HDR1012000150090226971500BROILER HATCHERY Released February 26, 1997, 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 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. For assistance with general agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail: NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV. The "Broiler Hatchery" report is available on AutoFax, (202) 720-2000, report 4300. Broiler Eggs Set In 15 Selected States Up 3 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 174 million eggs during the week ending February 22, 1997. This was up 3 percent 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 15-State weekly program placed 136 million chicks for meat production during the week ending February 22, 1997. Placements were up 3 percent from the comparable week in 1996. Cumulative placements from December 29, 1996, through February 22, 1997 were 1.09 billion, 2 percent above the 1.07 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 3 P.M. ET on March 5, 1997. 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. Broiler Eggs Set in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Jan 18 : Jan 25 : Feb 1 : Feb 8 : Feb 15 : Feb 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 24,840 25,188 25,159 25,655 25,752 25,996 AR : 29,829 29,631 30,087 30,092 29,951 29,862 DE : 4,282 4,661 *4,681 4,696 4,678 4,520 FL : 3,034 2,805 2,854 2,792 2,863 3,032 GA : 29,024 29,172 29,126 29,623 *29,942 29,926 MD : 8,005 7,708 8,745 8,687 8,677 8,758 MS : 16,547 16,716 17,040 17,292 17,391 17,297 NC : 16,452 16,703 17,056 17,579 17,433 17,365 PA : 3,508 3,500 3,607 3,736 3,584 3,537 SC : 4,187 4,263 4,397 4,355 4,406 4,403 TX : 11,940 12,097 *12,091 11,864 *12,115 12,599 VA : 6,251 6,602 6,706 6,674 6,647 6,565 CA, TN, & WV : 9,058 9,849 9,349 9,443 10,085 9,707 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total : 166,957 168,895 *170,898 172,488 *173,524 173,567 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 168,535 165,233 166,116 167,122 168,695 167,796 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 99 102 103 103 103 103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Jan 18 : Jan 25 : Feb 1 : Feb 8 : Feb 15 : Feb 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 18,154 18,343 18,578 17,849 18,028 18,185 AR : 23,555 23,446 24,392 23,525 24,562 22,949 DE : 4,930 4,855 5,244 5,084 5,497 4,803 FL : 2,736 2,442 2,341 2,851 2,528 2,495 GA : 24,146 24,031 23,770 23,399 *23,631 23,938 MD : 6,014 6,626 5,946 5,591 *5,328 6,607 MS : 14,735 14,681 14,640 *13,967 13,988 14,142 NC : 13,229 14,146 13,064 12,770 13,007 13,467 PA : 2,673 2,666 2,629 2,570 2,638 2,682 SC : 3,924 3,112 3,724 3,855 3,158 3,779 TX : 8,927 8,870 8,955 8,728 *8,934 8,936 VA : 5,339 4,628 4,760 4,873 5,128 4,969 CA, TN, & WV : 9,198 9,226 8,670 8,604 9,544 9,092 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total : 137,560 137,072 136,713 *133,666 *135,971 136,044 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 135,286 134,893 134,319 133,801 131,709 131,680 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 102 102 102 100 103 103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised