Smithfield produces sausages in three production departments$-$Mixing, Casing, and then finally Packaging. In the Mixing department, meat is prepared and ground and then mixed with spices. The spiced meat mixture is then transferred to the Casing department where the mixture is force$-$fed into casings and then hung and salted and cured in a climate controlled smoking chambers. In the Packaging department, the cured sausages, are sorted packed and labeled. The company used the weighted$-$average method in its process costing systems Data for March for the

Mixing department is as follows: