Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 28, 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 194 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 24, 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 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 24, 2011. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through December 24, 2011 were 8.42 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, :December 17, :December 24, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,403 27,726 27,771 28,071 27,892 27,698 Arkansas .....................: 20,519 19,987 20,074 20,174 20,038 20,121 Delaware .....................: 2,903 3,095 3,127 3,127 3,124 3,126 Florida ......................: 1,349 1,351 1,346 1,352 1,351 1,349 Georgia ......................: 31,927 31,647 31,993 31,595 31,779 31,694 Kentucky .....................: 7,660 7,199 7,522 7,463 7,601 7,377 Louisiana ....................: 3,374 3,379 3,364 3,364 3,409 3,364 Maryland .....................: 6,875 7,632 7,275 7,322 7,121 7,483 Mississippi ..................: 18,186 17,775 18,229 18,100 18,337 18,266 Missouri .....................: 7,871 8,036 8,052 7,931 7,941 7,945 : North Carolina ...............: 20,111 19,958 20,019 19,654 19,629 19,767 Oklahoma .....................: 6,620 6,576 6,401 6,721 6,802 6,710 Pennsylvania .................: 3,764 3,794 3,854 3,756 3,759 3,786 South Carolina ...............: 5,535 5,352 5,048 5,200 5,509 5,362 Texas ........................: 14,551 14,459 14,225 14,317 14,365 13,723 Virginia .....................: 5,947 5,962 5,660 6,166 5,813 6,041 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 11,110 11,273 10,922 11,292 10,416 10,650 : 19 State total ...............: 195,705 195,201 194,882 195,605 194,886 194,462 : Previous year total ..........: 205,716 207,175 203,973 205,282 205,187 205,240 : Percent of previous year .....: 95 94 96 95 95 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 19, :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, :December 17, :December 24, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 17,798 17,578 19,231 20,541 19,985 20,587 Arkansas .....................: 18,902 19,647 20,749 19,633 19,201 19,332 Delaware .....................: 4,493 4,428 4,303 3,501 4,439 3,255 Florida ......................: 1,162 978 1,299 1,052 1,073 964 Georgia ......................: 24,488 25,440 25,259 26,653 27,411 27,603 Kentucky .....................: 6,452 6,217 5,972 6,610 5,558 6,018 Louisiana ....................: 3,038 2,995 2,920 2,992 2,955 2,972 Maryland .....................: 4,736 5,317 6,729 6,825 6,261 6,667 Mississippi ..................: 13,958 15,320 14,971 15,595 15,133 15,600 Missouri .....................: 4,956 4,983 5,183 5,628 5,895 5,734 : North Carolina ...............: 15,783 16,099 16,108 15,557 15,239 15,731 Oklahoma .....................: 3,555 3,686 3,286 4,068 4,172 4,204 Pennsylvania .................: 2,789 2,858 3,096 3,113 3,167 3,230 South Carolina ...............: 4,527 5,026 4,660 4,323 4,565 4,087 Texas ........................: 12,334 11,897 11,931 12,062 12,128 11,657 Virginia .....................: 4,643 4,778 4,281 4,699 4,571 4,624 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 10,142 10,575 11,558 10,527 10,967 10,676 : 19 State total ...............: 153,756 157,822 161,536 163,379 162,720 162,941 : Previous year total ..........: 165,149 164,970 168,395 169,211 170,078 168,134 : Percent of previous year .....: 93 96 96 97 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. 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