Pou 2-1 (1-09) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 26, 2009, 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 Up 2 Percent from Last Year Poultry certified wholesome during December 2008 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.47 billion pounds, up 2 percent from the amount certified in December 2007. The November 2008 revised certified total at 3.22 billion pounds, was down 10 percent from November 2007. The November revision represented an increase of 1.39 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during December 2008 was 4.64 billion pounds, up 1 percent from 4.58 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 3.94 billion pounds, up slightly from December 2007. Mature chickens, at 63.8 million pounds, were up 5 percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 617 million pounds, up 6 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 14.7 million pounds, down 2 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during December 2008 averaged 5.56 pounds per bird, down 1 percent from December 2007. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.56 pounds per bird, down 2 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during December 2008 averaged 29.6 pounds per bird, up 2 percent from December 2007. Ante-mortem condemnations during December 2008 totaled 14.4 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.31 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.33 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 41.0 million pounds, were 1.17 percent of quantities inspected, as compared with 1.21 percent a year earlier. December 2008 contained 23 weekdays (including one holiday) and 4 Saturdays, while December 2007 had 21 weekdays (including one holiday) and 5 Saturdays. Special Note Beginning with the February 25, 2009 monthly release of the Poultry Slaughter report, young chicken post-mortem State level data by cause for Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee will be discontinued. Young chicken post-mortem State level data by cause will continue to be published for the nine remaining states. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, December, 2007-2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date :Pct Commodity : Dec : Nov : Dec :Dec :Nov :---------------------: of : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 :2007:2008: 2007 : 2008 :2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :--------- 1,000 Head -------- Pct ----- 1,000 Head ---- Pct : Number : Slaughtered : : Chickens : Young : 702,172 639,120 709,846 101 111 8,898,486 8,915,326 100 Mature : 10,756 10,574 11,476 107 109 132,549 154,056 116 Light : 5,339 4,439 5,527 104 125 56,692 69,672 123 Heavy : 5,417 6,135 5,949 110 97 75,857 84,384 111 Total : 712,928 649,694 721,322 101 111 9,031,035 9,069,382 100 : Turkeys : Young : 19,806 22,923 20,697 104 90 262,791 269,545 103 Old : 196 125 170 87 136 2,178 2,080 96 Total : 20,002 23,048 20,867 104 91 264,969 271,625 103 : Ducks : 2,206 1,794 2,196 100 122 27,311 24,165 88 : :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct ---- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :3,927,040 3,584,405 3,943,655 100 110 49,043,355 49,752,736 101 Mature : 60,871 61,577 63,823 105 104 795,192 891,494 112 Light : 17,580 14,428 17,807 101 123 186,920 227,052 121 Heavy : 43,291 47,149 46,016 106 98 608,272 664,442 109 Total :3,987,911 3,645,982 4,007,478 100 110 49,838,547 50,644,230 102 : Turkeys : Young : 574,643 633,769 612,777 107 97 7,451,852 7,806,864 105 Old : 5,338 3,315 4,632 87 140 57,092 55,319 97 Total : 579,981 637,084 617,409 106 97 7,508,944 7,862,183 105 : Ducks : 15,034 12,026 14,744 98 123 183,932 161,990 88 Other : Poultry 2/: 211 483 204 97 42 3,691 4,261 115 : Total : Poultry :4,583,137 4,295,575 4,639,835 101 108 57,535,114 58,672,664 102 : : --------- Pounds -------- Pct ---- Pounds ---- Pct : Avg Live : Weight : : Chickens : Young : 5.59 5.61 5.56 99 99 5.51 5.58 101 Mature : 5.66 5.82 5.56 98 96 6.00 5.79 97 Light : 3.29 3.25 3.22 98 99 3.30 3.26 99 Heavy : 7.99 7.69 7.74 97 101 8.02 7.87 98 Total : 5.59 5.61 5.56 99 99 5.52 5.58 101 : Turkeys : Young : 29.01 27.65 29.61 102 107 28.36 28.96 102 Old : 27.23 26.52 27.25 100 103 26.21 26.60 101 Total : 29.00 27.64 29.59 102 107 28.34 28.94 102 : Ducks : 6.82 6.70 6.71 98 100 6.73 6.70 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, and squab. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, December, 2007-2008 1/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date : Pct Commodity : Dec : Nov : Dec : Dec : Nov :---------------------: of : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 :2007 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- -- Pct -- ---- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Chilled : Chickens : Young :2,623,674 2,408,928 2,667,653 102 111 32,725,174 33,380,766 102 Mature : 37,249 38,426 39,435 106 103 492,066 549,305 112 Light : 8,496 7,245 9,100 107 126 95,442 112,231 118 Heavy : 28,753 31,181 30,335 106 97 396,624 437,074 110 Total :2,660,923 2,447,354 2,707,088 102 111 33,217,240 33,930,071 102 : Turkeys : Young : 263,716 322,431 308,612 117 96 3,388,548 3,706,244 109 Old : 3,136 1,845 2,591 83 140 33,094 30,705 93 Total : 266,852 324,276 311,203 117 96 3,421,642 3,736,949 109 : Ducks : 5,386 3,177 3,839 71 121 64,574 46,281 72 Other : Poultry2/: 95 79 104 109 132 1,056 1,098 104 : Total : Poultry :2,933,256 2,774,886 3,022,234 103 109 36,704,512 37,714,399 103 : Frozen : Chickens : Young : 275,132 256,460 264,061 96 103 3,400,587 3,482,809 102 Mature : 1,028 173 276 27 160 6,276 10,115 161 Light : 962 8 1 1,545 6,207 402 Heavy : 66 173 268 406 155 4,731 3,908 83 Total : 276,160 256,633 264,337 96 103 3,406,863 3,492,924 103 : Turkeys : Young : 193,620 185,467 178,845 92 96 2,525,925 2,515,216 100 Old : 897 697 953 106 137 10,013 11,077 111 Total : 194,517 186,164 179,798 92 97 2,535,938 2,526,293 100 : Ducks : 5,386 5,424 6,685 124 123 67,064 70,083 105 Other : Poultry2/: 48 203 31 65 15 1,113 1,445 130 : Total : Poultry : 476,111 448,424 450,851 95 101 6,010,978 6,090,745 101 : Chilled and: Frozen : Chickens : Young :2,898,806 2,665,388 2,931,714 101 110 36,125,761 36,863,575 102 Mature : 38,277 38,599 39,711 104 103 498,342 559,420 112 Light : 9,458 7,245 9,108 96 126 96,987 118,438 122 Heavy : 28,819 31,354 30,603 106 98 401,355 440,982 110 Total :2,937,083 2,703,987 2,971,425 101 110 36,624,103 37,422,995 102 : Turkeys : Young : 457,336 507,898 487,457 107 96 5,914,473 6,221,460 105 Old : 4,033 2,542 3,544 88 139 43,107 41,782 97 Total : 461,369 510,440 491,001 106 96 5,957,580 6,263,242 105 : Ducks : 10,772 8,601 10,524 98 122 131,638 116,364 88 Other : Poultry2/: 143 282 135 94 48 2,169 2,543 117 : Total : Poultry :3,409,367 3,223,310 3,473,085 102 108 42,715,490 43,805,144 103 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December, 2007-2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Dec : Nov : Dec : Dec : Nov :---------------: of : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 :2007 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :12,651 9,399 11,562 91 123 167,093 153,952 92 Mature : 952 746 1,159 122 155 14,441 14,699 102 Light : 296 166 289 98 174 4,062 4,230 104 Heavy : 656 580 870 133 150 10,379 10,469 101 Total :13,603 10,145 12,721 94 125 181,534 168,651 93 : Turkeys : Young : 1,522 1,342 1,595 105 119 21,600 19,833 92 Old : 68 34 51 75 150 719 613 85 Total : 1,590 1,376 1,646 104 120 22,319 20,446 92 : Ducks : 32 45 53 166 118 452 492 109 Other Poultry : 1 1 19 13 68 : Total Poultry :15,226 11,567 14,420 95 125 204,324 189,602 93 : : Percent : Percent of Live : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 0.32 0.26 0.29 91 112 0.34 0.31 91 Mature : 1.56 1.21 1.82 117 150 1.82 1.65 91 Light : 1.68 1.15 1.62 96 141 2.17 1.86 86 Heavy : 1.52 1.23 1.89 124 154 1.71 1.58 92 Total : 0.34 0.28 0.32 94 114 0.36 0.33 92 : Turkeys : Young : 0.26 0.21 0.26 100 124 0.29 0.25 86 Old : 1.27 1.03 1.10 87 107 1.26 1.11 88 Total : 0.27 0.22 0.27 100 123 0.30 0.26 87 : Ducks : 0.21 0.37 0.36 171 97 0.25 0.30 120 Other Poultry : 0.47 0.21 0.51 0.31 61 : Total Poultry : 0.33 0.27 0.31 94 115 0.36 0.32 89 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of live weight pounds inspected. Poultry Slaughter: Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, December, 2007-2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Dec : Nov : Dec : Dec : Nov :---------------: of : 2007 : 2008 : 2008 :2007 :2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Carcass and Parts : : Chickens : Young :30,948 25,388 29,589 96 117 391,941 377,944 96 Mature : 2,756 2,953 3,024 110 102 36,878 40,638 110 Light : 1,061 1,075 1,225 115 114 13,432 14,525 108 Heavy : 1,695 1,878 1,799 106 96 23,446 26,113 111 Total :33,704 28,341 32,613 97 115 428,819 418,582 98 : Turkeys : Young : 7,564 7,330 7,845 104 107 101,858 100,150 98 Old : 269 118 163 61 138 2,981 2,712 91 Total : 7,833 7,448 8,008 102 108 104,839 102,862 98 : Ducks : 280 294 375 134 128 3,867 3,352 87 Other Poultry : 2 2 1 50 50 56 25 45 : Total Poultry :41,819 36,085 40,997 98 114 537,581 524,821 98 : : Percent : Percent of : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 1.06 0.94 1.00 95 106 1.07 1.01 95 Mature : 6.72 7.11 7.08 105 100 6.89 6.77 98 Light : 10.09 12.92 11.86 118 92 12.16 10.92 90 Heavy : 5.55 5.65 5.55 100 98 5.52 5.59 101 Total : 1.13 1.04 1.09 96 105 1.16 1.11 96 : Turkeys : Young : 1.63 1.42 1.58 97 111 1.69 1.58 94 Old : 6.25 4.44 4.40 70 99 6.47 6.10 94 Total : 1.67 1.44 1.60 96 112 1.73 1.62 93 : Ducks : 2.53 3.31 3.44 136 104 2.85 2.80 98 Other Poultry : 1.38 0.70 0.74 53 104 2.52 0.97 39 : Total Poultry : 1.21 1.11 1.17 96 105 1.24 1.18 95 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Poultry Slaughter: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Chickens : Young : 7,224 6,486 744,683 886,408 Mature : 1,112 1,586 163,650 196,267 Light : 987 1,480 128,744 163,330 Heavy : 125 106 34,906 32,937 Total : 8,336 8,072 908,333 1,082,675 : Turkeys : Young : 59 104 53,673 58,893 Old : 1,383 2,179 Total : 59 104 55,056 61,072 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Chickens : Young : 353,019 525,816 4,551 6,897 43,821 51,932 Mature : 9,468 11,096 382 257 50,861 60,738 Light : 6,688 8,233 251 75 44,557 53,843 Heavy : 2,780 2,863 131 182 6,304 6,895 Total : 362,487 536,912 4,933 7,154 94,682 112,670 : Turkeys : Young : 4,437 4,967 2,323 2,606 196 88 Old : 478 379 1 34 47 Total : 4,915 5,346 2,323 2,607 230 135 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Chickens : Young : 12,463 13,639 64,329 83,175 101,099 111,836 Mature : 9,689 11,389 2,621 3,375 90,535 99,258 Light : 8,588 10,464 1,713 2,061 79,979 89,910 Heavy : 1,101 925 908 1,314 10,556 9,348 Total : 22,152 25,028 66,950 86,550 191,634 211,094 : Turkeys : Young : 450 224 2,588 2,381 2,942 2,648 Old : 7 5 44 28 61 181 Total : 457 229 2,632 2,409 3,003 2,829 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Overscald : Other : Total :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Chickens : Young : 35,833 42,713 635,580 773,356 2,002,602 2,502,258 Mature : 996 2,430 184,321 164,184 513,635 550,580 Light : 679 1,068 79,507 65,773 351,693 396,237 Heavy : 317 1,362 104,814 98,411 161,942 154,343 Total : 36,829 45,143 819,901 937,540 2,516,237 3,052,838 : Turkeys : Young : 324 810 13,550 10,922 80,542 83,643 Old : 1 8 140 164 2,148 2,992 Total : 325 818 13,690 11,086 82,690 86,635 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December :November :December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 80,209 84,905 434,073 455,590 5.41 5.37 AR : 76,858 86,669 430,351 484,516 5.60 5.59 DE : 21,327 24,582 150,356 171,259 7.05 6.97 GA : 92,865 103,592 494,387 544,997 5.32 5.26 KY : 22,110 24,014 122,206 128,853 5.53 5.37 LA : 13,397 14,362 80,497 84,156 6.01 5.86 MD : 9,426 10,990 47,064 54,006 4.99 4.91 MS : 57,448 61,454 336,085 351,086 5.85 5.71 MO : 29,600 33,779 139,648 159,595 4.72 4.72 NY : 1,367 1,580 7,134 8,225 5.22 5.21 NC : 53,174 59,362 372,807 414,205 7.01 6.98 OH : 3,810 4,371 22,474 25,097 5.90 5.74 PA : 8,877 9,545 51,881 55,292 5.84 5.79 SC : 22,481 24,508 144,221 153,996 6.42 6.28 TN : 17,710 21,028 91,567 110,049 5.17 5.23 TX : 49,817 56,399 267,726 295,533 5.37 5.24 VA : 23,357 26,062 111,272 124,366 4.76 4.77 : US 1/ : 639,120 709,846 3,584,405 3,943,655 5.61 5.56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Included in "US" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Published States do not add to US total to avoid disclosure. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------------- 1,000 Pounds --------------- --- Percent --- : AL : 328,192 342,396 2,578 2,932 0.78 0.85 AR : 310,497 349,969 3,307 3,906 1.05 1.10 DE : 108,421 123,462 1,235 1,500 1.13 1.20 GA : 370,846 409,534 2,809 3,269 0.75 0.79 KY : 89,116 94,617 436 1,007 0.49 1.05 LA : 59,908 62,161 303 296 0.50 0.47 MD : 33,994 39,112 466 559 1.35 1.41 MS : 251,374 266,137 2,602 2,500 1.02 0.93 MO : 102,983 117,421 1,121 1,408 1.08 1.18 NY : 4,368 4,981 135 103 3.00 2.03 NC : 286,779 318,655 3,501 4,295 1.21 1.33 OH : 16,493 18,596 334 320 1.98 1.69 PA : 36,097 38,284 869 1,027 2.35 2.61 SC : 108,428 115,617 856 820 0.78 0.70 TN : 66,338 79,694 519 590 0.78 0.73 TX : 207,520 227,936 1,647 1,810 0.79 0.79 VA : 78,167 86,964 515 640 0.65 0.73 : US 3/ : 2,665,388 2,931,714 25,388 29,589 0.94 1.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Included in "US" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. 3/ Published States do not add to US total to avoid disclosure. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : AL : * * 54,485 57,357 AR : 433 373 100,721 126,290 DE : * * 51,359 61,227 GA : 118 109 59,901 66,212 KY : 21 * 23,915 27,893 LA : * * 7,895 7,695 MD : * * 18,462 19,233 MS : * * 36,362 32,371 MO : 329 300 62,316 86,918 NY : 94 * * 2,660 NC : 199 * 75,216 95,325 OH : * 7,419 8,663 PA : * * 12,042 15,984 SC : * * * 5,602 TN : * 90 24,209 31,342 TX : 61 90 36,313 41,946 VA : 63 * 20,890 25,225 : US 1/ : 7,224 6,486 744,683 886,408 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : AL : 53,796 64,139 308 320 * * AR : 23,253 36,864 1,658 1,996 2,017 2,354 DE : 15,926 23,445 * * 5,891 6,937 GA : 75,192 103,186 * * * * KY : 15,775 * * * * * LA : 1,929 2,264 * * 141 209 MD : * * 17 * * * MS : 20,671 23,471 239 * 615 621 MO : * 18,208 173 175 1,225 1,686 NY : 3,274 2,653 73 71 165 110 NC : 35,609 66,806 62 * 8,341 9,683 OH : 2,492 2,771 * 5 * * PA : 5,470 9,147 75 78 204 228 SC : 5,601 5,330 * * * * TN : 11,061 12,373 * * 615 901 TX : 10,786 14,074 * 46 546 685 VA : 11,271 17,668 * * * * : US 1/ : 353,019 525,816 4,551 6,897 43,821 51,932 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnote(s) at end of table. --continued Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 (continued) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : AL : 1,311 1,524 4,781 5,401 8,288 9,059 AR : 1,598 1,654 8,181 12,339 10,466 10,202 DE : 760 738 2,776 3,219 3,016 3,735 GA : 861 1,112 14,802 17,334 8,879 10,044 KY : * * 2,245 3,518 2,925 3,078 LA : 109 * 1,784 2,161 689 612 MD : * * 754 1,031 * * MS : * * 1,890 2,085 * * MO : 524 644 1,757 2,433 6,680 6,404 NY : 406 531 * * 1,809 1,804 NC : 1,385 1,358 9,903 11,967 7,046 7,191 OH : 104 119 1,663 2,069 314 342 PA : * 321 520 * 3,122 3,276 SC : 328 346 * * 1,076 757 TN : * * 827 1,301 * 1,831 TX : 284 345 2,507 3,715 * 5,537 VA : 733 761 1,459 1,655 2,465 2,571 : US 1/ : 12,463 13,639 64,329 83,175 101,099 111,836 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Other : Total :------------------------------------------------------------------ : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : AL : 4,769 3,767 86,834 103,231 217,337 248,426 AR : 1,274 1,767 49,044 61,875 198,645 255,714 DE : 729 1,350 12,247 20,767 94,795 122,734 GA : 3,568 3,367 56,426 70,615 227,331 281,639 KY : * * * * 55,403 * LA : * * 1,577 864 14,200 14,032 MD : 603 * * * * * MS : * * 54,307 52,546 121,525 118,639 MO : * 74 70,321 91,033 155,962 207,875 NY : * * * * 18,397 19,202 NC : 11,305 11,179 79,033 113,162 228,099 317,101 OH : * * * * * * PA : * * * 26,007 47,697 57,068 SC : * * 34,686 32,938 51,714 49,112 TN : 503 639 * * 41,822 51,950 TX : * 776 39,329 48,975 96,793 116,189 VA : * 996 * 20,609 58,352 72,599 : US 1/ : 35,833 42,713 635,580 773,356 2,002,602 2,502,258 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Included in "US" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Published States do not add to US total to avoid disclosure. Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December :November :December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- ---- Pounds --- : AR : 3,195 3,136 65,074 61,129 20.37 19.49 MN : 3,350 2,923 88,844 84,769 26.52 29.00 MO : * * * * * * : US 1/ : 22,923 20,697 633,769 612,777 27.65 29.61 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Included in "US" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Published States do not add to US total to avoid disclosure. Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, by State and United States, November 2008-December 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Pounds -------------- --- Percent --- : AR : 55,197 50,528 661 726 1.18 1.42 MN : 71,378 67,736 1,322 1,318 1.82 1.91 MO : * * * * * * : US 3/ : 507,898 487,457 7,330 7,845 1.42 1.58 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Included in "US" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. 3/ Published States do not add to US total to avoid disclosure. 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. 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. 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. 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 2007. Young chickens were slaughtered in 35 States, young turkeys in 26 States. Revision Policy: Data for the previous month and year-to-date totals are subject to revision the following month after the initial monthly estimates are published. Final data are published in the annual summary released in February and include any revisions made to current year's and previous year's published data. Revisions are generally the result of late reports or corrections received by FSIS from plants and are usually less than one-half of 1 percent. No revisions will be made to the previous year's data after publication of the annual summary in February. 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 and those published States that are confidential (denoted by an *) are included in the "US" category. 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 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section...(202) 720-4447 David Colwell - Cold Storage..............................(202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised..........................................(202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey...................................................(202) 720-3244 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs................................(202) 690-8632 Bruce Boess - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink....................................................(202) 720-4447 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. 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