Poultry Slaughter ISSN: 1949-1581 Released April 25, 2025, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Ready-to-Cook Weight Up 3 Percent from Last Year March 2024 contained 21 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 5 Saturdays. March 2025 contained 21 weekdays (including 0 holidays) and 5 Saturdays. Poultry certified wholesome during March 2025 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 4.22 billion pounds, up 3 percent from the amount certified in March 2024. The February 2025 revised certified total at 4.02 billion pounds, was down 5 percent from February 2024. The February revision represented an increase of 8.80 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during March 2025 was 5.57 billion pounds, up 3 percent from 5.41 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 5.02 billion pounds, up 4 percent from March 2024. Mature chickens, at 55.0 million pounds, were down 12 percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 480 million pounds, down 7 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 13.9 million pounds, down 8 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during March 2025 averaged 6.55 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from March 2024. The average live weight of mature chickens was 6.73 pounds per bird, down 3 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during March 2025 averaged 32.7 pounds per bird, down 1 percent from March 2024. Ante-mortem condemnations during March 2025 totaled 12.2 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.22 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.21 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 25.3 million pounds, were 0.60 percent of quantities inspected, as compared with 0.62 percent a year earlier. Poultry Slaughtered, Total Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : March 2025 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to March :2025 as Commodity : March : February : March : March : February :---------------------------:percent : 2024 : 2025 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 :of 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ------------ 1,000 head ----------- --- percent --- ------ 1,000 head ------ percent : Slaughtered : Chickens : Young ............: 744,888 729,679 766,459 103 105 2,323,020 2,320,269 100 Mature ...........: 8,940 7,259 8,164 91 112 27,841 25,576 92 Light ..........: 2,581 2,402 2,719 105 113 7,911 8,045 102 Heavy ..........: 6,359 4,857 5,445 86 112 19,930 17,531 88 Total ............: 753,828 736,938 774,623 103 105 2,350,861 2,345,845 100 : Turkeys : Young ............: 15,395 13,153 14,482 94 110 47,943 43,009 90 Old ..............: 113 121 198 175 164 438 475 108 Total ............: 15,508 13,274 14,680 95 111 48,381 43,484 90 : Ducks ..............: 2,096 1,804 1,970 94 109 6,674 6,028 90 : : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- --- percent --- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Total live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 4,816,338 4,798,845 5,018,011 104 105 15,130,447 15,296,529 101 Mature ...........: 62,196 49,119 54,962 88 112 194,400 174,687 90 Light ..........: 8,924 8,308 9,238 104 111 27,359 27,684 101 Heavy ..........: 53,272 40,811 45,724 86 112 167,041 147,003 88 Total ............: 4,878,534 4,847,964 5,072,973 104 105 15,324,847 15,471,216 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 510,572 437,341 474,675 93 109 1,583,260 1,430,009 90 Old ..............: 3,640 3,848 5,584 153 145 13,508 14,362 106 Total ............: 514,212 441,189 480,259 93 109 1,596,768 1,444,371 90 : Ducks ..............: 15,012 12,621 13,870 92 110 47,835 42,339 89 : Other 1/ ...........: 148 150 165 111 110 488 490 100 : Total ..............: 5,407,906 5,301,924 5,567,267 103 105 16,969,938 16,958,416 100 : : ------------ pounds ----------- --- percent --- ------ pounds ----- percent : Average live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 6.47 6.58 6.55 101 100 6.51 6.59 101 Mature ...........: 6.96 6.77 6.73 97 99 6.98 6.83 98 Light ..........: 3.46 3.46 3.40 98 98 3.46 3.44 99 Heavy ..........: 8.38 8.40 8.40 100 100 8.38 8.39 100 Total ............: 6.47 6.58 6.55 101 100 6.52 6.60 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 33.16 33.25 32.78 99 99 33.02 33.25 101 Old ..............: 32.21 31.80 28.20 88 89 30.84 30.24 98 Total ............: 33.16 33.24 32.72 99 98 33.00 33.22 101 : Ducks ..............: 7.16 7.00 7.04 98 101 7.17 7.02 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, and squab. Chilled and Frozen Pounds Certified by Type - United States [Ready-to-cook weights] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : March 2025 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to March :2025 as Commodity : March : February : March : March : February :---------------------------:percent : 2024 : 2025 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 :of 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----------- 1,000 pounds ---------- ---- percent ---- ----- 1,000 pounds ----- percent : Chilled : Chickens : Young ............: 3,400,402 3,385,390 3,546,432 104 105 10,661,429 10,806,733 101 Mature ...........: 42,854 33,442 37,324 87 112 135,267 118,792 88 Light ..........: 4,649 4,341 4,942 106 114 14,425 14,644 102 Heavy ..........: 38,205 29,101 32,382 85 111 120,842 104,148 86 Total ............: 3,443,256 3,418,832 3,583,756 104 105 10,796,696 10,925,525 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 254,668 218,702 234,991 92 107 798,466 724,005 91 Old ..............: 2,687 2,906 3,410 127 117 9,828 9,083 92 Total ............: 257,355 221,608 238,401 93 108 808,294 733,088 91 : Ducks ..............: 3,763 2,773 3,034 81 109 12,474 9,341 75 : Other 1/ ...........: 93 91 102 110 112 304 298 98 : Total ..............: 3,704,467 3,643,304 3,825,293 103 105 11,617,768 11,668,252 100 : Frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 236,402 242,370 247,578 105 102 769,178 755,042 98 Mature ...........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Light ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Heavy ..........: - - - (X) (X) - - (X) Total ............: 236,402 242,370 247,578 105 102 769,178 755,042 98 : Turkeys : Young ............: 152,076 128,612 142,040 93 110 459,795 411,794 90 Old ..............: 68 39 842 1,238 2,159 484 1,879 388 Total ............: 152,144 128,651 142,882 94 111 460,279 413,673 90 : Ducks ..............: 7,272 6,441 7,156 98 111 22,614 21,644 96 : Other 1/ ...........: 11 12 13 118 108 40 39 98 : Total ..............: 395,829 377,474 397,629 100 105 1,252,111 1,190,398 95 : Chilled and frozen : Chickens : Young ............: 3,636,804 3,627,760 3,794,010 104 105 11,430,607 11,561,775 101 Mature ...........: 42,854 33,442 37,324 87 112 135,267 118,792 88 Light ..........: 4,649 4,341 4,942 106 114 14,425 14,644 102 Heavy ..........: 38,205 29,101 32,382 85 111 120,842 104,148 86 Total ............: 3,679,658 3,661,202 3,831,334 104 105 11,565,874 11,680,567 101 : Turkeys : Young ............: 406,744 347,314 377,031 93 109 1,258,261 1,135,799 90 Old ..............: 2,755 2,945 4,252 154 144 10,312 10,962 106 Total ............: 409,499 350,259 381,283 93 109 1,268,573 1,146,761 90 : Ducks ..............: 11,035 9,214 10,190 92 111 35,088 30,985 88 : Other 1/ ...........: 104 103 115 111 112 344 337 98 : Total ..............: 4,100,296 4,020,778 4,222,922 103 105 12,869,879 12,858,650 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (X) Not applicable. 1/ Includes geese, guineas, and squab. Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type - United States [Federally inspected only] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : March 2025 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to March :2025 as Commodity : March : February : March : March : February :---------------------------:percent : 2024 : 2025 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 :of 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- --- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Live weight : Chickens : Young ............: 8,910 10,161 9,910 111 98 30,402 31,724 104 Mature ...........: 727 656 666 92 102 2,449 2,260 92 Light ..........: 41 60 48 117 80 146 176 121 Heavy ..........: 686 596 618 90 104 2,303 2,084 90 Total ............: 9,637 10,817 10,576 110 98 32,851 33,984 103 : Turkeys : Young ............: 1,624 1,709 1,546 95 90 5,235 5,252 100 Old ..............: 40 34 33 83 97 140 98 70 Total ............: 1,664 1,743 1,579 95 91 5,375 5,350 100 : Ducks ..............: 84 69 80 95 116 275 261 95 : Total 1/ ...........: 11,385 12,629 12,235 107 97 38,501 39,595 103 : : percent : Percent of live : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.18 0.21 0.20 111 95 0.20 0.21 105 Mature ...........: 1.17 1.34 1.21 103 90 1.26 1.29 102 Light ..........: 0.46 0.72 0.52 113 72 0.53 0.64 121 Heavy ..........: 1.29 1.46 1.35 105 92 1.38 1.42 103 Total ............: 0.20 0.22 0.21 105 95 0.21 0.22 105 : Turkeys : Young ............: 0.32 0.39 0.33 103 85 0.33 0.37 112 Old ..............: 1.10 0.88 0.59 54 67 1.04 0.68 65 Total ............: 0.32 0.40 0.33 103 83 0.34 0.37 109 : Ducks ..............: 0.56 0.55 0.58 104 105 0.57 0.62 109 : Total 1/ ...........: 0.21 0.24 0.22 105 92 0.23 0.23 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : : March 2025 as % of : January : : : : :-----------------------: to March :2025 as Commodity : March : February : March : March : February :---------------------------:percent : 2024 : 2025 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 : 2024 : 2025 :of 2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --------- 1,000 pounds --------- --- percent --- --- 1,000 pounds --- percent : Carcass and parts : Chickens : Young ............: 18,025 17,442 18,280 101 105 55,816 55,554 100 Mature ...........: 1,578 1,140 1,213 77 106 4,940 3,998 81 Light ..........: 419 388 350 84 90 1,218 1,093 90 Heavy ..........: 1,159 752 863 74 115 3,722 2,905 78 Total ............: 19,603 18,582 19,493 99 105 60,756 59,552 98 : Turkeys : Young ............: 5,821 5,511 5,496 94 100 18,956 17,420 92 Old ..............: 126 116 191 152 165 422 484 115 Total ............: 5,947 5,627 5,687 96 101 19,378 17,904 92 : Ducks ..............: 171 158 152 89 96 602 518 86 : Other 1/ ...........: 3 3 3 100 100 9 10 111 : Total ..............: 25,724 24,370 25,335 98 104 80,745 77,984 97 : : percent : Percent of : weight condemned 2/ : Chickens : Young ............: 0.49 0.48 0.48 98 100 0.49 0.48 98 Mature ...........: 3.55 3.30 3.15 89 95 3.52 3.26 93 Light ..........: 8.27 8.20 6.61 80 81 7.79 6.95 89 Heavy ..........: 2.94 2.52 2.60 88 103 2.99 2.71 91 Total ............: 0.53 0.50 0.51 96 102 0.52 0.51 98 : Turkeys : Young ............: 1.41 1.56 1.44 102 92 1.48 1.51 102 Old ..............: 4.37 3.79 4.30 98 113 3.93 4.23 108 Total ............: 1.43 1.58 1.47 103 93 1.50 1.54 103 : Ducks ..............: 1.53 1.69 1.47 96 87 1.69 1.64 97 : Other 1/ ...........: 2.80 2.83 2.54 91 90 2.55 2.88 113 : Total ..............: 0.62 0.60 0.60 97 100 0.62 0.60 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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: February and March 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: - - 226 89 53,451 50,927 Mature ..........: - - 16 1 47,646 52,065 Light .........: - - 16 1 43,017 44,994 Heavy .........: - - - - 4,629 7,071 Total ...........: - - 242 90 101,097 102,992 : Turkeys : Young ...........: - - 2 11 6,176 5,630 Old .............: - - - - 665 1,179 Total ...........: - - 2 11 6,841 6,809 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 129,022 151,703 561 498 1,392 1,301 Mature ..........: 11,823 14,200 124 102 14,538 14,483 Light .........: 6,505 6,250 24 25 10,056 9,429 Heavy .........: 5,318 7,950 100 77 4,482 5,054 Total ...........: 140,845 165,903 685 600 15,930 15,784 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 2,192 1,183 17 5 51 43 Old .............: 308 384 28 19 117 252 Total ...........: 2,500 1,567 45 24 168 295 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 2,141 2,058 885 806 27,576 27,984 Mature ..........: 1,832 3,078 178 148 12,809 17,831 Light .........: 1,289 2,487 167 125 12,316 17,443 Heavy .........: 543 591 11 23 493 388 Total ...........: 3,973 5,136 1,063 954 40,385 45,815 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 33 67 338 170 549 512 Old .............: 2 12 - 1 51 40 Total ...........: 35 79 338 171 600 552 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Chickens : Young ...........: 2,608 2,537 73,894 114,517 2,080,261 2,048,825 Mature ..........: 153 153 44,528 43,406 29,818 29,706 Light .........: 108 140 34,792 33,871 - - Heavy .........: 45 13 9,736 9,535 29,818 29,706 Total ...........: 2,761 2,690 118,422 157,923 2,110,079 2,078,531 : Turkeys : Young ...........: 131 64 3,633 3,676 71,953 69,600 Old .............: 1 - 28 70 219 277 Total ...........: 132 64 3,661 3,746 72,172 69,877 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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: February and March 2025 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- ---- 1,000 pounds ---- ---- pounds --- : Alabama .........: 93,881 96,227 510,526 529,196 5.44 5.50 Arkansas ........: 79,567 84,094 580,512 614,627 7.30 7.31 Delaware ........: 28,636 30,850 218,953 235,198 7.65 7.62 Georgia .........: 101,837 105,045 630,183 636,872 6.19 6.06 Illinois ........: 47 43 307 266 6.51 6.26 Iowa ............: 935 822 4,869 4,343 5.20 5.28 Kentucky ........: 22,560 24,605 152,047 163,044 6.74 6.63 Louisiana .......: 13,748 14,734 92,440 99,858 6.72 6.78 Maryland ........: 11,335 12,075 74,429 79,141 6.57 6.55 Mississippi .....: 58,858 59,565 394,335 398,028 6.70 6.68 : Missouri ........: 24,933 27,091 138,359 148,020 5.55 5.46 New Jersey ......: 210 226 1,121 1,230 5.34 5.45 New York ........: 2,846 3,136 14,509 15,891 5.10 5.07 North Carolina ..: 73,894 76,224 632,849 640,664 8.56 8.40 Ohio ............: 9,708 9,675 43,710 43,181 4.50 4.46 Oklahoma ........: 7,766 7,576 62,154 60,826 8.00 8.03 Pennsylvania ....: 11,407 13,813 64,951 79,229 5.69 5.74 South Carolina ..: 20,317 23,328 140,828 167,790 6.93 7.19 Tennessee .......: 30,323 32,591 186,171 195,746 6.14 6.01 Texas ...........: 54,825 58,232 379,856 405,344 6.93 6.96 : Vermont .........: 52 44 343 290 6.57 6.54 Virginia ........: 20,908 22,809 129,470 141,342 6.19 6.20 : United States ...: 729,679 766,459 4,798,845 5,018,011 6.58 6.55 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: February and March 2025 [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/ :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------------- 1,000 pounds ---------------- ---- percent ---- : Alabama .........: 392,718 406,758 1,602 1,640 0.41 0.40 Arkansas ........: 438,620 463,413 1,987 2,318 0.45 0.50 Delaware ........: 170,379 183,675 935 1,079 0.55 0.58 Georgia .........: 477,706 483,477 2,459 2,420 0.51 0.50 Illinois ........: 221 197 (Z) (Z) 0.02 0.01 Iowa ............: 3,442 3,149 123 80 3.46 2.47 Kentucky ........: 114,830 122,915 781 746 0.68 0.60 Louisiana .......: 69,411 73,157 402 674 0.58 0.91 Maryland ........: 55,848 59,072 541 620 0.96 1.04 Mississippi .....: 291,020 295,635 1,250 1,195 0.43 0.40 : Missouri ........: 100,317 107,952 303 318 0.30 0.29 New Jersey ......: 833 912 13 14 1.52 1.52 New York ........: 8,964 10,009 100 186 1.10 1.83 North Carolina ..: 487,122 493,546 1,378 1,317 0.28 0.27 Ohio ............: 32,750 32,425 226 218 0.69 0.67 Oklahoma ........: 46,700 45,626 239 222 0.51 0.48 Pennsylvania ....: 45,948 55,918 983 1,161 2.09 2.03 South Carolina ..: 104,906 125,952 880 993 0.83 0.78 Tennessee .......: 137,576 144,803 573 537 0.41 0.37 Texas ...........: 291,452 310,745 778 729 0.27 0.23 : Vermont .........: 258 218 - - (X) (X) Virginia ........: 97,759 106,542 180 232 0.18 0.22 : United States ...: 3,627,760 3,794,010 17,442 18,280 0.48 0.48 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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: February and March 2025 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - - - - - Arkansas ..........: - - - - 36 29 Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: - - 1 1 11,613 13,246 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - 1 1 Texas .............: - - - - 71 93 Virginia ..........: - - - - - - : United States .....: - - 226 89 53,451 50,927 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - - - - - Arkansas ..........: 12 16 1 - - - Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: 33,523 38,939 5 7 350 331 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - - - - Texas .............: 18 30 1 - 1 5 Virginia ..........: - - - - - - : United States .....: 129,022 151,703 561 498 1,392 1,301 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - - - - - Arkansas ..........: - - - 1 59 19 Delaware ..........: - - - - - - Georgia ...........: 145 146 211 116 1,990 2,322 Mississippi .......: - - - - - - North Carolina ....: - - - 1 - - Texas .............: 9 4 1 1 50 22 Virginia ..........: - - - - - - : United States .....: 2,141 2,058 885 806 27,576 27,984 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Miscellaneous 1/ : Unknown 2/ :----------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : head : Alabama ...........: - - - - 209,868 219,813 Arkansas ..........: - 2 25 39 239,924 227,061 Delaware ..........: - - - - 35,904 60,682 Georgia ...........: 270 455 18,217 16,409 246,117 241,103 Mississippi .......: - - - - 226,049 199,808 North Carolina ....: - - - 1 114,781 112,445 Texas .............: 24 3 1,450 1,373 65,347 57,963 Virginia ..........: - - - - 173,846 175,744 : United States .....: 2,608 2,537 73,894 114,517 2,080,261 2,048,825 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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: February and March 2025 [Published States do not add to United States total to avoid disclosure] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Slaughtered : Total : Average : : live weight : live weight State :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head --- --- 1,000 pounds --- ---- pounds ---- : California ......: 308 408 5,464 6,827 17.73 16.72 Illinois ........: - 1 - 18 - 32.73 Indiana .........: 1,538 1,671 66,924 69,394 43.51 41.53 Iowa ............: 956 941 44,017 42,548 46.04 45.20 Michigan ........: 294 341 13,421 14,600 45.60 42.81 Minnesota .......: 2,539 2,669 71,172 83,571 28.03 31.31 North Carolina ..: 1,624 1,752 65,410 74,596 40.27 42.58 Ohio ............: 521 433 22,619 15,409 43.39 35.61 Pennsylvania ....: 479 532 14,888 16,010 31.10 30.08 South Carolina ..: 502 532 21,753 22,086 43.32 41.55 : Vermont .........: - - - - - - Wisconsin .......: (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) 25.11 15.00 : United States ...: 13,153 14,482 437,341 474,675 33.25 32.78 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (Z) Less than half of the unit shown. Young Turkeys Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations - States and United States: February and March 2025 [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/ :------------------------------------------------------------------------- : February : March : February : March : February : March ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---------------- 1,000 pounds --------------- ---- percent ---- : California ......: 4,371 5,458 34 34 0.78 0.61 Illinois ........: - 14 - - (X) (X) Indiana .........: 53,677 55,451 910 800 1.67 1.42 Iowa ............: 34,459 33,445 531 498 1.52 1.47 Michigan ........: 10,401 11,315 129 166 1.23 1.45 Minnesota .......: 57,129 67,010 853 876 1.47 1.29 North Carolina ..: 50,954 58,040 318 322 0.62 0.55 Ohio ............: 18,074 12,186 364 260 1.97 2.09 Pennsylvania ....: 11,548 12,460 370 367 3.10 2.86 South Carolina ..: 16,306 16,564 515 530 3.06 3.10 : Vermont .........: - - - - (X) (X) Wisconsin .......: (Z) (Z) - - (X) (X) : United States ...: 347,314 377,031 5,511 5,496 1.56 1.44 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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 361 plants slaughtered poultry in the United States under Federal Inspection in 2024. 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 Fatema Haque - Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ............................ (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish, 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. If you have specific questions you would like an expert to respond to, please visit our "Ask A Specialist" website at www.nass.usda.gov/Contact_Us/Ask_a_Specialist. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690- 7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.