Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released May 16, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 3 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 200 million eggs in incubators during the week ending May 12, 2012. This was down 3 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 4 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 167 million chicks for meat production during the week ending May 12, 2012. Placements were down 4 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through May 12, 2012 were 3.11 billion, down 4 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7, : April 14, : April 21, : April 28, : May 5, : May 12, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,990 27,904 28,211 27,188 28,120 27,795 Arkansas .....................: 21,240 21,233 21,168 21,246 21,684 21,793 Delaware .....................: 3,506 3,550 3,622 3,470 3,620 3,622 Florida ......................: 1,349 1,352 1,347 1,353 1,352 1,353 Georgia ......................: 32,564 32,536 32,220 32,356 32,743 32,771 Kentucky .....................: 7,825 7,668 7,433 7,394 7,659 7,762 Louisiana ....................: 3,500 3,530 3,530 3,440 3,359 3,470 Maryland .....................: 7,128 7,393 7,570 7,628 7,449 7,087 Mississippi ..................: 17,878 17,717 18,068 17,689 17,731 18,185 Missouri .....................: 7,701 7,686 7,711 7,473 7,481 7,687 : North Carolina ...............: 20,381 20,557 20,434 20,142 20,416 20,389 Oklahoma .....................: 6,910 6,688 6,849 6,970 6,712 6,926 Pennsylvania .................: 3,754 3,934 3,795 3,597 3,610 3,675 South Carolina ...............: 5,488 5,364 5,483 5,437 5,376 5,482 Texas ........................: 14,984 14,808 14,782 14,551 14,696 14,627 Virginia .....................: 6,415 6,166 6,399 6,294 6,290 6,281 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,711 11,562 11,267 10,597 10,914 11,021 : 19 State total ...............: 199,324 199,648 199,889 196,825 199,212 199,926 : Previous year total ..........: 207,969 208,968 209,132 207,087 207,982 206,342 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 96 96 95 96 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 7, : April 14, : April 21, : April 28, : May 5, : May 12, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,595 20,546 19,877 20,201 20,231 19,758 Arkansas .....................: 18,964 19,564 20,389 19,093 18,848 19,920 Delaware .....................: 4,760 4,647 4,733 4,190 4,350 3,956 Florida ......................: 1,233 1,289 1,202 1,250 1,083 1,328 Georgia ......................: 27,899 25,950 27,592 27,300 28,245 27,618 Kentucky .....................: 5,964 6,097 6,222 6,390 6,035 6,490 Louisiana ....................: 3,356 3,040 3,095 3,084 3,124 3,130 Maryland .....................: 5,488 5,915 6,244 6,677 6,380 6,860 Mississippi ..................: 15,282 15,444 15,418 15,353 14,874 15,477 Missouri .....................: 5,413 5,972 4,894 5,924 5,767 5,113 : North Carolina ...............: 16,334 16,403 16,421 16,189 16,434 16,651 Oklahoma .....................: 4,123 3,662 4,238 4,887 5,067 4,772 Pennsylvania .................: 3,103 2,927 2,892 3,101 3,138 3,175 South Carolina ...............: 4,096 4,919 4,754 5,350 4,520 4,819 Texas ........................: 12,245 12,733 12,622 12,424 12,242 12,343 Virginia .....................: 4,592 4,824 4,457 4,906 4,604 4,935 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 11,770 10,860 11,158 10,597 11,207 10,608 : 19 State total ...............: 165,217 164,792 166,208 166,916 166,149 166,953 : Previous year total ..........: 172,098 173,110 172,008 172,624 172,506 174,014 : Percent of previous year .....: 96 95 97 97 96 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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