Broiler production during January-June this year totaled 25.016 billion pounds, liveweight, 4.4 percent more than the 23.961 billion pounds during first half of 2010, according to the “Poultry Slaughter” report issued this week by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Both more broilers and heavier average weight contributed to the year-over-year increase. The number of broilers for the first six months of 2011 were 4.320 billion, 1.9 percent above the 4.238 billion year earlier. At the same time, the average broiler weight increased 0.14 pounds, liveweight, or 2.5 percent, from 5.65 pounds during January-June 2010 to 5.79 pounds for the first half of 2011.
The ready-to-cook (RTC) weight for broilers was 18.791 billion pounds for January-June 2011, 4.8 percent more than the 17.931 billion pounds year ago. The yield from liveweight to RTC weight for first half 2010 and first half 2011 was 74.8 percent and 75.1 percent, respectively. The ante-mortem condemnation rate for broilers for first half 2011 was 0.21 percent (pounds condemned as a percent of liveweight pounds inspected) compared with 0.23 percent year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations for broilers was 0.84 percent this year compared with 0.81 percent in 2010. The post-mortem condemnation rate is calculated as pounds condemned as a percentage of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations.
Total poultry (chicken, turkey, ducks, and other) totaled 29.116 billion pounds, liveweight, during first half 2011, a 4.6-percent increase over the 27.834 billion pounds during January-June 2010.
