Production of federally-inspected young meat chicken last year was 49,349,564,000 pounds, liveweight, 0.4 percent less than the 49,559,126,000 pounds in 2011, a decline of 0.4 percent, according to “Poultry Slaughter 2012 Summary” issued this week by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Georgia was the top producing state with 6,799,424,000 pounds, 1.1 percent above 2011. Three states topped the 5 billion pounds mark–Alabama 5,604,804,000 pounds, down 3.4 percent; North Carolina 5,282,361,000 pounds, up 1.9 percent; and Arkansas, 5,191,860,000 pounds, down 1.7 percent. The top five states accounted for over 55 percent of the total U.S. quantity produced in 2012. Eighteen (69 percent) of the 26 reporting states registered gains in production over 2011. On a percentage basis, Ohio experienced the largest gain, 11.1 percent, while the sharpest decline in production was Florida with a 6.2 percent drop.
Production of federally-inspected young chicken by state for 2011 and 2012 was as follows:
| Federally-Inspected Young Chicken Production, Liveweight, 2011 and 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2011 | 2012 | Change |
| -1,000 pounds- | -1,000 pounds- | -percent- | |
| Georgia | 6,726,569 | 6,799,424 | 1.1 |
| Alabama | 5,804,344 | 5,604,804 | -3.4 |
| North Carolina | 5,181,680 | 5,282,361 | 1.9 |
| Arkansas | 5,282,548 | 5,191,860 | -1.7 |
| Mississippi | 4,508,523 | 4,402,349 | -2.4 |
| Texas | 3,794,378 | 3,585,089 | -5.5 |
| Delaware | 2,119,087 | 2,194,460 | 3.6 |
| Missouri | 2,060,179 | 2,053,032 | -1.2 |
| South Carolina | 1,994,782 | 1,918,749 | -3.9 |
| Virginia | 1,650,100 | 1,690,024 | 2.4 |
| Kentucky | 1,629,721 | 1,680,928 | 3.1 |
| Tennessee | 1,525,570 | 1,584,897 | 3.9 |
| California | 1,496,432 | 1,522,915 | 1.8 |
| Louisiana | 1,135,778 | 1,141,346 | 0.5 |
| Oklahoma | 794,612 | 818,673 | 3.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 753,182 | 730,437 | -3.0 |
| Maryland | 678,762 | 682,516 | 0.6 |
| West Virginia | 443,370 | 453,154 | 2.2 |
| Ohio | 331,125 | 367,723 | 11.1 |
| Florida | 379,217 | 355,561 | -6.2 |
| Washington | 302,212 | 314,143 | 3.9 |
| Minnesota | 263,645 | 264,907 | 0.5 |
| Indiana | 253,201 | 261,582 | 3.3 |
| Wisconsin | 212,576 | 214,010 | 0.7 |
| New York | 101,047 | 104,431 | 3.3 |
| New Jersey | 7,973 | 8,244 | 3.4 |
| United States | 49,559,126 | 49,349,564 | -0.4 |
In 2012 there were 8,428,847,000 young meat chicken slaughtered under federal inspection, 1.3 percent less than the 8,537,636,000 chickens in 2011. At the same time, the average weight per chicken last year was 5.85 pounds, liveweight, 0.9 percent heavier than the 5.80 pounds in 2011.
