Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released October 31, 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 186 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 27, 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 2 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 157 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 27, 2012. Placements were up 2 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through October 27, 2012 were 6.99 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : October 13, : October 20, : October 27, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,370 25,744 27,088 25,966 25,458 25,755 Arkansas .....................: 20,859 20,196 20,310 17,697 18,329 20,124 Delaware .....................: 3,153 3,142 3,161 3,158 3,162 3,240 Florida ......................: 1,353 1,351 1,351 1,353 1,088 1,353 Georgia ......................: 31,977 30,314 31,333 31,329 28,132 30,168 Kentucky .....................: 7,646 7,173 7,669 7,554 6,707 7,229 Louisiana ....................: 3,146 3,122 2,977 3,304 3,298 3,183 Maryland .....................: 7,119 7,121 6,654 7,471 7,071 6,769 Mississippi ..................: 15,601 16,170 16,496 16,543 16,364 16,365 Missouri .....................: 7,252 6,914 7,823 7,606 7,210 7,867 : North Carolina ...............: 19,206 19,454 18,565 17,722 18,305 19,331 Oklahoma .....................: 6,717 6,811 6,936 6,287 6,416 6,622 Pennsylvania .................: 3,271 3,608 3,639 3,647 3,279 3,369 South Carolina ...............: 5,042 5,300 4,792 4,924 5,654 5,124 Texas ........................: 12,806 13,675 13,220 13,014 12,603 13,200 Virginia .....................: 6,096 5,490 5,971 6,019 5,543 6,195 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,413 9,812 9,860 9,599 8,538 10,477 : 19 State total ...............: 188,027 185,397 187,845 183,193 177,157 186,371 : Previous year total ..........: 187,841 181,765 186,317 181,852 183,537 185,172 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 102 101 101 97 101 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :September 22,:September 29,: October 6, : October 13, : October 20, : October 27, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,617 19,472 18,901 19,760 18,660 19,380 Arkansas .....................: 19,973 17,313 18,701 18,906 18,637 19,258 Delaware .....................: 3,907 4,261 4,118 3,509 3,720 4,280 Florida ......................: 972 1,215 935 935 1,023 1,291 Georgia ......................: 26,323 25,976 27,034 27,814 25,953 26,577 Kentucky .....................: 6,249 5,682 5,690 6,718 5,762 5,950 Louisiana ....................: 2,897 2,970 2,952 2,845 2,700 2,703 Maryland .....................: 5,924 5,262 5,440 6,386 6,331 5,239 Mississippi ..................: 14,178 14,363 14,301 13,545 13,616 14,142 Missouri .....................: 5,513 5,797 4,874 5,327 4,770 5,543 : North Carolina ...............: 15,602 14,737 14,664 14,407 15,110 14,998 Oklahoma .....................: 4,247 4,893 4,465 4,782 4,854 4,356 Pennsylvania .................: 2,997 2,935 2,778 2,675 3,023 3,059 South Carolina ...............: 4,551 4,424 4,601 3,704 4,127 3,850 Texas ........................: 10,858 11,266 10,867 10,735 11,668 11,132 Virginia .....................: 4,889 4,647 4,228 4,877 4,495 4,494 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,579 9,473 9,462 9,045 9,835 10,640 : 19 State total ...............: 159,276 154,686 154,011 155,970 154,284 156,892 : Previous year total ..........: 157,901 154,383 148,802 155,108 151,134 153,311 : Percent of previous year .....: 101 100 104 101 102 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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