Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 14, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 5 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 10, 2011. This was down 5 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 165 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 10, 2011. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through December 10, 2011 were 8.10 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November 5, :November 12, :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 24,116 27,255 27,406 27,525 27,953 28,000 Arkansas .....................: 19,738 20,366 20,519 19,977 20,074 20,174 Delaware .....................: 2,895 2,903 2,903 3,095 3,127 3,124 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,352 1,349 1,351 1,346 1,352 Georgia ......................: 30,427 30,501 31,927 31,647 31,993 31,595 Kentucky .....................: 7,578 7,689 7,660 7,064 7,453 7,463 Louisiana ....................: 3,379 3,349 3,374 3,379 3,364 3,364 Maryland .....................: 7,636 7,549 6,875 7,632 7,275 7,322 Mississippi ..................: 17,737 17,493 18,186 17,775 18,229 18,085 Missouri .....................: 7,175 7,882 7,871 8,036 8,052 7,931 : North Carolina ...............: 19,156 19,942 20,105 19,753 20,017 19,712 Oklahoma .....................: 6,439 6,672 6,620 6,576 6,401 6,721 Pennsylvania .................: 3,423 3,751 3,764 3,794 3,854 3,766 South Carolina ...............: 5,106 5,329 5,535 5,352 5,048 5,200 Texas ........................: 13,650 14,423 14,551 14,521 14,225 14,375 Virginia .....................: 6,025 5,975 5,947 5,962 5,826 6,166 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 11,209 12,166 11,125 11,284 10,936 11,536 : 19 State total ...............: 187,040 194,597 195,717 194,723 195,173 195,886 : Previous year total ..........: 199,721 204,203 205,716 207,175 203,973 205,282 : Percent of previous year .....: 94 95 95 94 96 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November 5, :November 12, :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,403 18,624 17,798 17,578 19,231 20,536 Arkansas .....................: 16,039 17,666 19,007 19,647 20,888 21,133 Delaware .....................: 3,589 3,993 4,493 4,428 4,303 3,533 Florida ......................: 1,182 1,139 1,162 978 1,299 1,052 Georgia ......................: 24,573 26,102 24,488 25,440 25,259 26,653 Kentucky .....................: 5,291 5,177 6,452 6,217 5,972 6,546 Louisiana ....................: 2,793 3,013 3,038 2,995 2,920 2,992 Maryland .....................: 6,168 5,719 4,736 5,317 6,729 6,810 Mississippi ..................: 14,446 14,544 13,958 15,320 14,971 15,604 Missouri .....................: 5,005 4,475 4,956 4,983 5,183 5,628 : North Carolina ...............: 14,019 14,980 15,642 16,099 15,933 15,513 Oklahoma .....................: 4,645 4,242 3,450 3,686 3,286 4,068 Pennsylvania .................: 3,143 3,090 2,789 2,858 3,096 3,138 South Carolina ...............: 4,123 3,974 4,527 5,026 4,660 4,323 Texas ........................: 11,223 11,499 12,334 11,897 11,931 12,138 Virginia .....................: 5,002 4,635 4,643 4,778 4,281 4,699 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 9,698 9,946 10,166 10,604 11,543 10,523 : 19 State total ...............: 150,342 152,818 153,639 157,851 161,485 164,889 : Previous year total ..........: 161,368 164,476 165,149 164,970 168,395 169,211 : Percent of previous year .....: 93 93 93 96 96 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 - Honey, 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, Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink .. (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.