Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released November 2, 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 186 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 29, 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 84 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Down 8 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 153 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 29, 2011. Placements were down 8 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through October 29, 2011 were 7.16 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 24,: October 1, : October 8, : October 15, : October 22, : October 29, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,057 25,440 26,879 26,590 25,626 25,275 Arkansas .....................: 18,961 18,949 19,417 17,686 18,395 19,291 Delaware .....................: 2,895 3,045 3,041 3,176 3,019 2,750 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,354 1,349 1,349 1,347 1,350 Georgia ......................: 31,247 29,914 30,846 29,635 29,888 29,497 Kentucky .....................: 7,738 7,117 7,285 7,090 7,309 7,649 Louisiana ....................: 3,242 3,118 3,041 3,241 3,209 3,192 Maryland .....................: 6,820 7,517 6,839 7,040 6,913 7,697 Mississippi ..................: 16,824 15,990 16,535 17,093 16,949 16,120 North Carolina ...............: 18,858 18,840 18,275 18,258 19,349 19,433 : Oklahoma .....................: 6,751 6,280 6,813 6,112 6,323 6,802 Pennsylvania .................: 3,558 3,353 3,734 3,926 3,928 3,575 South Carolina ...............: 5,263 4,956 4,866 5,487 5,193 5,119 Texas ........................: 14,232 13,269 13,423 13,097 13,373 14,497 Virginia .....................: 5,663 5,461 5,773 5,850 5,650 5,884 California, Missouri, : Tennessee, and West Virginia : 17,818 17,613 18,450 17,713 17,103 17,774 : 19 State total ...............: 188,278 182,216 186,566 183,343 183,574 185,905 : Previous year total ..........: 205,808 197,354 200,470 196,697 200,202 200,781 : Percent of previous year .....: 91 92 93 93 92 93 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 24,: October 1, : October 8, : October 15, : October 22, : October 29, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 18,304 19,468 18,155 19,780 18,277 19,642 Arkansas .....................: 18,793 17,501 18,649 19,044 17,562 17,680 Delaware .....................: 5,074 3,913 3,882 4,045 4,955 4,114 Florida ......................: 1,156 1,156 931 1,159 1,154 1,150 Georgia ......................: 27,748 26,814 25,292 27,604 26,115 25,738 Kentucky .....................: 5,910 6,192 4,970 5,585 5,997 6,253 Louisiana ....................: 2,676 2,909 2,830 2,910 2,807 2,748 Maryland .....................: 4,784 6,199 5,560 5,681 5,085 4,394 Mississippi ..................: 14,533 15,196 15,253 14,465 13,660 14,266 North Carolina ...............: 15,168 13,845 14,605 14,304 14,728 13,918 : Oklahoma .....................: 3,712 3,527 4,089 3,193 3,888 4,574 Pennsylvania .................: 3,208 3,077 2,839 2,921 2,768 3,089 South Carolina ...............: 3,811 3,702 3,460 3,789 4,439 4,506 Texas ........................: 11,770 11,380 10,318 11,813 11,130 11,243 Virginia .....................: 5,067 4,229 4,436 4,700 4,279 4,385 California, Missouri, : Tennessee, and West Virginia : 16,647 15,772 14,602 15,244 15,433 15,289 : 19 State total ...............: 158,361 154,880 149,871 156,237 152,277 152,989 : Previous year total ..........: 167,630 169,617 162,438 169,422 161,719 165,722 : Percent of previous year .....: 94 91 92 92 94 92 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, Chicken Hatchery, Egg Products....... (202) 720-3244 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. To set-up this free subscription, visit http://www.nass.usda.gov and in the "Receive NASS Updates" box under "Receive reports by Email," click on "National" or "State" to select the reports you would like to receive. Printed reports may be purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) by calling toll-free (800) 999-6779, or (703) 605-6220 if calling from outside the United States or Canada. Accepted methods of payment are Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377- 8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.