Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 7, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 4 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 195 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 3, 2011. This was down 4 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 5 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 160 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 3, 2011. Placements were down 5 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through December 3, 2011 were 7.92 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : October 29, : November 5, :November 12, :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 25,178 24,116 27,255 26,671 27,525 27,953 Arkansas .....................: 19,291 19,738 20,366 20,529 19,977 20,074 Delaware .....................: 2,750 2,895 2,903 2,903 3,095 3,127 Florida ......................: 1,350 1,351 1,352 1,349 1,351 1,346 Georgia ......................: 28,924 30,427 30,501 31,461 31,647 31,993 Kentucky .....................: 7,879 7,766 7,476 7,392 7,064 7,455 Louisiana ....................: 3,394 3,379 3,349 3,409 3,379 3,364 Maryland .....................: 7,697 7,636 7,549 6,875 7,632 7,275 Mississippi ..................: 16,272 17,737 17,493 18,186 17,687 18,229 Missouri .....................: 6,669 7,175 7,882 7,871 8,036 8,052 : North Carolina ...............: 19,573 19,156 19,942 20,218 19,753 20,017 Oklahoma .....................: 6,802 6,439 6,672 6,620 6,576 6,401 Pennsylvania .................: 3,436 3,423 3,684 3,764 3,794 3,740 South Carolina ...............: 5,119 5,106 5,329 5,535 5,352 5,048 Texas ........................: 14,490 13,638 14,400 13,299 14,508 14,211 Virginia .....................: 5,884 6,025 5,975 5,947 5,962 5,826 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 11,183 11,463 11,999 11,172 11,132 10,926 : 19 State total ...............: 185,891 187,470 194,127 193,201 194,470 195,037 : Previous year total ..........: 200,781 199,721 204,203 205,716 207,175 203,973 : Percent of previous year .....: 93 94 95 94 94 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : October 29, : November 5, :November 12, :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,686 19,403 18,624 17,798 17,468 19,231 Arkansas .....................: 17,680 16,039 17,666 18,819 19,447 20,575 Delaware .....................: 4,271 3,539 3,953 4,413 4,262 4,103 Florida ......................: 1,150 1,182 1,139 1,162 1,147 1,299 Georgia ......................: 25,311 24,573 26,102 24,488 25,461 25,392 Kentucky .....................: 6,253 5,291 5,177 6,452 6,217 6,157 Louisiana ....................: 2,748 2,793 3,013 3,038 2,995 2,920 Maryland .....................: 4,335 5,001 4,687 4,257 5,043 5,488 Mississippi ..................: 14,305 14,446 14,544 13,958 15,416 14,971 Missouri .....................: 5,664 5,005 4,475 4,956 4,983 5,183 : North Carolina ...............: 13,918 14,019 14,980 15,642 16,099 15,933 Oklahoma .....................: 4,574 4,645 4,242 3,450 3,686 3,286 Pennsylvania .................: 3,097 3,143 3,090 2,789 2,858 3,127 South Carolina ...............: 4,506 4,123 3,974 4,527 5,026 4,620 Texas ........................: 11,258 10,844 11,142 12,214 11,683 12,119 Virginia .....................: 4,385 5,002 4,635 4,643 4,778 4,281 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 9,687 9,698 9,946 10,166 10,563 11,101 : 19 State total ...............: 152,828 148,746 151,389 152,772 157,132 159,786 : Previous year total ..........: 165,722 161,368 164,476 165,149 164,970 168,395 : Percent of previous year .....: 92 92 92 93 95 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected weekly from all chicken hatcheries within the 19 States that hatch at least one million chicks a year. 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 hatcheries within the 19 States that meet the minimum size criteria are given adequate time to respond to the weekly survey. 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. 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: 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.