Poultry Slaughter ISSN: 1949-1581 Released January 24, 2025, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ready-to-Cook Weight Up 6 Percent from Last Year December 2023 contained 21 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 5 Saturdays. December 2024 contained 22 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. Poultry certified wholesome during December 2024 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 4.31 billion pounds, up 6 percent from the amount certified in December 2023. The November 2024 revised certified total at 4.09 billion pounds, was down 5 percent from November 2023. The November revision represented an increase of 1.95 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during December 2024 was 5.68 billion pounds, up 6 percent from 5.36 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 5.13 billion pounds, up 7 percent from December 2023. Mature chickens, at 59.9 million pounds, were down slightly from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 473 million pounds, down 5 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 14.2 million pounds, down 15 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during December 2024 averaged 6.61 pounds per bird, up slightly from December 2023. The average live weight of mature chickens was 7.08 pounds per bird, up 4 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during December 2024 averaged 33.6 pounds per bird, up 6 percent from December 2023. Ante-mortem condemnations during December 2024 totaled 12.1 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.21 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.22 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 25.6 million pounds, were 0.59 percent of quantities inspected, unchanged from a year earlier. Poultry Slaughtered, Total Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : December 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to December :2024 as Commodity : December : November : December : December : November :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ------------ 1,000 head ----------- --- percent --- ------ 1,000 head ------ percent : Slaughtered : Chickens : Young ............: 724,789 728,242 776,349 107 107 9,381,211 9,459,259 101 Mature ...........: 8,800 7,696 8,466 96 110 120,400 113,388 94 Light ..........: 2,693 2,483 2,430 90 98 33,912 31,278 92 Heavy ..........: 6,107 5,213 6,036 99 116 86,488 82,110 95 Total ............: 733,589 735,938 784,815 107 107 9,501,611 9,572,647 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 15,628 16,282 13,976 89 86 214,087 196,149 92 Old ..............: 86 85 134 156 158 1,905 1,845 97 Total ............: 15,714 16,367 14,110 90 86 215,992 197,994 92 : Ducks ..............: 2,337 1,981 1,961 84 99 28,203 24,802 88 : : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- --- percent --- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Total live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 4,786,549 4,830,189 5,128,485 107 106 61,375,736 62,129,340 101 Mature ...........: 59,967 52,953 59,916 100 113 839,422 804,065 96 Light ..........: 9,271 8,364 8,418 91 101 118,606 108,195 91 Heavy ..........: 50,696 44,589 51,498 102 115 720,816 695,870 97 Total ............: 4,846,516 4,883,142 5,188,401 107 106 62,215,158 62,933,405 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 493,208 492,995 469,313 95 95 6,788,439 6,385,106 94 Old ..............: 2,764 2,746 4,015 145 146 57,545 56,714 99 Total ............: 495,972 495,741 473,328 95 95 6,845,984 6,441,820 94 : Ducks ..............: 16,637 14,282 14,154 85 99 200,204 176,896 88 : Other 1/ ...........: 203 229 194 96 85 3,063 3,252 106 : Total ..............: 5,359,328 5,393,394 5,676,077 106 105 69,264,409 69,555,373 100 : : ------------ pounds ----------- --- percent --- ------ pounds ----- percent : Average live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 6.60 6.63 6.61 100 100 6.54 6.57 100 Mature ...........: 6.81 6.88 7.08 104 103 6.97 7.09 102 Light ..........: 3.44 3.37 3.46 101 103 3.50 3.46 99 Heavy ..........: 8.30 8.55 8.53 103 100 8.33 8.47 102 Total ............: 6.61 6.64 6.61 100 100 6.55 6.57 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 31.56 30.28 33.58 106 111 31.71 32.55 103 Old ..............: 32.14 32.31 29.96 93 93 30.21 30.74 102 Total ............: 31.56 30.29 33.55 106 111 31.70 32.54 103 : Ducks ..............: 7.12 7.21 7.22 101 100 7.10 7.13 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, and squab. Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified by Type - United States [Ready-to-cook weights] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : December 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to December :2024 as Commodity : December : November : December : December : November :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- --- percent --- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Chilled : Chickens : Young ............: 3,374,856 3,415,166 3,635,294 108 106 43,288,470 43,913,695 101 Mature ...........: 41,530 36,914 40,911 99 111 587,686 560,069 95 Light ..........: 4,958 4,513 4,452 90 99 62,781 57,462 92 Heavy ..........: 36,572 32,401 36,459 100 113 524,905 502,607 96 Total ............: 3,416,386 3,452,080 3,676,205 108 106 43,876,156 44,473,764 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 249,470 246,921 238,075 95 96 3,440,823 3,219,070 94 Old ..............: 1,943 1,850 2,170 112 117 38,827 39,702 102 Total ............: 251,413 248,771 240,245 96 97 3,479,650 3,258,772 94 : Ducks ..............: 4,654 3,207 3,275 70 102 52,205 43,791 84 : Other 1/ ...........: 131 144 119 91 83 1,578 1,439 91 : Total ..............: 3,672,584 3,704,202 3,919,844 107 106 47,409,589 47,777,766 101 : Frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 241,318 236,265 243,124 101 103 3,098,302 3,074,079 99 Mature ...........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Light ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Heavy ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Total ............: 241,318 236,265 243,124 101 103 3,098,302 3,074,079 99 : Turkeys : Young ............: 141,398 145,086 134,820 95 93 1,971,888 1,858,694 94 Old ..............: 184 246 920 500 374 5,441 3,476 64 Total ............: 141,582 145,332 135,740 96 93 1,977,329 1,862,170 94 : Ducks ..............: 7,630 7,276 7,075 93 97 93,927 85,786 91 : Other 1/ ...........: 18 16 16 89 100 532 739 139 : Total ..............: 390,548 388,889 385,955 99 99 5,170,090 5,022,774 97 : Chilled and frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 3,616,174 3,651,431 3,878,418 107 106 46,386,772 46,987,774 101 Mature ...........: 41,530 36,914 40,911 99 111 587,686 560,069 95 Light ..........: 4,958 4,513 4,452 90 99 62,781 57,462 92 Heavy ..........: 36,572 32,401 36,459 100 113 524,905 502,607 96 Total ............: 3,657,704 3,688,345 3,919,329 107 106 46,974,458 47,547,843 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 390,868 392,007 372,895 95 95 5,412,711 5,077,764 94 Old ..............: 2,127 2,096 3,090 145 147 44,268 43,178 98 Total ............: 392,995 394,103 375,985 96 95 5,456,979 5,120,942 94 : Ducks ..............: 12,284 10,483 10,350 84 99 146,132 129,577 89 : Other 1/ ...........: 149 160 135 91 84 2,110 2,178 103 : Total ..............: 4,063,132 4,093,091 4,305,799 106 105 52,579,679 52,800,540 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. 1/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : December 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to December :2024 as Commodity : December : November : December : December : November :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- ---- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 9,412 8,487 9,673 103 114 120,114 116,181 97 Mature ...........: 733 499 695 95 139 9,656 9,310 96 Light ..........: 46 35 59 128 169 949 589 62 Heavy ..........: 687 464 636 93 137 8,707 8,721 100 Total ............: 10,145 8,986 10,368 102 115 129,770 125,491 97 : Turkeys : Young ............: 1,432 1,418 1,575 110 111 20,010 20,819 104 Old ..............: 23 26 26 113 100 405 504 124 Total ............: 1,455 1,444 1,601 110 111 20,415 21,323 104 : Ducks ..............: 76 81 85 112 105 1,101 1,119 102 : Total 1/ ...........: 11,676 10,511 12,054 103 115 151,290 147,936 98 : : percent : Percent of live : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.20 0.18 0.19 95 106 0.20 0.19 95 Mature ...........: 1.22 0.94 1.16 95 123 1.15 1.16 101 Light ..........: 0.50 0.42 0.70 140 167 0.80 0.54 68 Heavy ..........: 1.36 1.04 1.23 90 118 1.21 1.25 103 Total ............: 0.21 0.18 0.20 95 111 0.21 0.20 95 : Turkeys : Young ............: 0.29 0.29 0.34 117 117 0.29 0.33 114 Old ..............: 0.83 0.95 0.65 78 68 0.70 0.89 127 Total ............: 0.29 0.29 0.34 117 117 0.30 0.33 110 : Ducks ..............: 0.46 0.57 0.60 130 105 0.55 0.63 115 : Total 1/ ...........: 0.22 0.19 0.21 95 111 0.22 0.21 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of live weight pounds inspected. Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type - United States [Federally condemned and establishment sorted and removed] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : December 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to December :2024 as Commodity : December : November : December : December : November :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- ---- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Carcass and parts : Chickens : Young ............: 16,414 16,598 18,361 112 111 216,111 217,086 100 Mature ...........: 1,474 1,560 1,546 105 99 21,124 21,114 100 Light ..........: 348 433 369 106 85 4,700 4,607 98 Heavy ..........: 1,126 1,127 1,177 105 104 16,424 16,507 101 Total ............: 17,888 18,158 19,907 111 110 237,235 238,200 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 6,018 6,052 5,361 89 89 67,027 75,448 113 Old ..............: 95 94 131 138 139 2,017 1,972 98 Total ............: 6,113 6,146 5,492 90 89 69,044 77,420 112 : Ducks ..............: 217 159 152 70 96 2,599 2,264 87 : Other 1/ ...........: 3 3 4 133 133 39 43 110 : Total ..............: 24,221 24,466 25,555 106 104 308,917 317,927 103 : : percent : Percent of : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.45 0.45 0.47 104 104 0.46 0.46 100 Mature ...........: 3.43 4.05 3.64 106 90 3.47 3.63 105 Light ..........: 6.56 8.75 7.65 117 87 6.96 7.42 107 Heavy ..........: 2.99 3.36 3.13 105 93 3.03 3.18 105 Total ............: 0.49 0.49 0.51 104 104 0.50 0.50 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 1.52 1.52 1.42 93 93 1.22 1.46 120 Old ..............: 4.28 4.29 4.07 95 95 4.36 4.37 100 Total ............: 1.53 1.54 1.44 94 94 1.25 1.49 119 : Ducks ..............: 1.74 1.49 1.45 83 97 1.75 1.72 98 : Other 1/ ...........: 1.97 1.84 2.88 146 157 1.81 1.94 107 : Total ..............: 0.59 0.59 0.59 100 100 0.58 0.60 103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause and Type - United States: November and December 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: - - 159 254 39,543 44,110 Mature ..........: - - 16 20 51,965 56,291 Light .........: - - 16 19 45,911 50,867 Heavy .........: - - - 1 6,054 5,424 Total ...........: - - 175 274 91,508 100,401 : Turkeys : Young ...........: - - 45 2 5,634 5,182 Old .............: - - - - 553 867 Total ...........: - - 45 2 6,187 6,049 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 52,448 104,839 1,210 777 1,262 1,295 Mature ..........: 10,432 12,875 88 125 16,742 16,328 Light .........: 4,624 5,027 16 36 13,087 11,640 Heavy .........: 5,808 7,848 72 89 3,655 4,688 Total ...........: 62,880 117,714 1,298 902 18,004 17,623 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 2,002 1,339 77 28 30 45 Old .............: 252 230 18 15 151 125 Total ...........: 2,254 1,569 95 43 181 170 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 2,139 2,892 1,100 1,103 27,148 28,074 Mature ..........: 2,421 3,073 92 178 16,410 17,340 Light .........: 1,489 2,350 81 168 15,857 16,659 Heavy .........: 932 723 11 10 553 681 Total ...........: 4,560 5,965 1,192 1,281 43,558 45,414 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 67 27 225 257 769 369 Old .............: 12 13 6 1 36 58 Total ...........: 79 40 231 258 805 427 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 1,838 2,298 61,698 67,454 1,674,667 1,966,294 Mature ..........: 134 96 40,108 37,609 31,523 31,718 Light .........: 133 89 30,479 28,113 - - Heavy .........: 1 7 9,629 9,496 31,523 31,718 Total ...........: 1,972 2,394 101,806 105,063 1,706,190 1,998,012 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 51 120 4,134 3,079 93,891 70,069 Old .............: 1 2 54 66 62 144 Total ...........: 52 122 4,188 3,145 93,953 70,213 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. 1/ Includes any portion of the carcass affected by an inflammatory process, plant rejected carcasses, missing viscera, or ascites fluid preventing proper inspection of the carcass. 2/ Birds condemned with no cause given by federal inspectors and establishment sorters. Young Chickens Slaughtered, Total Live Weight, and Average Live Weight - States and United States: November and December 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- ---- 1,000 pounds ---- ---- pounds --- : Alabama .........: 90,997 96,478 508,120 534,174 5.58 5.54 Arkansas ........: 79,766 83,427 589,133 615,485 7.39 7.38 Delaware ........: 29,698 30,063 234,512 233,841 7.90 7.78 Georgia .........: 96,850 105,091 583,928 633,815 6.03 6.03 Illinois ........: 39 56 250 364 6.47 6.46 Indiana .........: 3,659 3,891 20,063 21,685 5.48 5.57 Iowa ............: 763 837 4,292 4,616 5.63 5.52 Kentucky ........: 23,221 24,179 160,806 168,743 6.93 6.98 Louisiana .......: 14,218 15,211 97,607 104,523 6.87 6.87 Maryland ........: 11,775 11,952 76,472 78,311 6.49 6.55 : Mississippi .....: 56,544 61,499 384,628 411,956 6.80 6.70 Missouri ........: 25,576 28,036 136,371 146,540 5.33 5.23 Nebraska ........: 9,349 10,596 64,007 73,091 6.85 6.90 New Jersey ......: 216 274 1,213 1,497 5.62 5.47 New York ........: 2,746 3,103 14,089 15,834 5.13 5.10 North Carolina ..: 74,253 76,612 624,965 652,458 8.42 8.52 Ohio ............: 10,487 10,656 48,554 48,310 4.63 4.53 Oklahoma ........: 7,869 7,836 66,604 64,072 8.46 8.18 Pennsylvania ....: 11,558 14,266 67,521 81,298 5.84 5.70 South Carolina ..: 23,929 25,941 177,331 192,221 7.41 7.41 : Tennessee .......: 30,446 33,012 189,045 203,817 6.21 6.17 Texas ...........: 56,883 59,573 398,699 417,566 7.01 7.01 Virginia ........: 20,618 23,543 131,244 150,693 6.37 6.40 : United States ...: 728,242 776,349 4,830,189 5,128,485 6.63 6.61 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: November and December 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : 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 --- : Alabama .........: 388,535 411,715 1,528 1,681 0.39 0.41 Arkansas ........: 444,234 464,577 1,917 2,060 0.43 0.44 Delaware ........: 183,302 182,777 1,306 1,052 0.71 0.57 Georgia .........: 444,435 481,491 2,419 2,646 0.54 0.55 Illinois ........: 187 265 - (Z) (X) 0.11 Indiana .........: 14,351 15,529 60 56 0.41 0.36 Iowa ............: 2,943 3,273 332 143 10.13 4.19 Kentucky ........: 121,270 127,243 618 754 0.51 0.59 Louisiana .......: 73,040 77,984 291 343 0.40 0.44 Maryland ........: 56,952 58,276 382 539 0.67 0.92 : Mississippi .....: 285,173 304,207 1,104 1,216 0.39 0.40 Missouri ........: 99,488 106,757 216 313 0.22 0.29 Nebraska ........: 48,731 55,349 69 129 0.14 0.23 New Jersey ......: 892 1,105 11 18 1.26 1.59 New York ........: 8,902 9,911 61 105 0.68 1.05 North Carolina ..: 479,813 501,229 1,255 1,328 0.26 0.26 Ohio ............: 36,254 36,196 224 281 0.61 0.77 Oklahoma ........: 49,953 48,078 246 196 0.49 0.41 Pennsylvania ....: 47,748 57,463 788 1,221 1.62 2.08 South Carolina ..: 133,622 145,059 963 1,008 0.72 0.69 : Tennessee .......: 139,407 150,325 661 657 0.47 0.44 Texas ...........: 305,490 320,944 788 756 0.26 0.23 Virginia ........: 99,350 114,904 246 279 0.25 0.24 : United States ...: 3,651,431 3,878,418 16,598 18,361 0.45 0.47 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than half of the unit shown. 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Young Chickens Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause - States and United States: November and December 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - 14 13 6,311 6,363 Arkansas ..........: - - - - 202 261 Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: - - - - 5,662 8,591 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - 1 - Texas .............: - - - - 74 121 Virginia ..........: - - - - 1,170 - : United States .....: - - 159 254 39,543 44,110 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 2,928 5,059 2 - 72 70 Arkansas ..........: 230 228 6 6 - - Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: 11,904 16,530 19 49 252 274 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: 2 - - - - 1 Texas .............: 121 82 - 2 1 4 Virginia ..........: 402 - - - 1 - : United States .....: 52,448 104,839 1,210 777 1,262 1,295 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 151 91 172 26 1,078 797 Arkansas ..........: 6 33 - - 77 99 Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: 112 125 342 285 2,736 3,099 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - - - Texas .............: 24 11 8 9 39 42 Virginia ..........: 9 - 3 - 60 - : United States .....: 2,139 2,892 1,100 1,103 27,148 28,074 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 437 336 5,936 3,960 136,259 177,850 Arkansas ..........: 86 - 366 368 184,254 204,576 Delaware ..........: - - - - 39,095 45,035 Georgia ...........: 55 241 8,091 10,541 234,461 232,832 Mississippi .......: - - - - 182,861 196,295 North Carolina ....: - - - - 93,363 104,695 Texas .............: 4 - 1,842 1,584 58,557 61,272 Virginia ..........: 143 - 2,293 - 129,556 151,904 : United States .....: 1,838 2,298 61,698 67,454 1,674,667 1,966,294 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. 1/ Includes any portion of the carcass affected by an inflammatory process, plant rejected carcasses, missing viscera, or ascites fluid preventing proper inspection of the carcass. 2/ Birds condemned with no cause given by federal inspectors and establishment sorters. Young Turkeys Slaughtered, Total Live Weight, and Average Live Weight - States and United States: November and December 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November : December : November : December : November : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ---- : California ......: 598 285 14,591 7,152 24.42 25.09 Illinois ........: 23 1 677 33 29.25 33.60 Indiana .........: 1,692 1,766 69,166 76,621 40.89 43.39 Iowa ............: 935 900 42,036 40,866 44.94 45.43 Michigan ........: 359 415 15,124 17,930 42.08 43.22 North Carolina ..: 1,743 1,694 64,116 66,990 36.78 39.54 Ohio ............: 598 500 24,181 22,282 40.45 44.58 Pennsylvania ....: 866 542 21,410 15,642 24.73 28.84 South Carolina ..: 485 479 21,291 21,000 43.91 43.80 South Dakota ....: 333 254 15,633 11,240 46.97 44.33 : Vermont .........: 56 7 1,705 197 30.29 27.51 : United States ...: 16,282 13,976 492,995 469,313 30.28 33.58 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: November and December 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : 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 ---- : California ......: 11,673 5,720 79 31 0.67 0.55 Illinois ........: 518 26 - - (X) (X) Indiana .........: 55,263 61,412 867 895 1.54 1.44 Iowa ............: 33,058 32,177 572 522 1.70 1.60 Michigan ........: 11,722 13,896 146 171 1.23 1.21 North Carolina ..: 50,049 52,333 368 334 0.73 0.63 Ohio ............: 18,980 17,765 360 350 1.86 1.93 Pennsylvania ....: 17,070 12,288 379 363 2.17 2.87 South Carolina ..: 15,695 15,650 650 433 3.97 2.69 South Dakota ....: 12,514 8,956 257 215 2.02 2.35 : Vermont .........: 1,335 155 - - (X) (X) : United States ...: 392,007 372,895 6,052 5,361 1.52 1.42 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Terms and Definitions Used for Poultry Slaughter Estimates Ante-Mortem Condemnations: Birds federally condemned prior to entry into the slaughter plant which includes Dead-On-Arrival (DOA) and condemned for other causes. Average Live Weight: The weight of the whole bird, before slaughter. Excludes post-mortem condemnations. 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. Dressing Percent: Usually expressed as a percentage yield of frozen and chilled carcass in relation to the weight of the live bird. Ducks: Includes all ducks regardless of age and weight. Federally Inspected (FI) Plants: Plants that transport meat interstate must employ federal inspectors to assure compliance with USDA standards. Mature Chickens: Fowl from breeder and market egg flocks and stags and cocks. Number of Head: Includes post-mortem condemnations. Old Turkeys: Fully matured birds held for egg production, usually over 15 months of age. Plant, Slaughter: An establishment where birds are killed and butchered. Post-Mortem Condemnations: Carcasses or parts of birds condemned includes federally inspected and establishment sorted because of disease or mishandling and removed from the slaughter line and destroyed. Slaughter: Killing and butchering of birds primarily for food. Total Live Weight: The total weight of live birds, before slaughter. Excludes post-mortem condemnations. 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, and other turkeys such as fryers/roasters and young breeders. Statistical Methodology Data Sources: Data for poultry slaughter estimates are collected by inspectors of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA for all Federally Inspected plants. Over 99 percent of the total United States slaughter for any species is under Federal Inspection. 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 352 plants slaughtered poultry in the United States under Federal Inspection in 2023. Young chickens were slaughtered in 38 States, young turkeys in 30 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 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 one 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. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E- mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ..................................................................................................... (202) 692-0069 Ryan Cowen, Acting Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ...................................................... (202) 720-3040 Holly Brenize - Poultry Slaughter......................................................................................................... (202) 720-0585 Liana Cuffman - Catfish and Trout, Mink, Census of Aquaculture ........................................................................... (202) 720-8784 Fatema Haque - Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ........................................................................................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish and Trout, Mink, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products.............................................................. (202) 690-3237 Seth Riggins - Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ................................................................................................. (202) 690-4870 Shulonda Shaw - Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses ........................................................................ (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs .............................................................................................................. (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Chicken Hatchery, Broiler Hatchery....................................................................................... (202) 720-6147 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" or "State" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. Cornell's Mann Library has launched a new website housing NASS's and other agency's archived reports. The new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing reports will be sent from the new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. To continue receiving the reports via e-mail, you will have to go to the new website, create a new account and re-subscribe to the reports. If you need instructions to set up an account or subscribe, they are located at: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/help. You should whitelist notifications@usda-esmis.library.cornell.edu in your email client to avoid the emails going into spam/junk folders. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@usda.gov. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online at www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.