April 30, 2008

US wholesome poultry weight reaches 3.51 billion pounds
 

The total weight of poultry that was certified wholesome reached 3.51 billion pounds in March 2008, up 1 percent from the same period last year, according to the latest Poultry Slaughter report from the US National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Preliminary total live weight for poultry checked in March totalled 4.73 billion pounds, 1 percent more that last year's.

Young chickens accounted for 4.03 billion pounds of this, also increasing by 1 percent, while turkey reached 613 million pounds.

The average live weight for a young chicken slaughtered in March was 5.56 pounds, up 2 percent from March 2007.

Turkey average live weights also went up by 2 percent over last year, reaching 29.4 pounds each bird.