Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released January 4, 2012, 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 194 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 31, 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 31, 2011. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through December 31, 2011 were 8.58 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, :December 17, :December 24, :December 31, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,726 27,771 28,093 27,892 27,533 27,549 Arkansas .....................: 19,987 20,074 20,174 20,038 20,121 20,287 Delaware .....................: 3,095 3,127 3,127 3,124 3,126 3,232 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,346 1,352 1,351 1,349 1,347 Georgia ......................: 31,647 31,993 31,595 31,779 31,679 31,839 Kentucky .....................: 7,226 7,542 7,609 7,601 7,499 7,444 Louisiana ....................: 3,379 3,364 3,364 3,409 3,364 3,348 Maryland .....................: 7,632 7,275 7,322 7,121 7,483 7,447 Mississippi ..................: 17,775 18,229 18,100 18,337 18,266 17,763 Missouri .....................: 8,036 8,052 7,931 7,941 7,945 7,433 : North Carolina ...............: 19,958 20,019 19,768 19,629 19,767 19,927 Oklahoma .....................: 6,576 6,401 6,721 6,802 6,710 6,268 Pennsylvania .................: 3,794 3,854 3,756 3,927 3,769 3,812 South Carolina ...............: 5,352 5,048 5,200 5,509 5,362 5,164 Texas ........................: 14,459 14,225 14,317 14,365 13,723 13,898 Virginia .....................: 5,962 5,660 6,045 5,813 6,041 5,909 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 11,273 10,922 11,292 10,321 11,445 11,432 : 19 State total ...............: 195,228 194,902 195,766 194,959 195,182 194,099 : Previous year total ..........: 207,175 203,973 205,282 205,187 205,240 203,224 : Percent of previous year .....: 94 96 95 95 95 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 26, : December 3, :December 10, :December 17, :December 24, :December 31, : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 17,578 19,231 20,541 19,985 20,588 20,811 Arkansas .....................: 19,647 20,749 19,633 19,201 19,333 20,378 Delaware .....................: 4,428 4,303 3,501 4,439 3,355 4,385 Florida ......................: 978 1,299 1,052 1,073 964 1,160 Georgia ......................: 25,440 25,259 26,653 27,411 27,617 26,832 Kentucky .....................: 6,217 5,972 6,610 5,558 6,015 6,381 Louisiana ....................: 2,995 2,920 2,992 2,955 2,972 2,943 Maryland .....................: 5,317 6,729 6,825 6,261 6,667 5,968 Mississippi ..................: 15,320 14,971 15,595 15,133 15,590 15,407 Missouri .....................: 4,983 5,183 5,628 5,895 5,734 5,004 : North Carolina ...............: 16,099 16,108 15,557 15,239 15,729 15,697 Oklahoma .....................: 3,686 3,286 4,068 4,172 4,264 3,746 Pennsylvania .................: 2,858 3,096 3,113 3,114 3,196 3,072 South Carolina ...............: 5,026 4,660 4,323 4,565 4,087 4,115 Texas ........................: 11,897 11,931 12,062 12,128 11,657 11,838 Virginia .....................: 4,778 4,281 4,699 4,571 4,624 4,710 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 10,575 11,558 10,527 10,967 10,823 10,536 : 19 State total ...............: 157,822 161,536 163,379 162,667 163,215 162,983 : Previous year total ..........: 164,970 168,395 169,211 170,078 168,134 168,813 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 96 97 96 97 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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