Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released August 22, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 1 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 192 million eggs in incubators during the week ending August 18, 2012. This was down 1 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 Up 1 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 162 million chicks for meat production during the week ending August 18, 2012. Placements were up 1 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through August 18, 2012 were 5.41 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 14, : July 21, : July 28, : August 4, : August 11, : August 18, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,908 27,947 28,141 27,656 27,996 27,551 Arkansas .....................: 19,621 19,931 20,915 21,130 21,057 20,944 Delaware .....................: 3,295 3,503 3,501 3,497 3,279 3,176 Florida ......................: 1,352 1,341 1,352 1,353 1,352 1,353 Georgia ......................: 32,461 31,849 31,573 31,739 31,773 31,810 Kentucky .....................: 7,659 7,790 7,728 7,659 7,673 7,587 Louisiana ....................: 3,409 3,107 3,167 3,227 3,211 3,135 Maryland .....................: 7,351 7,220 7,600 7,595 7,254 7,341 Mississippi ..................: 18,063 17,795 17,838 17,667 17,075 16,782 Missouri .....................: 8,068 8,024 7,835 7,863 8,036 8,022 : North Carolina ...............: 19,816 19,628 19,638 19,510 19,222 19,474 Oklahoma .....................: 6,465 6,689 6,714 6,476 6,276 6,891 Pennsylvania .................: 3,767 3,535 3,570 3,441 3,398 3,609 South Carolina ...............: 5,298 5,319 5,603 5,313 5,328 5,040 Texas ........................: 14,612 14,500 14,254 14,394 13,789 13,194 Virginia .....................: 6,222 6,217 6,182 6,089 6,074 6,043 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,744 10,722 10,683 10,763 10,460 10,005 : 19 State total ...............: 196,111 195,117 196,294 195,372 193,253 191,957 : Previous year total ..........: 196,576 195,141 194,434 195,036 194,164 193,090 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 100 101 100 100 99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 14, : July 21, : July 28, : August 4, : August 11, : August 18, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,301 20,517 19,417 19,749 19,688 19,877 Arkansas .....................: 19,209 20,502 19,313 17,406 18,903 19,160 Delaware .....................: 4,989 4,250 3,153 3,361 4,085 4,394 Florida ......................: 1,168 1,179 1,211 1,138 1,010 1,304 Georgia ......................: 26,917 26,546 28,246 28,124 28,416 26,860 Kentucky .....................: 5,873 6,142 5,925 6,483 6,447 5,922 Louisiana ....................: 2,961 3,098 2,935 3,067 2,794 2,796 Maryland .....................: 5,582 7,131 6,093 6,452 6,135 6,483 Mississippi ..................: 15,485 15,216 14,933 15,326 15,357 15,261 Missouri .....................: 5,064 4,708 5,159 6,071 5,711 5,029 : North Carolina ...............: 15,714 16,227 15,898 16,407 15,503 15,323 Oklahoma .....................: 4,343 4,335 4,151 4,914 3,896 4,892 Pennsylvania .................: 3,003 2,962 2,986 3,157 2,911 2,998 South Carolina ...............: 4,524 4,142 4,273 4,033 4,049 4,453 Texas ........................: 12,156 11,930 11,905 12,169 12,224 12,007 Virginia .....................: 4,712 4,312 5,383 5,327 5,224 4,721 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 11,203 10,696 10,201 10,544 9,913 10,999 : 19 State total ...............: 163,204 163,893 161,182 163,728 162,266 162,479 : Previous year total ..........: 164,445 162,828 162,898 164,050 162,336 161,039 : Percent of previous year .....: 99 101 99 100 100 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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