HDR1012000150080604971500Poultry Slaughter Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released June 4, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call Jim Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Up 5 Percent Poultry Certified Wholesome during April (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 2.82 billion pounds, up 5 percent from the amount certified in April 1996. Updated totals for March 1997 show that 2.60 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total Live Weight of Poultry Inspected during April 1997 was 3.83 billion pounds. Inspections included 3.17 billion pounds of young chickens, 74.3 million pounds of mature chickens, 570 million pounds of turkeys, and 12.5 million pounds of ducks. Young chickens slaughtered during April 1997 averaged 4.87 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from the average live weight a year ago. The average live weight of mature chickens was down 8 percent from 5.08 pounds per bird the previous year to 4.67 pounds. Turkeys slaughtered during April 1997 averaged 24.3 pounds per bird, up one percent from April 1996. Ante-mortem condemnations during April 1997 totaled 12.5 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.33 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.35 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 66.3 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.92 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.91 percent a year earlier. April 1997 contained 22 weekdays and four Saturdays, the same as April 1996. Each weekday represents approximately 5 percent of the month's total. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Mar 1997 : 608,291 14,044 622,335 1,715 ----- Apr 1996 : 626,220 14,136 640,356 1,621 ----- Apr 1997 : 650,130 15,914 666,044 1,834 ----- : Jan-Apr 1996 : 2,506,533 54,882 2,561,415 6,430 ----- Jan-Apr 1997 : 2,508,830 57,370 2,566,200 7,026 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Mar 1997 : 2,942,628 67,324 3,009,952 11,561 1,156 Apr 1996 : 3,015,292 71,822 3,087,114 10,962 605 Apr 1997 : 3,167,692 74,323 3,242,015 12,455 1,059 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 12,057,846 284,469 12,342,315 43,211 2,382 Jan-Apr 1997 : 12,195,176 279,167 12,474,343 47,150 4,462 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Mar 1997 : 4.84 4.79 4.84 6.74 ----- Apr 1996 : 4.82 5.08 4.82 6.76 ----- Apr 1997 : 4.87 4.67 4.87 6.79 ----- : Jan-Apr 1996 : 4.81 5.18 4.82 6.72 ----- Jan-Apr 1997 : 4.86 4.87 4.86 6.71 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Mar 1997 : --- 21,334 113 21,447 ----- Apr 1996 : 24 22,758 255 23,036 ----- Apr 1997 : 35 23,261 148 23,445 ----- : Jan-Apr 1996 : 68 89,278 681 90,027 ----- Jan-Apr 1997 : 51 87,931 471 88,453 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Mar 1997 : 4 507,994 2,908 510,906 3,533,574 Apr 1996 : 201 546,816 7,382 554,400 3,653,080 Apr 1997 : 318 565,558 4,095 569,971 3,825,500 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 625 2,145,426 18,338 2,164,389 14,552,297 Jan-Apr 1997 : 506 2,130,659 12,815 2,143,979 14,669,934 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Mar 1997 : 8.87 23.81 25.81 23.82 ----- Apr 1996 : 8.53 24.03 28.98 24.07 ----- Apr 1997 : 9.01 24.31 27.62 24.31 ----- : Jan-Apr 1996 : 9.19 24.03 26.92 24.04 ----- Jan-Apr 1997 : 9.90 24.23 27.24 24.24 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: April 1996: 5,339, April 1997: 4,893. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: April 1996: 73, April 1997: 111. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Mar 1997 : Chilled : 1,967,182 39,311 2,006,492 3,063 391 Frozen : 183,685 1,337 185,022 5,121 250 : Total : 2,150,867 40,648 2,191,514 8,184 641 : Apr 1996 : Chilled : 2,027,759 41,760 2,069,519 2,895 160 Frozen : 173,906 1,786 175,692 5,042 188 : Total : 2,201,664 43,546 2,245,211 7,937 349 : Apr 1997 : Chilled : 2,118,832 42,917 2,161,748 3,201 350 Frozen : 194,964 1,596 196,560 5,662 247 : Total : 2,313,796 44,512 2,358,308 8,863 597 : : Jan-Apr 1996 : Chilled : 8,070,594 164,768 8,235,361 11,882 596 Frozen : 741,142 7,655 748,797 19,286 790 : Total : 8,811,736 172,423 8,984,159 31,168 1,386 : Jan-Apr 1997 : Chilled : 8,162,469 161,107 8,323,576 12,628 1,528 Frozen : 737,900 6,271 744,171 21,063 926 : Total : 8,900,369 167,378 9,067,747 33,691 2,453 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Mar 1997 : Chilled : 3 199,177 1,578 200,758 2,210,705 Frozen : --- 200,084 669 200,752 391,145 : Total : 3 399,261 2,246 401,510 2,601,850 : Apr 1996 : Chilled : 1 205,112 4,847 209,960 2,282,535 Frozen : 157 225,802 685 226,643 407,565 : Total : 158 430,913 5,532 436,603 2,690,099 : Apr 1997 : Chilled : --- 211,918 2,407 214,326 2,379,626 Frozen : 232 234,675 712 235,619 438,087 : Total : 233 446,593 3,119 449,945 2,817,713 : : Jan-Apr 1996 : Chilled : 1 835,018 10,422 845,441 9,093,281 Frozen : 493 857,140 3,382 861,014 1,629,888 : Total : 494 1,692,158 13,804 1,706,456 10,723,169 : Jan-Apr 1997 : Chilled : 70 823,026 7,771 830,867 9,168,599 Frozen : 302 852,039 2,047 854,388 1,620,548 : Total : 372 1,675,066 9,818 1,685,256 10,789,147 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Mar 1997 : 9,403 902 10,304 9 7 Apr 1996 : 10,423 979 11,402 6 4 Apr 1997 : 10,201 1,057 11,258 12 3 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 50,607 4,442 55,048 30 12 Jan-Apr 1997 : 42,487 4,602 47,088 39 19 : Percent 2/ : : Apr 1996 : 0.35 1.36 0.37 0.06 0.62 Apr 1997 : 0.32 1.42 0.35 0.10 0.33 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Mar 1997 : 46,183 4,239 50,422 233 10 Apr 1996 : 47,878 3,993 51,871 162 5 Apr 1997 : 50,023 4,670 54,693 242 10 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 198,229 16,308 214,537 640 30 Jan-Apr 1997 : 197,722 17,146 214,868 980 43 : Percent 3/ : : Apr 1996 : 1.76 6.18 1.87 1.64 0.95 Apr 1997 : 1.75 6.98 1.87 2.16 1.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, April 1997 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Mar 1997 : --- 1,812 16 1,828 12,148 Apr 1996 : --- 1,346 44 1,390 12,802 Apr 1997 : 1 1,242 20 1,263 12,536 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 2 6,504 197 6,703 61,794 Jan-Apr 1997 : 1 7,870 116 7,987 55,133 : Percent 2/ : : Apr 1996 : 0.17 0.25 0.59 0.25 0.35 Apr 1997 : 0.21 0.22 0.49 0.22 0.33 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Mar 1997 : --- 9,927 154 10,081 60,747 Apr 1996 : 3 10,368 438 10,810 62,847 Apr 1997 : 8 11,048 250 11,305 66,250 : Jan-Apr 1996 : 7 44,382 1,171 45,560 260,768 Jan-Apr 1997 : 15 44,592 697 45,304 261,195 : Percent 3/ : : Apr 1996 : 1.83 2.11 6.59 2.17 1.91 Apr 1997 : 2.83 2.17 6.77 2.20 1.92 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 71,910 68,439 351,434 333,385 4.89 4.87 AR : 94,642 99,768 456,572 483,190 4.82 4.84 CA : 19,233 20,345 99,301 104,272 5.16 5.13 DE : 23,347 24,321 130,234 133,428 5.58 5.49 FL : 11,582 11,674 53,422 53,654 4.61 4.60 GA : 85,898 95,860 427,771 487,400 4.98 5.08 LA : 13,806 11,319 64,102 49,500 4.64 4.37 MD : 17,782 18,167 84,243 84,023 4.74 4.63 MS : 52,018 61,100 245,146 282,794 4.71 4.63 MO : 28,140 28,585 119,301 125,138 4.24 4.38 NC : 54,958 51,714 281,033 289,088 5.11 5.59 PA : 7,858 9,568 39,914 49,803 5.08 5.21 SC : 19,525 18,494 87,678 85,325 4.49 4.61 TN : 14,112 15,022 62,284 68,175 4.41 4.54 TX : 37,966 41,246 168,569 189,411 4.44 4.59 VA : 29,378 30,176 140,171 143,800 4.77 4.77 WA : 2,843 1,829 14,521 9,145 5.11 5.00 : US : 626,220 650,130 3,015,292 3,167,692 4.82 4.87 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 256,205 247,188 7,161 7,454 2.26 2.48 AR : 327,910 347,667 6,877 6,423 1.67 1.48 CA : 72,766 76,458 1,487 1,533 1.66 1.63 DE : 94,183 95,103 3,074 2,849 2.62 2.37 FL : 38,293 38,191 674 1,002 1.40 2.08 GA : 314,033 358,592 6,607 7,349 1.72 1.68 LA : 46,305 35,625 1,055 898 1.83 2.02 MD : 59,954 59,230 1,661 1,600 2.19 2.12 MS : 185,408 213,919 2,621 2,704 1.19 1.06 MO : 86,410 90,705 1,908 1,768 1.78 1.57 NC : 208,527 213,857 4,089 5,377 1.62 2.07 PA : 28,132 34,946 1,153 1,347 3.21 3.00 SC : 64,850 62,556 1,331 1,436 1.69 1.87 TN : 46,062 49,280 640 804 1.14 1.31 TX : 129,074 142,363 2,048 2,477 1.35 1.45 VA : 97,467 100,029 2,117 1,914 1.68 1.48 WA : 10,573 7,004 421 253 3.22 3.07 : US : 2,201,664 2,313,796 47,878 50,023 1.76 1.75 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 7,496 202,325 316,068 5,507 8,821 AR : --- 8,871 347,286 145,989 15,128 9,337 CA : --- --- 99,546 12,928 1,515 7,456 DE : --- 31,804 119,095 159,079 --- --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- 2,321 GA : --- 2,459 184,209 316,559 1,794 15,500 LA : --- --- --- 19,632 --- 2,346 MD : --- --- 105,267 65,671 44 7,942 MS : --- 4,207 105,785 36,638 1,059 7,731 MO : --- 10,423 124,477 26,343 2,377 2,454 NC : --- 31,967 167,337 123,519 185 33,259 PA : --- --- 41,581 45,458 404 --- SC : --- 1,701 29,938 77,762 --- 3,206 TN : --- --- 59,480 19,018 --- --- TX : --- --- 140,929 50,765 614 3,295 VA : --- --- 93,089 59,188 --- --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 154,730 2,100,636 1,527,983 44,803 143,435 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 11,857 24,656 64,946 6,669 301,336 949,681 AR : 14,239 31,540 68,615 5,170 141,661 787,836 CA : 729 7,463 2,993 --- --- 132,630 DE : 3,264 8,712 16,290 4,011 50,341 392,596 FL : 1,668 2,689 10,514 --- --- 17,192 GA : 17,698 44,114 60,202 15,577 232,161 890,273 LA : 1,973 --- --- --- --- 23,951 MD : 2,099 11,512 --- 1,046 22,792 216,373 MS : 6,126 20,275 28,971 2,243 125,962 338,997 MO : 3,219 11,791 21,867 --- 41,178 244,129 NC : 6,872 31,005 68,855 8,068 225,250 696,317 PA : 2,455 3,144 --- 2,595 33,597 129,234 SC : 3,108 17,927 17,150 2,146 67,843 220,781 TN : 2,469 10,566 --- --- 36,385 127,918 TX : 1,622 10,710 18,208 --- 19,759 245,902 VA : 3,658 8,154 26,762 911 109,546 301,308 WA : --- 565 322 --- --- 887 : US : 90,194 265,065 507,501 57,202 1,653,597 6,545,146 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 14,136 15,914 71,821 74,323 5.08 4.67 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 43,546 44,512 3,993 4,670 6.18 6.98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- 31 --- --- 20 --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 4,419 304,876 24,292 624 165,604 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- 55 263 --- --- 369 GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 39,429 57,401 210,867 5,063 69,489 882,064 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,213 2,199 43,523 38,787 19.66 17.64 CA : 1,605 1,471 33,491 33,415 20.86 22.72 IA : 1,014 1,040 30,484 29,259 30.08 28.13 MN : 3,142 3,346 68,475 76,973 21.80 23.01 MO : 1,931 2,089 50,719 57,158 26.27 27.36 NC : 4,156 3,726 100,295 97,850 24.13 26.26 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 3,190 3,180 62,203 64,386 19.50 20.24 : US : 22,758 23,261 546,816 565,558 24.03 24.31 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, April 1996-97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 : 1996 : 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 35,690 32,019 683 587 1.74 1.68 CA : 27,515 27,373 470 456 1.56 1.51 IA : 23,790 22,853 839 661 3.06 2.51 MN : 53,392 60,196 1,600 2,245 2.60 3.24 MO : 39,961 45,521 1,452 1,183 3.18 2.30 NC : 78,941 77,612 1,454 1,568 1.61 1.78 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 48,837 50,259 893 1,087 1.60 1.88 : US : 430,913 446,593 10,368 11,048 2.11 2.17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 6,545 450 --- --- CA : --- --- 7,072 --- --- --- IA : --- --- --- 4,147 --- --- MN : --- --- 21,113 5,921 1,678 23 MO : --- --- 20,393 --- 273 --- NC : --- --- 4,651 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- 593 --- --- VA : --- 5 --- 1,012 --- --- : US : --- 598 104,377 20,491 7,094 449 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- 477 1,300 --- --- 8,772 CA : 16 --- --- --- --- 7,088 IA : --- --- --- --- --- 4,147 MN : --- 1,153 2,438 161 2,116 34,603 MO : 111 215 --- 10 1,199 22,201 NC : 87 2,293 --- --- 958 7,989 PA : --- --- --- --- --- 593 VA : 34 918 261 --- --- 2,230 : US : 1,060 7,095 10,093 2,304 16,293 169,854 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, April 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- 3 3,901 584 --- 211 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 14 161 199 164 896 6,133 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Annual totals of poultry slaughtered under State-administered Non-Federal Inspection (NFI) are published in the April release. 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 Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, U.S., April 1996-1997................................................... 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 12 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., April 1996-1997................................................... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., April 1996-1997................................................... 15 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., April 1996........................................................ 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., April 1996............................................... 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., April 1996................................... 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 16 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997.................. 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 14 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., April 1996-1997............................... 13 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3 P.M. 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