Broiler Hatchery National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 31, 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 Down Slightly Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 171 million eggs during the week ending December 27, 1997. This was down slightly from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 81 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 138 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 27, 1997. Placements were up 2 percent from the comparable week in 1996. Cumulative placements from December 29, 1996, through December 27, 1997 were 7.14 billion, 3 percent above the 6.92 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on January 7, 1998. 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 22 : Nov 29 : Dec 6 : Dec 13 : Dec 20 : Dec 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 25,791 25,840 25,464 25,457 25,260 25,552 AR : 29,306 29,888 29,753 29,256 29,561 29,605 DE : 4,536 4,542 4,429 4,141 *4,623 4,339 FL : 2,930 2,992 2,915 2,404 2,558 2,743 GA : 29,451 29,936 *29,527 30,196 *29,787 30,363 MD : 8,749 8,785 8,587 8,661 *8,688 8,014 MS : 16,584 17,490 17,233 17,145 17,385 17,358 NC : 16,795 17,097 *16,420 16,796 17,078 16,182 PA : 3,685 3,502 3,583 4,381 3,481 3,525 SC : 4,405 4,365 4,310 4,356 *4,353 4,244 TX : 12,395 12,313 *12,391 12,316 12,247 12,412 VA : 6,492 6,427 6,259 6,383 *6,405 6,403 CA, TN, & WV : *10,688 *11,048 *10,657 *10,071 *9,876 9,912 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total :*171,807 *174,225 *171,528 *171,563 *171,302 170,652 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 168,089 169,854 168,466 169,406 170,115 171,220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 102 103 102 101 101 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Nov 22 : Nov 29 : Dec 6 : Dec 13 : Dec 20 : Dec 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 17,041 18,673 18,788 18,424 18,386 18,040 AR : 23,177 23,658 *23,794 23,251 25,501 24,709 DE : 4,864 5,084 4,856 4,510 *5,572 5,936 FL : 2,115 2,371 2,798 2,249 2,746 2,863 GA : 22,986 22,577 *23,232 23,874 *24,044 23,470 MD : 5,640 5,604 5,776 6,534 *5,557 5,310 MS : 13,366 13,980 14,578 13,936 14,793 14,479 NC : 12,610 13,558 13,029 13,167 13,800 12,200 PA : 2,761 2,725 2,705 2,770 2,708 2,616 SC : 3,129 3,531 3,580 3,210 3,489 4,156 TX : 8,818 9,494 9,592 9,629 9,610 9,670 VA : 4,548 5,648 5,035 5,436 *5,508 4,986 CA, TN, & WV : 8,981 *8,820 9,253 *9,607 *10,207 9,657 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 Total : 130,036 *135,723 *137,016 *136,597 *141,921 138,092 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total : 127,422 134,832 134,774 134,570 136,536 135,177 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 102 101 102 102 104 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised