Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released April 25, 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 200 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 21, 2012. 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 167 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 21, 2012. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through April 21, 2012 were 2.61 billion, down 4 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 17, : March 24, : March 31, : April 7, : April 14, : April 21, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 28,269 28,083 27,426 27,989 27,854 28,393 Arkansas .....................: 20,142 20,771 21,178 21,240 21,233 21,168 Delaware .....................: 3,415 3,388 3,517 3,506 3,550 3,622 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,348 1,350 1,349 1,352 1,347 Georgia ......................: 32,249 31,890 32,796 32,564 32,536 32,274 Kentucky .....................: 7,775 7,417 7,683 7,709 7,641 7,360 Louisiana ....................: 3,470 3,440 3,500 3,500 3,530 3,530 Maryland .....................: 7,678 7,192 7,000 7,128 7,393 7,570 Mississippi ..................: 17,784 17,907 17,907 17,878 17,717 18,068 Missouri .....................: 7,482 7,657 7,464 7,701 7,686 7,711 : North Carolina ...............: 19,969 20,031 20,223 20,381 20,556 20,434 Oklahoma .....................: 6,365 6,728 6,930 6,910 6,688 6,849 Pennsylvania .................: 3,859 3,771 3,576 3,754 3,753 3,793 South Carolina ...............: 5,118 5,448 5,385 5,488 5,364 5,483 Texas ........................: 15,075 14,941 14,933 14,972 14,816 14,821 Virginia .....................: 6,137 5,950 6,311 6,415 6,166 6,399 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 11,413 10,526 10,783 10,668 11,554 11,262 : 19 State total ...............: 197,551 196,488 197,962 199,152 199,389 200,084 : Previous year total ..........: 208,714 209,434 207,520 207,969 208,968 209,132 : Percent of previous year .....: 95 94 95 96 95 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 17, : March 24, : March 31, : April 7, : April 14, : April 21, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,106 19,610 20,335 20,595 20,546 19,932 Arkansas .....................: 19,004 20,043 20,144 18,964 19,564 20,389 Delaware .....................: 3,901 4,043 3,724 4,760 4,647 4,733 Florida ......................: 1,407 1,217 1,016 1,233 1,289 1,202 Georgia ......................: 27,862 27,284 27,051 27,899 25,950 27,448 Kentucky .....................: 4,894 6,594 6,214 5,964 6,012 6,391 Louisiana ....................: 2,983 3,032 3,025 3,356 3,040 3,095 Maryland .....................: 6,110 5,927 7,020 5,488 5,915 6,244 Mississippi ..................: 15,447 15,207 15,136 15,282 15,444 15,418 Missouri .....................: 5,325 5,245 5,548 5,413 5,972 4,892 : North Carolina ...............: 16,753 16,294 17,064 16,334 16,403 16,561 Oklahoma .....................: 4,605 4,533 3,959 4,123 3,662 4,238 Pennsylvania .................: 3,117 3,113 3,144 3,103 2,927 3,010 South Carolina ...............: 3,646 4,696 4,218 4,096 4,919 4,754 Texas ........................: 12,223 12,143 12,524 12,235 12,723 12,612 Virginia .....................: 4,784 5,365 4,735 4,592 4,824 4,457 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,845 10,359 10,859 11,778 10,857 11,146 : 19 State total ...............: 163,012 164,705 165,716 165,215 164,694 166,522 : Previous year total ..........: 170,422 172,880 171,899 172,098 173,110 172,008 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 95 96 96 95 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 - 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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