HDR1012000150090320961500BROILER HATCHERY Released March 20, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Broiler Hatchery" call Tom Kruchten at (202) 690-4870, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. For assistance with general agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the NASS Information Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail: NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV. Broiler Eggs Set In 15 Selected States Up Slightly Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 166 million eggs during the week ending March 16, 1996. This was up slightly from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 82 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler Chicks Placed Up 2 Percent Broiler growers in the 15-State weekly program placed 137 million chicks for meat production during the week ending March 16, 1996. Placements were up 2 percent from the comparable week in 1995. Cumulative placements from October 29, 1995, through March 16, 1996, were 2.65 billion, 3 percent above the 2.57 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on March 27, 1996. Subscription Information To subscribe to NASS reports or to order single copies, call toll free, 1-800-999-6779. You may write: ERS/NASS, 341 Victory Drive, Herndon, VA 22070. Pou 2-2 (3-96) Broiler Eggs Set in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Feb 10 : Feb 17 : Feb 24 : Mar 2 : Mar 9 : Mar 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 22,924 24,179 24,324 24,039 23,528 23,994 AR : 30,297 30,076 *29,747 *29,904 *29,322 28,640 DE : 4,621 4,617 4,622 4,590 4,600 4,240 FL : 2,898 2,903 2,907 2,869 2,879 2,789 GA : 28,456 29,063 28,842 28,807 *28,962 28,589 MD : 9,660 9,766 9,576 9,878 9,777 9,744 MS : 15,101 15,182 15,173 15,254 15,316 15,768 NC : 17,580 18,008 *18,009 17,446 17,765 17,581 PA : 3,078 3,533 3,278 3,273 *3,234 3,411 SC : 4,377 4,383 4,373 4,355 4,360 4,247 TX : 11,432 11,161 11,364 11,346 11,243 11,353 VA : 6,650 6,759 6,629 6,447 6,317 6,379 CA, TN, & WV : 10,048 9,057 9,718 9,583 9,668 9,421 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 167,122 168,687 *168,562 *167,791 *166,971 166,156 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 158,918 162,677 163,588 164,502 164,908 165,416 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 105 104 103 102 101 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Feb 10 : Feb 17 : Feb 24 : Mar 2 : Mar 9 : Mar 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 17,168 17,273 17,482 16,349 17,109 17,213 AR : 23,232 23,461 *23,116 *23,242 *23,574 24,586 DE : 5,746 4,871 5,177 5,325 5,057 5,431 FL : 2,463 2,527 2,440 2,608 2,445 2,884 GA : 23,624 23,114 23,154 *22,905 *23,311 23,664 MD : 6,358 6,596 6,665 6,712 7,333 6,601 MS : 12,883 12,513 13,130 12,879 13,293 13,323 NC : 14,016 13,506 13,479 13,694 13,576 14,031 PA : 2,592 2,298 2,292 2,371 *2,545 2,578 SC : 3,496 3,479 3,399 *3,407 3,830 3,574 TX : 8,304 8,325 8,343 8,452 8,381 8,458 VA : 5,087 5,582 5,080 5,621 5,197 5,543 CA, TN, & WV : 8,832 8,160 8,605 9,498 8,967 8,847 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 133,801 131,705 *132,362 *133,063 *134,618 136,733 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 130,025 131,137 128,297 129,257 131,414 133,814 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 103 100 103 103 102 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised 2