Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released October 5, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 7 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 183 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 1, 2011. This was down 7 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Down 9 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 155 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 1, 2011. Placements were down 9 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through October 1, 2011 were 6.55 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 27, :September 3, :September 10,:September 17,:September 24,: October 1, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 26,955 26,364 26,394 25,701 27,117 25,491 Arkansas .....................: 20,994 19,852 18,223 19,104 18,961 18,949 Delaware .....................: 2,886 2,906 2,908 2,852 2,895 3,045 Florida ......................: 1,364 1,350 1,352 1,074 1,351 1,354 Georgia ......................: 31,646 31,519 31,151 29,570 31,268 30,766 Kentucky .....................: 7,898 7,484 7,393 7,129 7,729 6,893 Louisiana ....................: 3,167 2,947 3,258 3,183 3,242 3,258 Maryland .....................: 7,645 7,399 6,863 6,852 6,820 7,517 Mississippi ..................: 17,602 16,780 17,569 17,813 16,824 16,481 North Carolina ...............: 19,368 18,960 17,302 18,245 18,670 18,270 : Oklahoma .....................: 6,702 6,701 6,228 6,465 6,751 5,962 Pennsylvania .................: 3,799 3,877 3,718 3,438 3,558 3,337 South Carolina ...............: 5,413 4,891 4,892 5,522 5,263 4,956 Texas ........................: 13,480 14,223 14,367 12,835 14,048 13,113 Virginia .....................: 5,723 5,933 5,859 5,363 5,663 5,461 California, Missouri, : Tennessee, and West Virginia : 18,819 18,549 18,718 16,110 17,708 18,280 : 19 State total ...............: 193,461 189,735 186,195 181,256 187,868 183,133 : Previous year total ..........: 206,575 203,941 204,833 196,963 205,808 197,354 : Percent of previous year .....: 94 93 91 92 91 93 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 27, :September 3, :September 10,:September 17,:September 24,: October 1, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 18,717 19,276 19,616 20,087 18,304 19,259 Arkansas .....................: 18,514 19,024 19,575 19,412 18,793 17,501 Delaware .....................: 4,890 4,444 4,328 5,154 5,074 3,913 Florida ......................: 1,147 1,137 1,251 1,140 1,156 1,156 Georgia ......................: 27,358 26,269 25,851 26,026 27,801 26,676 Kentucky .....................: 6,816 6,287 6,198 6,747 5,910 6,162 Louisiana ....................: 2,993 2,952 2,928 2,851 2,676 2,909 Maryland .....................: 5,294 5,645 6,319 5,397 4,784 6,199 Mississippi ..................: 16,145 15,984 15,962 15,314 14,533 15,257 North Carolina ...............: 15,700 15,378 14,969 15,445 15,218 13,845 : Oklahoma .....................: 4,711 3,905 4,317 4,842 3,712 3,527 Pennsylvania .................: 3,187 3,087 2,897 3,045 3,208 3,079 South Carolina ...............: 4,595 5,146 4,629 4,932 3,699 3,702 Texas ........................: 12,544 11,648 11,503 11,481 11,745 11,356 Virginia .....................: 4,911 4,353 4,543 4,439 5,067 4,229 California, Missouri, : Tennessee, and West Virginia : 16,173 17,427 16,043 15,667 17,088 15,800 : 19 State total ...............: 163,695 161,962 160,929 161,979 158,768 154,570 : Previous year total ..........: 170,866 170,109 170,626 169,940 167,630 169,617 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 95 94 95 95 91 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected from all known chicken hatcheries within the 19 States. The 19 States account for approximately 97 percent of the broilers produced on an annual basis. Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of all known hatcheries and update their lists on a continual basis. All known hatcheries within the 19 States respond via fax. Those that do not respond are contacted by telephone. Estimating Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. All hatcheries are accounted for in the estimates. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. NASS field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Individual hatchery data are summed to State and 19 State totals. Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data. Revisions made to the previous five-week's data during the current week are published in this report. Final estimates are published in the annual Hatchery Production Summary released in April. Reliability: Hatchery estimates are based on a census of all known operating hatcheries and therefore, have no sampling error. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch ........................................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section .................................... (202) 720-4447 Cody Brokmeyer - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .......................... (202) 690-3237 David Colwell - Cold Storage ................................................................. (202) 720-8784 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ................................................................... (202) 690-8632 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Census of Aquaculture, Chicken Hatchery, Egg Products, Honey, Mink, Trout Production .. (202) 720-0585 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: http://www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. 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