Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released October 10, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Up 1 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 188 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 6, 2012. This was up 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 154 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 6, 2012. Placements were up 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through October 6, 2012 were 6.52 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 1, :September 8, :September 15,:September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,312 26,375 26,820 27,468 26,059 27,144 Arkansas .....................: 20,757 19,074 19,989 20,859 20,187 20,310 Delaware .....................: 3,259 3,143 3,155 3,153 3,142 3,161 Florida ......................: 1,347 1,353 1,088 1,353 1,351 1,351 Georgia ......................: 31,596 30,962 30,475 31,914 30,722 30,771 Kentucky .....................: 7,675 6,682 7,179 7,416 7,018 7,550 Louisiana ....................: 3,211 3,285 3,272 3,008 3,122 3,287 Maryland .....................: 6,944 6,932 7,182 7,119 7,121 6,654 Mississippi ..................: 16,386 16,740 16,606 15,600 16,447 16,511 Missouri .....................: 8,019 8,037 7,366 7,252 6,914 7,823 : North Carolina ...............: 19,445 18,217 18,361 19,206 19,370 18,927 Oklahoma .....................: 6,693 6,539 6,459 6,736 6,829 6,936 Pennsylvania .................: 3,584 3,505 3,473 3,271 3,608 3,518 South Carolina ...............: 4,721 5,402 5,513 4,852 5,300 4,792 Texas ........................: 12,855 13,566 12,552 12,806 13,675 13,220 Virginia .....................: 5,985 5,798 5,500 6,032 5,426 5,909 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,453 10,076 9,643 9,413 9,581 10,250 : 19 State total ...............: 190,242 185,686 184,633 187,458 185,872 188,114 : Previous year total ..........: 189,258 185,218 179,528 187,841 181,765 186,317 : Percent of previous year .....: 101 100 103 100 102 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 1, :September 8, :September 15,:September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,056 19,993 19,801 19,617 19,464 18,901 Arkansas .....................: 19,027 20,937 20,760 19,973 17,313 18,700 Delaware .....................: 4,947 4,023 4,033 3,907 4,261 4,118 Florida ......................: 1,186 1,105 1,300 972 1,215 935 Georgia ......................: 26,271 25,810 27,497 26,306 25,970 26,726 Kentucky .....................: 6,404 6,403 5,828 6,249 5,679 5,747 Louisiana ....................: 2,871 2,857 2,847 2,818 2,970 2,952 Maryland .....................: 5,738 6,350 5,620 5,924 5,262 5,440 Mississippi ..................: 14,397 14,411 13,447 14,178 14,355 14,301 Missouri .....................: 5,854 4,937 5,032 5,513 5,797 4,874 : North Carolina ...............: 15,827 15,780 16,165 15,602 14,737 14,634 Oklahoma .....................: 4,437 3,843 4,202 4,247 4,893 4,465 Pennsylvania .................: 2,838 3,040 3,140 2,997 2,935 2,925 South Carolina ...............: 3,847 5,263 3,871 4,373 4,424 4,601 Texas ........................: 11,439 10,671 11,240 10,858 11,266 10,867 Virginia .....................: 3,877 4,503 5,424 4,889 4,647 4,228 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 11,021 9,668 10,346 10,579 9,352 9,469 : 19 State total ...............: 160,037 159,594 160,553 159,002 154,540 153,883 : Previous year total ..........: 160,923 160,203 160,820 157,901 154,383 148,802 : Percent of previous year .....: 99 100 100 101 100 103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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