HDR1012000150090424961500BROILER HATCHERY Released April 24, 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 Down Slightly Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 165 million eggs during the week ending April 20, 1996. This was down 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 Down 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 15-State weekly program placed 130 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 20, 1996. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week in 1995. Cumulative placements from December 31, 1995, through April 20, 1996, were 2.14 billion, 1 percent above the 2.11 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on May 1, 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 (4-96) Broiler Eggs Set in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Mar 16 : Mar 23 : Mar 30 : Apr 6 : Apr 13 : Apr 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 23,992 24,117 23,135 24,015 24,100 23,613 AR : 28,640 28,311 28,368 29,169 28,855 29,038 DE : 4,244 4,303 4,159 4,285 4,391 4,311 FL : 2,839 2,810 2,785 2,672 2,710 2,626 GA : 28,130 28,539 28,262 28,678 *28,830 28,494 MD : 8,869 8,396 8,832 8,772 8,594 8,439 MS : 15,532 15,632 16,122 15,917 15,922 15,792 NC : 17,581 17,882 17,526 17,554 17,704 17,972 PA : 3,411 3,133 3,238 3,318 3,315 3,179 SC : 4,247 4,222 4,182 4,275 4,323 4,271 TX : 11,301 11,311 11,358 11,452 *11,825 11,199 VA : 6,379 6,368 6,335 6,342 6,285 6,327 CA, TN, & WV : 9,443 9,453 9,341 9,445 9,982 9,975 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 164,608 164,477 163,643 165,894 *166,836 165,236 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 165,411 163,616 165,004 166,109 166,244 165,507 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 100 101 99 100 100 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Mar 16 : Mar 23 : Mar 30 : Apr 6 : Apr 13 : Apr 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 17,219 17,231 16,853 16,570 *16,852 16,378 AR : 24,636 23,159 22,871 22,737 22,696 21,144 DE : 5,478 5,386 5,157 4,802 4,508 5,430 FL : 2,904 2,368 2,575 2,704 2,653 2,494 GA : 23,644 24,066 23,756 22,668 *23,249 22,823 MD : 5,886 6,132 6,380 6,507 6,354 5,419 MS : 13,323 13,600 13,447 12,976 13,249 14,021 NC : 14,031 13,824 13,879 13,927 14,001 13,760 PA : 2,578 2,564 2,526 2,543 2,417 2,496 SC : 3,574 3,226 3,990 3,531 3,365 3,851 TX : 8,485 8,483 8,592 8,356 *8,274 8,191 VA : 5,507 5,321 5,132 5,264 5,440 5,505 CA, TN, & WV : 8,899 9,350 9,648 *9,427 *9,306 8,800 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 136,164 134,710 134,806 *132,012 *132,364 130,312 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 133,936 134,117 135,083 134,786 133,373 133,791 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 102 100 100 98 99 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised 2