U.S. poultry certified wholesome during March (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.6 billion pounds, down 7 percent from the amount certified in March 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
The February 2012 revised certified total, at 3.47 billion pounds, was up 4 percent from February 2011 numbers. The February revision represented a decrease of 515,000 pounds from January's preliminary pounds certified.
The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during March was 4.77 billion pounds, down 7 percent from 5.12 billion pounds during the same time in 2011. Young chickens inspected totaled 4.06 billion pounds, down 8 percent from March 2011. Mature chickens, at 63.5 million pounds, were down 13 percent from 2011 numbers. Turkey inspections totaled 629 million pounds and ducks totaled 13.8 million pounds, down 6 percent from 2011.
Young chickens slaughtered during March averaged 5.81 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from March 2011. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.18 pounds per bird, down 8 percent from 2011 numbers. Turkeys slaughtered during March averaged 30.6 pounds per bird, up 3 percent from March 2011.
For more poultry information and statistics, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.
