Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 4, 1999, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call John Lange (202) 720-058 or Mike Barker (202)720-3243, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Up 8 Percent Poultry certified wholesome during March (ready-to-cook weight), totaled 3.06 billion pounds, up 8 percent from the amount certified in March 1998. Updated totals for February 1998 show that 2.67 billion pounds were certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during March 1999 was 4.15 billion pounds. Inspections included 3.50 billion pounds of young chickens, 81.3 million pounds of mature chickens, 548 million pounds of turkeys, and 13.3 million pounds of ducks. Young chickens slaughtered during March 1999 averaged 5.03 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from 1998. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.04 pounds per bird, down 1 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during March 1999 averaged 25.4 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from March 1998. Ante-mortem condemnations during March 1999 totaled 16.4 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.39 percent of the live weight inspected, compared with 0.42 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 72.8 million pounds (N.Y. dressed weight), were 1.95 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 2.05 percent a year earlier. March 1999 contained 23 weekdays and four Saturdays, while March 1998 contained 22 weekdays and four Saturdays. Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature 2/ : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 1999 : 615,952 13,425 629,377 1,841 ----- Mar 1998 : 653,139 13,014 666,154 1,887 ----- Mar 1999 : 696,453 16,144 712,597 1,989 ----- : Jan-Mar 1998 : 1,929,419 40,476 1,969,895 5,631 ----- Jan-Mar 1999 : 1,975,982 44,804 2,020,786 5,758 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 1999 : 3,076,610 69,253 3,145,863 12,292 631 Mar 1998 : 3,197,296 66,330 3,263,626 12,575 1,070 Mar 1999 : 3,502,651 81,342 3,583,993 13,325 919 : Jan-Mar 1998 : 9,360,824 205,192 9,566,016 37,602 3,192 Jan-Mar 1999 : 9,896,838 226,102 10,122,940 38,586 2,369 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 1999 : 4.99 5.16 5.00 6.68 ----- Mar 1998 : 4.90 5.10 4.90 6.66 ----- Mar 1999 : 5.03 5.04 5.03 6.70 ----- : Jan-Mar 1998 : 4.85 5.07 4.86 6.68 ----- Jan-Mar 1999 : 5.01 5.05 5.01 6.70 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young 3/ : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head Number Inspected : : Feb 1999 : --- 17,788 140 17,928 ----- Mar 1998 : --- 22,320 136 22,456 ----- Mar 1999 : --- 21,424 140 21,564 ----- : Jan-Mar 1998 : --- 64,596 460 65,056 ----- Jan-Mar 1999 : --- 58,987 378 59,365 ----- : : 1,000 Pounds Live Weight : : Feb 1999 : --- 454,734 3,759 458,493 3,617,279 Mar 1998 : --- 559,013 4,009 563,022 3,840,293 Mar 1999 : --- 544,451 3,789 548,241 4,146,477 : Jan-Mar 1998 : --- 1,624,963 12,615 1,637,579 11,244,388 Jan-Mar 1999 : --- 1,518,161 10,189 1,528,350 11,692,244 : : Pounds Average Live Weight : : Feb 1999 : --- 25.56 26.82 25.57 ----- Mar 1998 : --- 25.05 29.40 25.07 ----- Mar 1999 : --- 25.41 27.05 25.42 ----- : Jan-Mar 1998 : --- 25.16 27.40 25.17 ----- Jan-Mar 1999 : --- 25.74 26.98 25.74 ----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: March 1998: 5,073, March 1999: 6,027. 3/ Of the Young Turkeys inspected, the number reported in thousands as young breeders was: March 1998: 116, March 1999: 89. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :---------------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 1999 : Chilled : 2,059,489 37,747 2,097,236 3,611 230 Frozen : 194,003 3,822 197,825 4,904 123 : Total : 2,253,492 41,569 2,295,060 8,514 353 : Mar 1998 : Chilled : 2,115,387 37,317 2,152,703 3,051 370 Frozen : 217,191 2,894 220,085 5,870 211 : Total : 2,332,577 40,211 2,372,789 8,921 582 : Mar 1999 : Chilled : 2,339,982 46,379 2,386,361 3,701 330 Frozen : 227,216 3,130 230,347 5,628 201 : Total : 2,567,199 49,509 2,616,708 9,329 531 : : Jan-Mar 1998 : Chilled : 6,217,914 113,836 6,331,750 9,234 1,155 Frozen : 628,080 9,614 637,694 17,421 659 : Total : 6,845,994 123,450 6,969,444 26,656 1,814 : Jan-Mar 1999 : Chilled : 6,616,179 126,563 6,742,742 10,677 901 Frozen : 629,570 10,074 639,644 16,282 446 : Total : 7,245,750 136,637 7,382,387 26,959 1,347 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :---------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Feb 1999 : Chilled : --- 166,382 2,002 168,385 2,269,461 Frozen : --- 193,203 803 194,006 396,858 : Total : --- 359,585 2,806 362,391 2,666,319 : Mar 1998 : Chilled : --- 214,576 2,357 216,933 2,373,059 Frozen : --- 223,193 801 223,994 450,160 : Total : --- 437,769 3,158 440,927 2,823,219 : Mar 1999 : Chilled : --- 204,008 2,091 206,099 2,596,491 Frozen : --- 222,825 772 223,597 459,773 : Total : --- 426,834 2,862 429,696 3,056,264 : : Jan-Mar 1998 : Chilled : --- 618,341 6,395 624,736 6,966,875 Frozen : --- 657,675 3,128 660,803 1,316,578 : Total : --- 1,276,015 9,524 1,285,539 8,283,452 : Jan-Mar 1999 : Chilled : --- 569,820 5,559 575,380 7,329,700 Frozen : --- 625,524 2,057 627,581 1,283,954 : Total : --- 1,195,344 7,617 1,202,961 8,613,654 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. Totals may not add due to rounding. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Chickens : : Other :------------------------------------: Ducks : Poultry : Young : Mature : Total : : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 1999 : 12,660 849 13,509 13 4 Mar 1998 : 13,392 774 14,165 11 1 Mar 1999 : 13,991 983 14,974 18 6 : Jan-Mar 1998 : 38,066 3,008 41,075 34 6 Jan-Mar 1999 : 42,861 3,056 45,917 49 14 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 1998 : 0.42 1.17 0.43 0.08 0.13 Mar 1999 : 0.40 1.21 0.42 0.13 0.69 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 1999 : 48,316 4,305 52,621 294 5 Mar 1998 : 53,817 4,389 58,206 266 9 Mar 1999 : 56,384 4,890 61,273 312 7 : Jan-Mar 1998 : 153,371 12,628 165,999 784 27 Jan-Mar 1999 : 159,841 13,852 173,693 897 16 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 1998 : 1.87 7.35 1.98 2.35 0.95 Mar 1999 : 1.79 6.68 1.90 2.60 0.79 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See footnotes at end of table. -- continued Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, March 1999 with Comparisons 1/ (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Turkeys : :--------------------------------------------: Total : Fryer- : : : Total : Poultry : Roasters : Young : Old : Turkeys : :------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds Ante-Mortem : (Live Weight) : : Feb 1999 : --- 1,126 35 1,161 14,688 Mar 1998 : --- 1,756 31 1,787 15,964 Mar 1999 : --- 1,323 38 1,361 16,359 : Jan-Mar 1998 : --- 4,719 99 4,818 45,932 Jan-Mar 1999 : --- 4,193 102 4,295 50,275 : Percent 2/ : : Mar 1998 : --- 0.31 0.77 0.32 0.42 Mar 1999 : --- 0.24 0.99 0.25 0.39 : : 1,000 Pounds Post-Mortem : (N.Y. Dressed Weight) : : Feb 1999 : --- 9,292 227 9,519 62,438 Mar 1998 : --- 12,044 243 12,287 70,768 Mar 1999 : --- 11,021 234 11,256 72,848 : Jan-Mar 1998 : --- 34,754 900 35,654 202,465 Jan-Mar 1999 : --- 30,896 697 31,593 206,198 : Percent 3/ : : Mar 1998 : --- 2.39 6.73 2.42 2.05 Mar 1999 : --- 2.25 6.87 2.28 1.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 69,588 78,881 350,228 402,580 5.03 5.10 AR : 100,684 105,663 485,183 516,553 4.82 4.89 CA : 20,217 22,339 103,725 119,748 5.13 5.36 DE : 22,751 23,190 126,746 135,489 5.57 5.84 FL : 11,044 11,252 53,042 60,473 4.80 5.37 GA : 94,959 102,103 473,409 505,627 4.99 4.95 LA : 11,712 14,187 53,859 62,389 4.60 4.40 MD : 17,637 17,733 82,857 85,014 4.70 4.79 MS : 57,310 62,019 275,920 318,298 4.81 5.13 MO : 28,291 30,663 119,167 138,960 4.21 4.53 NC : 52,661 52,036 290,517 298,889 5.52 5.74 PA : 9,505 9,484 48,628 50,392 5.12 5.31 SC : 19,367 18,386 90,048 88,952 4.65 4.84 TN : 15,105 17,429 68,115 87,295 4.51 5.01 TX : 41,850 45,932 196,722 219,111 4.70 4.77 VA : 28,774 30,363 138,777 147,935 4.82 4.87 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 653,139 696,453 3,197,296 3,502,651 4.90 5.03 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AL : 254,144 300,828 7,867 8,850 2.50 2.44 AR : 345,874 375,021 6,327 7,356 1.45 1.58 CA : 73,347 87,909 1,669 1,581 1.79 1.47 DE : 92,033 98,989 2,630 3,112 2.31 2.55 FL : 37,975 43,197 1,147 1,115 2.40 2.05 GA : 351,279 372,175 8,105 8,689 1.90 1.91 LA : 37,585 43,628 971 1,485 2.00 2.64 MD : 60,071 60,825 1,284 1,373 1.72 1.79 MS : 211,479 233,673 5,047 3,996 2.03 1.39 MO : 87,147 102,167 1,468 1,623 1.37 1.30 NC : 215,567 224,850 5,081 5,039 1.94 1.87 PA : 32,988 34,937 1,363 1,330 3.11 2.93 SC : 66,085 65,608 2,026 1,696 2.50 2.12 TN : 49,257 63,848 716 947 1.17 1.21 TX : 148,660 163,873 2,661 2,605 1.50 1.32 VA : 96,417 103,144 1,850 1,878 1.48 1.41 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 2,332,577 2,567,199 53,817 56,384 1.87 1.79 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : --- 2,246 227,282 503,595 2,300 18,692 AR : --- 4,068 374,856 183,660 8,684 7,136 CA : --- 7,734 122,142 6,199 1,579 4,932 DE : --- 11,979 118,500 123,684 110 --- FL : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- 23,739 181,067 459,521 --- 12,304 LA : --- --- 44,257 --- 160 2,056 MD : --- 7,819 111,761 65,227 102 12,087 MS : --- 3,338 162,434 123,995 1,938 4,401 MO : --- 3,969 103,624 50,853 3,136 2,119 NC : --- --- 175,507 121,107 --- 62,343 PA : --- --- 46,446 44,881 222 --- SC : --- 2,770 35,581 72,835 38 --- TN : --- 339 61,039 23,310 --- --- TX : --- --- 148,332 89,169 1,209 2,821 VA : --- --- 90,174 95,975 112 --- WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 134,056 2,261,631 2,124,483 35,198 197,892 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AL : 10,466 40,099 61,834 16,767 304,731 1,188,012 AR : 12,308 41,864 55,173 4,328 154,900 846,977 CA : 796 6,325 2,890 --- 27,294 179,891 DE : 2,781 11,762 16,902 3,799 64,860 354,377 FL : 1,605 3,698 7,426 161 --- 12,890 GA : 13,667 46,279 64,987 9,549 510,289 1,321,402 LA : 1,720 8,207 --- --- 18,687 75,087 MD : 2,007 8,698 --- 1,456 35,735 244,892 MS : 5,745 36,655 31,306 753 148,809 519,374 MO : 2,590 15,597 18,175 712 34,592 235,367 NC : 6,804 38,585 41,653 6,903 127,727 580,629 PA : 2,353 3,567 --- --- 37,351 134,820 SC : 4,698 18,878 9,133 3,012 72,089 219,034 TN : 2,899 9,240 --- 1,753 25,138 123,718 TX : 1,838 13,503 18,473 --- 14,114 289,459 VA : 2,342 9,950 9,115 1,714 72,702 282,084 WA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 80,886 339,315 477,661 58,553 1,807,263 7,516,938 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 13,014 16,144 66,330 81,342 5.10 5.04 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Mature Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 40,211 49,509 4,389 4,890 7.35 6.68 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : --- 6,619 382,244 17,678 821 166,055 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : CA : --- --- --- --- --- --- GA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 36,301 48,526 221,261 2,144 68,324 949,973 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and United States, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Average : Number : Live Weight : Live Weight State : Inspected : Inspected : Inspected 1/ :-----------------------:---------------------------:------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ------ ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AR : 2,321 2,312 42,100 43,586 18.14 18.85 CA : 1,590 1,365 36,228 30,826 22.78 22.59 IA : 1,087 1,369 29,117 41,563 26.78 30.35 MN : 3,251 2,924 78,595 72,627 24.17 24.84 MO : 2,046 1,945 55,925 54,636 27.33 28.09 NC : 3,691 2,629 95,198 64,736 25.79 24.62 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 22,320 21,424 559,013 544,451 25.05 25.41 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average weight based on unrounded data. Young Turkeys (Mature) Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and United States, March 1998-99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations : Total :----------------------------------------- State : Certified 1/ : N.Y. Dressed Weight : Percent 2/ :-----------------------------:----------------------------------------- : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 : 1998 : 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------------ 1,000 Pounds ------------------ -- Percent -- : AR : 34,815 35,714 693 636 1.83 1.62 CA : 28,372 25,046 476 420 1.46 1.51 IA : 22,549 32,293 714 1,160 2.72 3.10 MN : 61,221 57,489 2,246 1,805 3.18 2.76 MO : 43,888 43,633 1,275 1,218 2.53 2.48 NC : 75,901 49,610 1,898 1,050 2.22 1.80 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- --- --- --- --- : US : 437,769 426,834 12,044 11,021 2.39 2.25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, March 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : --- --- 5,074 390 --- --- CA : --- 8 7,236 47 --- --- IA : --- --- --- 3,763 --- --- MN : --- --- 14,070 4,023 --- --- MO : --- --- 18,358 --- --- --- NC : --- --- 5,346 --- --- --- PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : --- --- 5,027 246 --- --- : US : --- 46 93,316 18,266 5,999 106 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : AR : 38 --- --- --- --- 5,502 CA : --- --- 317 33 --- 7,641 IA : 79 --- 690 --- --- 4,532 MN : --- 578 774 --- 1,565 21,010 MO : --- --- 525 --- 1,680 20,563 NC : 111 1,606 --- --- 681 7,744 PA : --- --- --- --- --- --- VA : 43 --- 222 --- 1,524 7,062 : US : 1,026 8,554 8,822 1,877 10,576 148,588 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Turkeys (Breeders) Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, United States, March 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Tuber- : : : Airsac- : : State : culosis : Leukosis : Septicemia : culitis : Synovitis : Tumors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : --- --- 2,089 829 --- 74 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Contam- : : : : Bruises : Cadaver : ination : Overscald : Other : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : US : 10 141 186 6 528 3,863 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.............................................................. 16 Mature Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, U.S., March 1998-1999................................................... 11 Mature Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 11 Mature Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, U.S., March 1998-1999................................................... 11 Old Turkeys (Breeders) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, U.S., March 1998-1999................................................... 14 Poultry Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified (RTC) by Type, U.S., March 1998........................................................ 4 Poultry Slaughter Ante-Mortem and Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, U.S., March 1998............................................... 6 Poultry Slaughter Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, U.S., March 1998................................... 2 Reliability Statement.................................................... 15 Young Chickens Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 8 Young Chickens Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 10 Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 9 Young Turkeys (Mature) Number Inspected, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999.................. 12 Young Turkeys (Mature) Post-Mortem Condemnations by Cause, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 13 Young Turkeys (Mature) Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, Selected States and U.S., March 1998-1999............................... 12 The next "Poultry Slaughter" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on June 3, 1999. 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