US poultry certified wholesome down in December 2011

U.S. poultry certified wholesome during December 2011 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.37 billion pounds, down 9 percent from the amount certified in December 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
The preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry during December 2011 was 4.46 billion pounds, down 9 percent from the 4.9 billion pounds during the same time in 2010. Young chickens inspected totaled 3.81 billion pounds, down 10 percent from December 2010, and mature chickens, at 64.6 million pounds, were down 8 percent. Turkey inspections totaled 575 million pounds, down 1 percent from 2010 numbers, and ducks totaled 15.2 million pounds, up 1 percent. Young chickens slaughtered during December 2011 averaged 5.78 pounds per bird, down 1 percent from December 2010. The average live weight of mature chickens was 5.59 pounds per bird, down 4 percent from 2010 numbers. Turkeys slaughtered during December 2011 averaged 30.3 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from December 2010.
For more poultry statistics and information, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.