Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released February 29, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 6 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 195 million eggs in incubators during the week ending February 25, 2012. This was down 6 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 February 25, 2012. Placements were down 5 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through February 25, 2012 were 1.29 billion, down 4 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : January 21, : January 28, : February 4, :February 11, :February 18, :February 25, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 28,094 28,029 26,946 27,060 27,638 28,000 Arkansas .....................: 20,146 20,235 19,931 20,091 19,499 20,142 Delaware .....................: 3,262 3,258 3,265 3,188 3,191 3,190 Florida ......................: 1,353 1,352 1,352 1,352 1,243 1,353 Georgia ......................: 31,148 31,630 31,616 31,983 32,222 32,143 Kentucky .....................: 7,722 7,582 7,416 7,666 7,546 6,478 Louisiana ....................: 3,440 3,424 3,440 3,440 3,424 3,379 Maryland .....................: 7,669 7,216 6,874 7,484 7,067 7,204 Mississippi ..................: 17,587 17,662 17,623 17,832 17,663 17,814 Missouri .....................: 7,677 7,668 7,784 7,817 7,807 7,672 : North Carolina ...............: 19,988 19,741 20,207 20,310 20,143 20,325 Oklahoma .....................: 6,721 6,609 6,841 6,923 6,768 6,688 Pennsylvania .................: 3,849 3,831 3,649 3,539 3,497 3,688 South Carolina ...............: 5,363 5,156 5,318 5,282 5,404 5,296 Texas ........................: 14,272 14,345 14,410 14,805 14,904 14,572 Virginia .....................: 6,231 5,698 5,985 6,200 5,963 6,168 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 9,387 10,488 10,486 10,121 10,387 11,113 : 19 State total ...............: 193,909 193,924 193,143 195,093 194,366 195,225 : Previous year total ..........: 204,116 203,933 205,787 204,337 207,150 206,633 : Percent of previous year .....: 95 95 94 95 94 94 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : January 21, : January 28, : February 4, :February 11, :February 18, :February 25, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,265 20,298 19,955 19,445 21,845 18,833 Arkansas .....................: 18,621 19,924 20,438 18,219 19,111 19,144 Delaware .....................: 3,901 4,431 4,016 4,433 4,404 3,358 Florida ......................: 953 1,136 1,149 1,048 1,062 1,073 Georgia ......................: 26,950 27,019 26,053 27,384 25,271 27,868 Kentucky .....................: 6,219 6,646 6,181 6,544 6,008 5,504 Louisiana ....................: 2,995 3,010 3,023 3,062 3,068 3,092 Maryland .....................: 6,386 5,518 5,849 6,406 5,959 6,833 Mississippi ..................: 14,619 14,603 14,721 15,172 15,227 15,192 Missouri .....................: 4,910 5,034 4,934 5,755 5,674 4,613 : North Carolina ...............: 15,698 15,780 15,699 15,648 15,418 15,820 Oklahoma .....................: 4,691 3,943 3,220 4,755 4,003 5,026 Pennsylvania .................: 3,179 3,065 3,211 3,107 3,159 3,060 South Carolina ...............: 4,221 4,124 4,956 4,798 4,971 4,197 Texas ........................: 11,770 11,809 11,568 12,111 11,941 11,971 Virginia .....................: 4,844 4,785 5,164 4,607 4,096 4,547 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ............: 10,300 9,573 10,632 9,451 10,094 10,176 : 19 State total ...............: 160,522 160,698 160,769 161,945 161,311 160,307 : Previous year total ..........: 167,507 168,493 168,151 167,953 167,473 168,805 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 95 96 96 96 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 Lakeya Jones - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Honey, Egg Products, Mink .............. (202) 720-0585 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs ........................................... (202) 690-8632 Miste Salmon - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery .................... (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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