Broiler Hatchery National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 24, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Broiler Hatchery" call Tom Kruchten (202) 690-4870, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Broiler Eggs Set In 15 Selected States Up 1 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 171 million eggs during the week ending December 20, 1997. This was up 1 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 4 Percent Broiler growers in the 15-State weekly program placed 142 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 20, 1997. Placements were up 4 percent from the comparable week in 1996. Cumulative placements from December 29, 1996, through December 20, 1997 were 7.00 billion, 3 percent above the 6.78 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 1 p.m. ET on December 31, 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 :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Nov 15 : Nov 22 : Nov 29 : Dec 6 : Dec 13 : Dec 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 25,609 25,791 25,840 25,464 25,457 25,260 AR : *29,550 29,306 29,888 29,753 29,256 29,561 DE : 4,271 4,536 4,542 4,429 4,141 4,614 FL : 2,917 2,930 2,992 2,915 2,404 2,558 GA : 28,770 29,451 29,936 29,754 *30,196 29,818 MD : 8,299 8,749 8,785 8,587 8,661 8,628 MS : 17,499 16,584 17,490 17,233 17,145 17,385 NC : 16,696 16,795 *17,097 16,455 16,796 17,078 PA : 3,494 3,685 3,502 3,583 4,381 3,481 SC : 4,391 4,405 4,365 4,310 4,356 4,319 TX : 12,485 12,395 12,313 12,327 12,316 12,247 VA : 6,523 6,492 6,427 6,259 6,383 6,377 CA, TN, & WV : 11,100 10,664 11,029 10,632 *10,087 9,894 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total :*171,604 171,783 *174,206 171,701 *171,579 171,220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 166,941 168,089 169,854 168,466 169,406 170,115 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 103 102 103 102 101 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Nov 15 : Nov 22 : Nov 29 : Dec 6 : Dec 13 : Dec 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 15,899 17,041 18,673 18,788 18,424 18,386 AR : 20,861 23,177 23,658 *23,496 *23,251 25,501 DE : 5,019 4,864 5,084 4,856 4,510 5,147 FL : 2,701 2,115 2,371 2,798 2,249 2,746 GA : 21,567 22,986 22,577 23,133 *23,874 24,070 MD : 5,042 5,640 5,604 5,776 6,534 5,564 MS : 13,619 13,366 13,980 14,578 13,936 14,793 NC : 12,568 12,610 13,558 13,029 13,167 13,800 PA : 2,582 2,761 2,725 2,705 2,770 2,708 SC : 3,672 3,129 3,531 3,580 3,210 3,489 TX : 8,403 8,818 9,494 9,592 9,629 9,610 VA : 4,593 4,548 5,648 5,035 5,436 5,666 CA, TN, & WV : 8,978 8,981 8,818 9,253 9,539 10,179 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total : 125,504 130,036 135,721 *136,619 *136,529 141,659 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 120,536 127,422 134,832 134,774 134,570 136,536 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 104 102 101 101 101 104 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised