Poultry Slaughter ISSN: 1949-1581 Released June 24, 2024, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ready-to-Cook Weight Down 2 Percent from Last Year May 2023 contained 23 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. May 2024 contained 23 weekdays (including 1 holiday) and 4 Saturdays. Poultry certified wholesome during May 2024 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 4.50 billion pounds, down 2 percent from the amount certified in May 2023. The April 2024 revised certified total at 4.43 billion pounds, was up 10 percent from April 2023. The April revision represented an increase of 1.59 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during May 2024 was 5.92 billion pounds, down 2 percent from 6.05 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 5.28 billion pounds, down 1 percent from May 2023. Mature chickens, at 69.8 million pounds, were down 7 percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 554 million pounds, down 9 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 14.6 million pounds, down 15 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during May 2024 averaged 6.51 pounds per bird, down slightly from May 2023. The average live weight of mature chickens was 6.98 pounds per bird, up slightly from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during May 2024 averaged 32.8 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from May 2023. Ante-mortem condemnations during May 2024 totaled 12.1 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.21 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.20 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 27.3 million pounds, were 0.60 percent of quantities inspected, as compared with 0.59 percent a year earlier. Poultry Slaughtered, Total Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : May 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to May :2024 as Commodity : May : April : May : May : April :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ------------ 1,000 head ----------- --- percent --- ------ 1,000 head ------ percent : Slaughtered : Chickens : Young ............: 820,608 793,190 811,348 99 102 3,895,914 3,927,663 101 Mature ...........: 10,781 9,809 10,006 93 102 49,155 47,656 97 Light ..........: 3,155 2,842 2,935 93 103 14,516 13,688 94 Heavy ..........: 7,626 6,967 7,071 93 101 34,639 33,968 98 Total ............: 831,389 802,999 821,354 99 102 3,945,069 3,975,319 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 18,944 16,867 16,716 88 99 86,706 81,526 94 Old ..............: 189 126 163 86 129 839 727 87 Total ............: 19,133 16,993 16,879 88 99 87,545 82,253 94 : Ducks ..............: 2,384 2,265 2,045 86 90 11,380 10,984 97 : : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- --- percent --- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Total live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 5,350,196 5,174,381 5,282,694 99 102 25,343,127 25,586,792 101 Mature ...........: 75,070 67,685 69,805 93 103 341,478 331,890 97 Light ..........: 11,165 9,745 10,252 92 105 50,603 47,356 94 Heavy ..........: 63,905 57,940 59,553 93 103 290,875 284,534 98 Total ............: 5,425,266 5,242,066 5,352,499 99 102 25,684,605 25,918,682 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 605,788 561,485 549,117 91 98 2,808,004 2,693,862 96 Old ..............: 5,528 3,929 4,830 87 123 25,168 22,267 88 Total ............: 611,316 565,414 553,947 91 98 2,833,172 2,716,129 96 : Ducks ..............: 17,174 16,245 14,589 85 90 81,520 78,669 97 : Other 1/ ...........: 180 169 181 101 107 845 838 99 : Total ..............: 6,053,936 5,823,894 5,921,216 98 102 28,600,142 28,714,318 100 : : ------------ pounds ----------- --- percent --- ------ pounds ----- percent : Average live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 6.52 6.52 6.51 100 100 6.51 6.51 100 Mature ...........: 6.96 6.90 6.98 100 101 6.95 6.96 100 Light ..........: 3.54 3.43 3.49 99 102 3.49 3.46 99 Heavy ..........: 8.38 8.32 8.42 100 101 8.40 8.38 100 Total ............: 6.53 6.53 6.52 100 100 6.51 6.52 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 31.98 33.29 32.85 103 99 32.39 33.04 102 Old ..............: 29.25 31.18 29.63 101 95 30.00 30.63 102 Total ............: 31.95 33.27 32.82 103 99 32.36 33.02 102 : Ducks ..............: 7.20 7.17 7.13 99 99 7.16 7.16 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, and squab. Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified by Type - United States [Ready-to-cook weights] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : May 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to May :2024 as Commodity : May : April : May : May : April :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- --- percent --- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Chilled : Chickens : Young ............: 3,769,970 3,661,040 3,745,723 99 102 17,866,369 18,067,433 101 Mature ...........: 52,722 47,177 48,843 93 104 238,932 231,287 97 Light ..........: 5,915 5,204 5,501 93 106 26,634 25,130 94 Heavy ..........: 46,807 41,973 43,342 93 103 212,298 206,157 97 Total ............: 3,822,692 3,708,217 3,794,566 99 102 18,105,301 18,298,720 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 304,870 286,108 275,103 90 96 1,411,794 1,359,677 96 Old ..............: 3,324 2,881 3,421 103 119 15,614 16,130 103 Total ............: 308,194 288,989 278,524 90 96 1,427,408 1,375,807 96 : Ducks ..............: 3,850 3,743 3,246 84 87 19,179 19,463 101 : Other 1/ ...........: 108 102 105 97 103 527 511 97 : Total ..............: 4,134,844 4,001,051 4,076,441 99 102 19,552,415 19,694,501 101 : Frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 273,407 256,614 253,775 93 99 1,272,201 1,279,739 101 Mature ...........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Light ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Heavy ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Total ............: 273,407 256,614 253,775 93 99 1,272,201 1,279,739 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 178,756 161,591 162,369 91 100 834,079 783,755 94 Old ..............: 946 75 246 26 328 3,774 805 21 Total ............: 179,702 161,666 162,615 90 101 837,853 784,560 94 : Ducks ..............: 8,586 8,159 7,319 85 90 39,864 38,092 96 : Other 1/ ...........: 20 16 19 95 119 69 75 109 : Total ..............: 461,715 426,455 423,728 92 99 2,149,987 2,102,466 98 : Chilled and frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 4,043,377 3,917,654 3,999,498 99 102 19,138,570 19,347,172 101 Mature ...........: 52,722 47,177 48,843 93 104 238,932 231,287 97 Light ..........: 5,915 5,204 5,501 93 106 26,634 25,130 94 Heavy ..........: 46,807 41,973 43,342 93 103 212,298 206,157 97 Total ............: 4,096,099 3,964,831 4,048,341 99 102 19,377,502 19,578,459 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 483,626 447,699 437,472 90 98 2,245,873 2,143,432 95 Old ..............: 4,270 2,956 3,667 86 124 19,388 16,935 87 Total ............: 487,896 450,655 441,139 90 98 2,265,261 2,160,367 95 : Ducks ..............: 12,436 11,902 10,565 85 89 59,043 57,555 97 : Other 1/ ...........: 128 118 124 97 105 596 586 98 : Total ..............: 4,596,559 4,427,506 4,500,169 98 102 21,702,402 21,796,967 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. 1/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : May 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to May :2024 as Commodity : May : April : May : May : April :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- --- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 9,841 9,306 9,453 96 102 49,397 49,161 100 Mature ...........: 813 726 812 100 112 4,157 3,987 96 Light ..........: 63 41 54 86 132 466 241 52 Heavy ..........: 750 685 758 101 111 3,691 3,746 101 Total ............: 10,654 10,032 10,265 96 102 53,554 53,148 99 : Turkeys ............: Young ............: 1,639 1,692 1,769 108 105 8,023 8,696 108 Old ..............: 36 39 28 78 72 164 207 126 Total ............: 1,675 1,731 1,797 107 104 8,187 8,903 109 : Ducks ..............: 80 101 85 106 84 384 461 120 : Total 1/ ...........: 12,409 11,864 12,147 98 102 62,125 62,512 101 : : percent : Percent of live : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.18 0.18 0.18 100 100 0.19 0.19 100 Mature ...........: 1.08 1.07 1.16 107 108 1.22 1.20 98 Light ..........: 0.56 0.42 0.53 95 126 0.92 0.51 55 Heavy ..........: 1.17 1.18 1.27 109 108 1.27 1.32 104 Total ............: 0.20 0.19 0.19 95 100 0.21 0.21 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 0.27 0.30 0.32 119 107 0.29 0.32 110 Old ..............: 0.65 0.99 0.58 89 59 0.65 0.93 143 Total ............: 0.27 0.31 0.32 119 103 0.29 0.33 114 : Ducks ..............: 0.47 0.62 0.58 123 94 0.47 0.59 126 : Total 1/ ...........: 0.20 0.20 0.21 105 105 0.22 0.22 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : May 2024 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to May :2024 as Commodity : May : April : May : May : April :---------------------------:percent : 2023 : 2024 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 : 2023 : 2024 :of 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- ---- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Carcass and parts : Chickens : Young ............: 19,278 17,950 18,507 96 103 96,436 92,273 96 Mature ...........: 2,079 1,937 1,918 92 99 9,214 8,795 95 Light ..........: 488 406 419 86 103 2,149 2,043 95 Heavy ..........: 1,591 1,531 1,499 94 98 7,065 6,752 96 Total ............: 21,357 19,887 20,425 96 103 105,650 101,068 96 : Turkeys : Young ............: 5,671 6,553 6,496 115 99 26,096 32,005 123 Old ..............: 193 147 192 99 131 954 761 80 Total ............: 5,864 6,700 6,688 114 100 27,050 32,766 121 : Ducks ..............: 222 185 208 94 112 1,101 995 90 : Other 1/ ...........: 3 3 3 100 100 12 15 125 : Total ..............: 27,446 26,775 27,324 100 102 133,813 134,844 101 : : percent : Percent of : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.47 0.46 0.46 98 100 0.50 0.47 94 Mature ...........: 3.79 3.94 3.78 100 96 3.71 3.66 99 Light ..........: 7.62 7.24 7.08 93 98 7.47 7.52 101 Heavy ..........: 3.29 3.52 3.34 102 95 3.22 3.17 98 Total ............: 0.52 0.50 0.50 96 100 0.54 0.51 94 : Turkeys : Young ............: 1.16 1.44 1.46 126 101 1.15 1.47 128 Old ..............: 4.32 4.74 4.98 115 105 4.69 4.30 92 Total ............: 1.19 1.46 1.49 125 102 1.18 1.49 126 : Ducks ..............: 1.75 1.53 1.93 110 126 1.83 1.70 93 : Other 1/ ...........: 2.29 2.48 2.36 103 95 1.97 2.50 127 : Total ..............: 0.59 0.60 0.60 102 100 0.61 0.61 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: April and May 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: - - 356 263 103,253 91,772 Mature ..........: - - 12 7 56,272 58,670 Light .........: - - 11 5 46,774 48,507 Heavy .........: - - 1 2 9,498 10,163 Total ...........: - - 368 270 159,525 150,442 : Turkeys : Young ...........: - - 2 1 4,062 4,360 Old .............: - - 1 - 1,134 1,188 Total ...........: - - 3 1 5,196 5,548 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 200,947 141,757 549 556 1,939 1,660 Mature ..........: 13,836 12,029 108 112 20,219 18,880 Light .........: 5,039 5,028 7 7 15,690 15,252 Heavy .........: 8,797 7,001 101 105 4,529 3,628 Total ...........: 214,783 153,786 657 668 22,158 20,540 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 1,396 1,318 33 12 52 63 Old .............: 427 557 11 18 204 164 Total ...........: 1,823 1,875 44 30 256 227 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 3,758 3,474 1,272 1,181 39,479 45,585 Mature ..........: 2,145 2,821 148 111 22,620 19,210 Light .........: 1,464 2,433 120 102 21,992 18,679 Heavy .........: 681 388 28 9 628 531 Total ...........: 5,903 6,295 1,420 1,292 62,099 64,795 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 56 75 295 530 389 518 Old .............: 14 13 4 3 98 131 Total ...........: 70 88 299 533 487 649 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 4,098 3,716 97,985 96,845 1,842,392 1,827,917 Mature ..........: 111 84 33,654 35,136 27,456 30,403 Light .........: 57 53 24,596 26,424 - - Heavy .........: 54 31 9,058 8,712 27,456 30,403 Total ...........: 4,209 3,800 131,639 131,981 1,869,848 1,858,320 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 164 58 1,952 2,949 85,241 82,974 Old .............: 10 27 76 128 35 208 Total ...........: 174 85 2,028 3,077 85,276 83,182 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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: April and May 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- ---- 1,000 pounds ---- ---- pounds --- : Alabama .........: 100,497 100,763 546,258 544,530 5.44 5.40 Arkansas ........: 87,054 87,805 634,757 632,813 7.29 7.21 Delaware ........: 31,359 32,921 242,478 257,047 7.73 7.81 Georgia .........: 107,490 110,347 642,113 659,267 5.97 5.97 Illinois ........: 66 62 418 391 6.37 6.33 Indiana .........: 3,731 4,012 20,233 21,358 5.42 5.32 Iowa ............: 1,822 2,026 10,489 11,774 5.76 5.81 Kentucky ........: 25,131 25,115 169,972 168,478 6.76 6.71 Louisiana .......: 15,267 14,984 102,876 100,403 6.74 6.70 Maryland ........: 12,066 12,854 75,460 80,434 6.25 6.26 : Mississippi .....: 59,820 61,873 397,284 412,790 6.64 6.67 Missouri ........: 27,334 27,468 147,577 147,070 5.40 5.35 Nebraska ........: 10,682 10,610 71,396 70,328 6.68 6.63 New Jersey ......: 214 223 1,102 1,238 5.14 5.54 New York ........: 2,709 2,943 13,174 15,045 4.86 5.11 North Carolina ..: 78,070 79,391 659,361 667,094 8.45 8.40 Ohio ............: 10,891 11,000 50,008 49,525 4.59 4.50 Oklahoma ........: 8,567 8,253 68,212 63,143 7.96 7.65 Pennsylvania ....: 14,090 13,825 81,290 79,933 5.77 5.78 South Carolina ..: 25,380 26,570 183,610 192,796 7.23 7.26 : Tennessee .......: 32,703 34,966 197,645 213,909 6.04 6.12 Texas ...........: 60,494 62,971 411,707 426,719 6.81 6.78 Virginia ........: 25,450 26,963 161,809 173,520 6.36 6.44 : United States ...: 793,190 811,348 5,174,381 5,282,694 6.52 6.51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: April and May 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/ :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------------- 1,000 pounds ---------------- ---- percent ---- : Alabama .........: 421,266 418,461 1,660 1,685 0.39 0.40 Arkansas ........: 476,178 475,902 1,900 1,940 0.40 0.41 Delaware ........: 188,074 199,763 1,143 1,234 0.60 0.61 Georgia .........: 486,639 500,852 2,680 2,790 0.55 0.55 Illinois ........: 312 291 - - (X) (X) Indiana .........: 14,475 15,293 70 74 0.48 0.48 Iowa ............: 7,631 8,425 382 557 4.77 6.21 Kentucky ........: 128,449 126,758 492 558 0.38 0.44 Louisiana .......: 76,541 75,668 333 266 0.43 0.35 Maryland ........: 56,056 59,867 622 605 1.10 1.00 : Mississippi .....: 299,216 310,118 985 900 0.33 0.29 Missouri ........: 107,643 107,243 317 296 0.29 0.28 Nebraska ........: 54,232 53,428 184 215 0.34 0.40 New Jersey ......: 807 906 9 11 1.15 1.22 New York ........: 8,180 9,366 138 143 1.66 1.50 North Carolina ..: 507,866 513,329 1,273 1,194 0.25 0.23 Ohio ............: 37,347 36,983 239 246 0.63 0.66 Oklahoma ........: 51,169 47,474 195 238 0.38 0.50 Pennsylvania ....: 57,853 55,863 724 827 1.24 1.46 South Carolina ..: 138,460 145,434 862 1,033 0.62 0.71 : Tennessee .......: 146,627 158,278 291 362 0.20 0.23 Texas ...........: 316,482 328,500 874 990 0.28 0.30 Virginia ........: 122,995 132,605 359 383 0.29 0.29 : United States ...: 3,917,654 3,999,498 17,950 18,507 0.46 0.46 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. 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: April and May 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - 3 8 10,178 8,140 Arkansas ..........: - - - - 169 121 Delaware ..........: - - - 3 9,184 6,645 Georgia ...........: - - - - 12,495 13,375 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - 2 2 Texas .............: - - - - 17,883 14,294 Virginia ..........: - - - 1 1,921 2,716 : United States .....: - - 356 263 103,253 91,772 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 4,539 3,376 - 3 153 111 Arkansas ..........: 116 172 7 28 - - Delaware ..........: 9,329 6,300 7 - 30 63 Georgia ...........: 43,313 28,269 5 11 314 223 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: 5 4 - - - - Texas .............: 19,591 19,858 1 82 275 228 Virginia ..........: 432 283 - 1 13 21 : United States .....: 200,947 141,757 549 556 1,939 1,660 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 364 312 147 152 1,967 1,872 Arkansas ..........: 7 14 - - 35 142 Delaware ..........: 427 240 14 16 1,432 2,080 Georgia ...........: 659 751 382 409 4,211 3,813 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - - - Texas .............: 92 124 5 5 367 491 Virginia ..........: 12 50 1 5 187 259 : United States .....: 3,758 3,474 1,272 1,181 39,479 45,585 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: 427 607 7,727 5,881 161,203 154,158 Arkansas ..........: 1 1 124 113 178,975 175,047 Delaware ..........: 659 292 2,596 1,726 19,750 23,784 Georgia ...........: 633 425 18,331 14,539 227,404 263,183 Mississippi .......: - - - - 154,698 140,738 North Carolina ....: - - 1 - 107,525 94,756 Texas .............: 508 730 1,783 1,745 63,149 71,421 Virginia ..........: 145 15 6,520 6,886 147,572 138,479 : United States .....: 4,098 3,716 97,985 96,845 1,842,392 1,827,917 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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: April and May 2024 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ---- : California ......: 287 292 11,521 11,762 40.16 40.27 Illinois ........: (Z) - (Z) - 33.00 - Indiana .........: 1,916 1,919 84,093 83,827 43.89 43.69 Iowa ............: 1,242 1,264 59,956 59,451 48.25 47.03 Michigan ........: 508 174 22,386 7,561 44.07 43.34 North Carolina ..: 1,707 1,875 64,177 68,514 37.60 36.54 Ohio ............: 568 617 26,861 28,499 47.29 46.16 Pennsylvania ....: 525 541 16,630 17,091 31.66 31.62 South Carolina ..: 600 533 25,496 22,302 42.47 41.83 South Dakota ....: 264 294 11,767 13,306 44.56 45.19 : Vermont .........: - - - - - - : United States ...: 16,867 16,716 561,485 549,117 33.29 32.85 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (Z) Less than half of the unit shown. Young Turkeys Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: April and May 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/ :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April : May : April : May : April : May ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---------------- 1,000 pounds --------------- ---- percent ---- : California ......: 9,217 9,410 34 46 0.37 0.48 Illinois ........: (Z) - - - (X) (X) Indiana .........: 67,551 67,206 1,075 1,013 1.57 1.49 Iowa ............: 47,141 46,619 736 766 1.54 1.62 Michigan ........: 17,349 5,859 252 77 1.43 1.29 North Carolina ..: 50,630 54,178 284 272 0.56 0.50 Ohio ............: 21,464 22,747 410 456 1.87 1.97 Pennsylvania ....: 13,069 13,262 294 303 2.20 2.24 South Carolina ..: 18,744 16,231 708 721 3.64 4.25 South Dakota ....: 9,387 10,733 131 140 1.38 1.28 : Vermont .........: - - - - (X) (X) : United States ...: 447,699 437,472 6,553 6,496 1.44 1.46 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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. 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 Vacant, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section 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 - Chicken Hatchery, 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 - 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.