Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released October 24, 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 177 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 20, 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 Up 2 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 154 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 20, 2012. Placements were up 2 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through October 20, 2012 were 6.83 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 15,:September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : October 13, : October 20, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 26,820 27,370 25,744 27,144 25,966 25,458 Arkansas .....................: 19,989 20,859 20,196 20,310 17,697 18,329 Delaware .....................: 3,155 3,153 3,142 3,161 3,158 3,162 Florida ......................: 1,088 1,353 1,351 1,351 1,353 1,088 Georgia ......................: 30,475 31,914 30,224 30,771 31,261 28,089 Kentucky .....................: 7,007 7,646 7,217 7,550 7,554 6,707 Louisiana ....................: 3,272 3,146 3,122 3,287 3,304 3,298 Maryland .....................: 7,182 7,119 7,121 6,654 7,471 7,071 Mississippi ..................: 16,606 15,600 16,185 16,511 16,558 16,349 Missouri .....................: 7,366 7,252 6,914 7,823 7,606 7,210 : North Carolina ...............: 18,361 19,206 19,454 19,099 17,722 18,305 Oklahoma .....................: 6,441 6,717 6,811 6,936 6,287 6,416 Pennsylvania .................: 3,473 3,271 3,608 3,639 3,647 3,279 South Carolina ...............: 5,513 5,042 5,300 4,792 4,924 5,654 Texas ........................: 12,552 12,806 13,675 13,220 13,014 12,603 Virginia .....................: 5,500 6,096 5,490 5,909 6,019 5,543 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,643 9,413 9,812 9,860 9,599 8,538 : 19 State total ...............: 184,443 187,963 185,366 188,017 183,140 177,099 : Previous year total ..........: 179,528 187,841 181,765 186,317 181,852 183,537 : Percent of previous year .....: 103 100 102 101 101 96 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 15,:September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : October 13, : October 20, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,801 19,617 19,472 18,901 19,760 18,660 Arkansas .....................: 20,760 19,973 17,313 18,701 18,906 18,637 Delaware .....................: 4,033 3,907 4,261 4,118 3,509 3,720 Florida ......................: 1,300 972 1,215 935 935 1,023 Georgia ......................: 27,497 26,306 25,970 26,969 27,779 25,957 Kentucky .....................: 5,828 6,249 5,682 5,690 6,718 5,732 Louisiana ....................: 2,847 2,897 2,970 2,952 2,845 2,700 Maryland .....................: 5,620 5,924 5,262 5,440 6,386 6,331 Mississippi ..................: 13,447 14,178 14,363 14,301 13,545 13,616 Missouri .....................: 5,032 5,513 5,797 4,874 5,327 4,770 : North Carolina ...............: 16,165 15,602 14,737 14,664 14,325 15,110 Oklahoma .....................: 4,202 4,247 4,893 4,465 4,782 4,854 Pennsylvania .................: 3,140 2,997 2,935 2,778 2,675 3,023 South Carolina ...............: 3,871 4,551 4,424 4,601 3,704 4,127 Texas ........................: 11,240 10,858 11,266 10,867 10,735 11,668 Virginia .....................: 5,424 4,889 4,647 4,228 4,877 4,495 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,346 10,579 9,473 9,462 9,045 9,835 : 19 State total ...............: 160,553 159,259 154,680 153,946 155,853 154,258 : Previous year total ..........: 160,820 157,901 154,383 148,802 155,108 151,134 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 101 100 103 100 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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