct ---- Pounds ---- Pct : Avg Live : Weight : : Chickens : Young : 5.45 5.50 5.43 100 99 5.48 5.47 100 Mature : 5.88 5.90 5.91 101 100 5.72 5.91 103 Light : 3.38 3.27 3.27 97 100 3.34 3.27 98 Heavy : 7.88 7.90 7.99 101 101 7.93 7.94 100 Total : 5.46 5.50 5.44 100 99 5.48 5.47 100 : Turkeys : Young : 29.72 29.64 28.85 97 97 30.00 29.26 98 Old : 25.96 26.73 27.35 105 102 26.73 26.98 101 Total : 29.69 29.61 28.84 97 97 29.97 29.24 98 : Ducks : 6.76 6.75 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, February, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date : Pct Commodity : Feb : Jan : Feb :Feb :Jan :---------------------: of : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 :2006:2007: 2006 : 2007 :2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct --- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Chilled : : Chickens : Young :2,486,391 2,735,373 2,401,766 97 88 5,252,938 5,137,139 98 Mature : 37,103 39,032 36,077 97 92 79,636 75,109 94 Light : 7,933 7,728 7,206 91 93 18,616 14,934 80 Heavy : 29,170 31,304 28,871 99 92 61,020 60,175 99 Total :2,523,494 2,774,405 2,437,843 97 88 5,332,574 5,212,248 98 : Turkeys : Young : 232,672 273,258 250,600 108 92 477,910 523,858 110 Old : 2,180 3,435 2,403 110 70 5,408 5,838 108 Total : 234,852 276,693 253,003 108 91 483,318 529,696 110 : Ducks : 5,246 5,660 4,897 93 87 11,034 10,557 96 Other : Poultry 2/: 131 180 149 114 83 294 329 112 : Total : Poultry :2,763,723 3,056,938 2,695,892 98 88 5,827,220 5,752,830 99 : Frozen : : Chickens : Young : 256,715 279,932 253,381 99 91 539,671 533,313 99 Mature : 208 195 210 101 108 640 405 63 Light : 2 Heavy : 208 195 210 101 108 638 405 63 Total : 256,923 280,127 253,591 99 91 540,311 533,718 99 : Turkeys : Young : 180,584 205,769 191,885 106 93 378,321 397,654 105 Old : 401 476 350 87 74 1,057 826 78 Total : 180,985 206,245 192,235 106 93 379,378 398,480 105 : Ducks : 5,157 6,222 5,530 107 89 10,720 11,752 110 Other : Poultry 2/: 23 25 22 96 88 42 47 112 : Total : Poultry : 443,088 492,619 451,378 102 92 930,451 943,997 101 : Total : Chilled and: Frozen : : Chickens : Young :2,743,106 3,015,305 2,655,147 97 88 5,792,609 5,670,452 98 Mature : 37,311 39,227 36,287 97 93 80,276 75,514 94 Light : 7,933 7,728 7,206 91 93 18,618 14,934 80 Heavy : 29,378 31,499 29,081 99 92 61,658 60,580 98 Total :2,780,417 3,054,532 2,691,434 97 88 5,872,885 5,745,966 98 : Turkeys : Young : 413,256 479,027 442,485 107 92 856,231 921,512 108 Old : 2,581 3,911 2,753 107 70 6,465 6,664 103 Total : 415,837 482,938 445,238 107 92 862,696 928,176 108 : Ducks : 10,403 11,882 10,427 100 88 21,754 22,309 103 Other : Poultry 2/: 154 205 171 111 83 336 376 112 : Total : Poultry :3,206,811 3,549,557 3,147,270 98 89 6,757,671 6,696,827 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, squab, and any other voluntary poultry. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, February, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Feb : Jan : Feb : Feb : Jan :---------------: of : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 :2006 :2007 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :12,355 14,271 13,782 112 97 25,324 28,053 111 Mature : 639 855 1,055 165 123 1,410 1,910 135 Light : 170 265 457 269 172 462 722 156 Heavy : 469 590 598 128 101 948 1,188 125 Total :12,994 15,126 14,837 114 98 26,734 29,963 112 : Turkeys : Young : 1,659 1,944 2,024 122 104 3,359 3,968 118 Old : 28 104 48 171 46 71 152 214 Total : 1,687 2,048 2,072 123 101 3,430 4,120 120 : Ducks : 28 35 31 111 89 56 66 118 : Total Poultry :14,709 17,209 16,940 115 98 30,220 34,149 113 : : : Percent : Percent of Live : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 0.33 0.35 0.38 115 109 0.32 0.36 113 Mature : 1.08 1.35 1.82 169 135 1.09 1.57 144 Light : 1.12 1.75 3.23 288 185 1.27 2.46 194 Heavy : 1.07 1.23 1.36 127 111 1.02 1.29 126 Total : 0.35 0.36 0.40 114 111 0.34 0.38 112 : Turkeys : Young : 0.32 0.32 0.36 113 113 0.31 0.34 110 Old : 0.82 2.01 1.32 161 66 0.83 1.72 207 Total : 0.32 0.33 0.37 116 112 0.31 0.35 113 : Ducks : 0.19 0.21 0.21 111 100 0.18 0.21 117 : Total Poultry : 0.34 0.36 0.40 118 111 0.33 0.38 115 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of live weight pounds inspected. Poultry Slaughter: Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, February, 2006-2007 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Feb : Jan : Feb : Feb : Jan :---------------: of : 2006 : 2007 : 2007 :2006 :2007 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Carcass and Parts : : Chickens : Young :35,413 35,474 34,663 98 98 72,230 70,137 97 Mature : 2,500 2,870 2,901 116 101 5,814 5,771 99 Light : 1,175 1,182 1,191 101 101 2,905 2,373 82 Heavy : 1,325 1,688 1,710 129 101 2,909 3,398 117 Total :37,913 38,344 37,564 99 98 78,044 75,908 97 : Turkeys : Young : 8,057 8,752 8,433 105 96 16,579 17,185 104 Old : 186 323 214 115 66 421 537 128 Total : 8,243 9,075 8,647 105 95 17,000 17,722 104 : Ducks : 399 387 307 77 79 800 694 87 Other Poultry : 3 4 3 100 75 6 7 117 : Total Poultry :46,558 47,810 46,521 100 97 95,850 94,331 98 : : : Percent : Percent of : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 1.27 1.16 1.29 101 111 1.23 1.22 99 Mature : 6.28 6.82 7.40 118 109 6.75 7.10 105 Light : 12.90 13.27 14.18 110 107 13.50 13.71 102 Heavy : 4.32 5.09 5.55 129 109 4.51 5.31 118 Total : 1.35 1.24 1.38 102 111 1.31 1.30 99 : Turkeys : Young : 1.91 1.79 1.87 98 104 1.90 1.83 96 Old : 6.72 7.63 7.21 107 95 6.11 7.46 122 Total : 1.94 1.84 1.91 98 103 1.93 1.87 97 : Ducks : 3.69 3.15 2.86 77 91 3.55 3.02 85 Other Poultry : 1.91 1.91 1.72 90 90 1.75 1.83 104 : Total Poultry : 1.43 1.33 1.46 102 110 1.40 1.39 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : January : February : January : February : January :February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 86,216 80,385 475,117 442,681 5.51 5.51 AR : 97,679 85,545 506,849 443,282 5.19 5.18 DE : 27,122 22,830 184,859 149,858 6.82 6.56 GA : 110,255 100,056 573,752 516,524 5.20 5.16 KY : 23,945 21,674 128,399 116,036 5.36 5.35 LA : 15,995 14,482 92,588 84,406 5.79 5.83 MD : 12,074 10,506 58,125 47,849 4.81 4.55 MS : 62,488 58,415 355,899 325,888 5.70 5.58 MO : 33,598 31,240 157,535 143,997 4.69 4.61 NC : 63,583 52,759 437,394 356,817 6.88 6.76 OH : 3,924 3,600 21,115 19,798 5.38 5.50 PA : 10,551 9,104 56,923 48,913 5.39 5.37 SC : 24,121 21,881 153,247 136,175 6.35 6.22 TN : 23,402 20,020 120,405 99,177 5.14 4.95 TX : 55,126 47,976 290,442 249,767 5.27 5.21 VA : 27,170 23,293 140,409 120,484 5.17 5.17 : Oth Sts : 72,673 63,752 368,603 324,794 5.07 5.09 : US : 749,922 667,518 4,121,661 3,626,446 5.50 5.43 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations by State and United States, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------------- 1,000 Pounds --------------- --- Percent --- : AL : 350,545 325,975 4,050 4,199 1.14 1.27 AR : 363,142 318,051 5,216 4,656 1.42 1.44 DE : 133,488 107,866 2,047 2,037 1.51 1.85 GA : 424,585 381,833 3,994 4,410 0.93 1.14 KY : 92,363 83,359 832 895 0.89 1.06 LA : 67,636 61,835 384 368 0.56 0.59 MD : 42,436 34,819 653 657 1.52 1.85 MS : 251,566 232,708 2,869 2,893 1.13 1.23 MO : 115,775 105,977 1,314 1,295 1.12 1.21 NC : 332,945 273,307 4,504 3,874 1.33 1.40 OH : 15,350 14,569 316 322 2.02 2.16 PA : 38,376 33,301 820 827 2.09 2.42 SC : 112,552 100,069 994 945 0.88 0.94 TN : 86,914 71,617 940 850 1.07 1.17 TX : 220,533 190,108 2,343 2,191 1.05 1.14 VA : 98,099 84,142 873 879 0.88 1.03 : Oth Sts : 269,000 235,611 3,325 3,365 1.22 1.41 : US : 3,015,305 2,655,147 35,474 34,663 1.16 1.29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :------------------------------------------------------------------ : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 74 119 88,997 85,329 AR : 649 * 191,495 177,404 DE : 1,693 2,231 97,586 95,754 GA : 352 670 92,271 89,897 KY : * * 36,107 35,910 LA : 42 * 13,650 13,407 MD : 275 * * * MS : * * 46,355 51,751 MO : 453 * 89,477 84,621 NC : 621 * 102,096 85,799 OH : * * 6,911 7,063 PA : * 48 22,963 21,995 SC : * * 9,960 11,337 TN : 116 161 52,271 46,316 TX : 45 * 62,846 56,212 VA : * * 34,058 32,165 : Oth Sts : 1,861 3,929 227,629 239,022 : US : 6,181 7,158 1,174,672 1,133,982 : Mature : Light : 1,762 1,481 134,933 136,037 Heavy : 227 308 44,633 40,005 : US : 1,989 1,789 179,566 176,042 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :------------------------------------------------------------------ : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 89,209 113,410 541 676 3,985 3,646 AR : 63,033 64,083 1,940 2,328 3,297 2,980 DE : 36,281 50,563 * * * 10,433 GA : 147,122 217,336 181 473 8,132 6,988 KY : * 17,347 * * * * LA : 6,076 7,127 68 * 464 471 MD : * * 41 41 * * MS : 33,635 49,436 99 112 812 925 MO : 14,886 16,792 270 470 1,848 1,882 NC : 58,700 66,393 * 69 * * OH : 2,005 2,601 * 7 145 150 PA : 16,361 15,417 * * 416 337 SC : * * 20 * * * TN : 25,818 23,111 46 * 611 605 TX : 28,212 28,257 63 85 1,447 1,119 VA : 18,901 22,732 44 * * * : Oth Sts : 115,627 98,444 1,521 1,763 42,413 37,042 : US : 655,866 793,049 4,834 6,024 63,570 66,578 : Mature : Light : 27,182 27,294 133 223 61,590 61,149 Heavy : 2,647 2,094 79 59 6,333 5,239 : US : 29,829 29,388 212 282 67,923 66,388 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *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, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :------------------------------------------------------------------ : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 2,142 1,812 7,899 7,792 9,649 7,912 AR : 3,994 4,008 15,533 14,762 23,526 23,548 DE : 1,617 1,288 4,664 5,090 5,731 5,538 GA : 1,968 1,910 27,195 32,141 11,666 12,227 KY : 237 210 4,298 4,323 6,306 4,550 LA : 198 192 2,342 2,460 1,177 948 MD : * * 3,388 2,998 * * MS : 1,596 1,566 3,929 4,643 3,884 4,154 MO : 1,035 881 5,427 5,832 8,810 8,962 NC : 2,137 1,791 21,971 18,501 16,637 14,716 OH : * * 979 2,177 302 301 PA : 697 825 1,871 2,071 4,888 5,328 SC : 514 * 2,532 2,282 * * TN : 562 498 * 3,863 3,693 3,142 TX : 636 595 6,223 6,513 6,651 6,130 VA : 871 968 2,663 3,117 4,228 3,920 : Oth Sts : 3,786 3,700 17,591 14,794 32,997 30,452 : US : 21,990 20,244 128,505 133,359 140,145 131,828 : Mature : Light : 17,600 12,951 2,286 2,496 83,448 73,846 Heavy : 935 842 7,134 5,517 10,005 9,317 : US : 18,535 13,793 9,420 8,013 93,453 83,163 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Other : Total 1/ :------------------------------------------------------------------ : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 12,091 9,591 152,426 164,102 367,013 394,389 AR : 10,881 * 121,296 102,683 435,644 400,440 DE : * * 37,589 * 199,564 220,389 GA : 4,927 8,105 79,432 114,288 373,246 484,035 KY : 692 * * 47,360 * 117,244 LA : 27 39 4,093 1,571 28,137 26,323 MD : 376 * * * * * MS : * * 101,355 93,672 192,618 207,531 MO : 647 * 75,639 65,803 198,492 187,809 NC : 6,665 6,891 69,374 69,727 292,859 281,114 OH : * * * * * * PA : * * 10,474 10,475 58,293 57,324 SC : 1,898 2,803 44,280 42,789 74,597 76,400 TN : * * * 5,360 95,760 84,388 TX : 2,811 * 48,259 51,913 157,193 152,794 VA : * * 19,065 21,352 84,710 90,373 : Oth Sts : 13,626 32,666 210,393 228,937 665,953 591,796 : US : 54,641 60,095 973,675 1,020,032 3,224,079 3,372,349 : Mature : Light : 219 444 83,736 105,499 412,889 421,420 Heavy : 777 199 84,213 87,753 156,983 151,333 : US : 996 643 167,949 193,252 569,872 572,753 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *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, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : January : February : January : February : January :February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- ---- Pounds --- : AR : 2,874 2,866 56,575 54,081 19.69 18.87 MN : 2,739 2,655 73,959 71,357 27.00 26.87 MO : 1,384 1,332 44,000 42,556 31.79 31.94 : Oth Sts : 13,568 12,518 435,028 390,948 32.06 31.23 : US : 20,565 19,371 609,562 558,942 29.64 28.85 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, by State and United States, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : January : February : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Pounds -------------- --- Percent --- : AR : 45,652 44,375 945 871 2.03 1.93 MN : 58,621 56,877 1,220 1,328 2.04 2.28 MO : 34,562 33,371 752 738 2.13 2.16 : Oth Sts : 340,192 307,862 5,835 5,496 1.69 1.75 : US : 479,027 442,485 8,752 8,433 1.79 1.87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, January 2007-February 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Young : Old :----------------------------------------------------------- Cause : January : February : January : February -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : 143 48 Septicaemia : 62,763 69,237 2,556 1,258 Airsacculitis : 9,193 9,230 452 267 Synovitis : 3,899 3,932 37 4 Tumors : 132 80 163 115 Bruises : 350 437 19 16 Cadaver : 3,327 2,710 34 28 Contamination : 3,259 2,924 89 129 Overscald : 987 1,418 6 3 Other : 23,703 20,921 2,170 2,889 : Total : 107,756 110,937 5,526 4,709 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 305 plants slaughtered poultry in the U.S. under Federal Inspection in 2005. Young chickens were slaughter in 35 States, young turkeys in 26 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 using 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 . .(202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey(202) 720-3244 Toby Paterson - Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised(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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