Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released November 21, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Up Slightly Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ending November 17, 2012. This was up slightly 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 156 million chicks for meat production during the week ending November 17, 2012. Placements were up 2 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through November 17, 2012 were 7.45 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : October 13, : October 20, : October 27, : November 3, :November 10, :November 17, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 26,053 26,218 25,961 24,787 26,932 27,513 Arkansas .....................: 17,697 18,329 20,507 20,132 21,045 21,688 Delaware .....................: 3,158 3,162 3,240 3,284 3,389 3,415 Florida ......................: 1,353 1,088 1,353 1,351 1,353 1,351 Georgia ......................: 30,865 28,995 30,168 29,852 31,559 32,130 Kentucky .....................: 7,014 6,483 7,210 7,330 7,094 7,517 Louisiana ....................: 3,304 3,298 3,183 2,956 2,956 3,288 Maryland .....................: 7,471 7,071 6,766 6,803 7,136 7,158 Mississippi ..................: 16,543 16,364 16,365 15,168 17,223 16,865 Missouri .....................: 7,606 7,210 7,867 6,859 7,258 8,040 : North Carolina ...............: 17,382 17,924 19,331 19,266 20,202 19,553 Oklahoma .....................: 6,287 6,416 6,622 6,662 6,553 6,830 Pennsylvania .................: 3,647 3,353 3,246 3,167 3,546 3,678 South Carolina ...............: 4,924 5,654 5,252 5,156 5,129 5,402 Texas ........................: 13,034 12,609 13,381 12,996 13,980 14,128 Virginia .....................: 6,019 5,543 6,195 4,780 5,127 6,275 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,461 8,418 10,563 10,261 10,414 10,883 : 19 State total ...............: 181,818 178,135 187,210 180,810 190,896 195,714 : Previous year total ..........: 181,852 183,537 185,172 186,594 194,224 195,158 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 97 101 97 98 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : October 13, : October 20, : October 27, : November 3, :November 10, :November 17, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,778 18,660 19,380 18,979 18,543 19,054 Arkansas .....................: 18,906 18,637 19,282 17,289 17,258 20,306 Delaware .....................: 3,509 3,720 4,232 4,164 4,095 4,371 Florida ......................: 935 1,023 1,291 1,276 1,035 1,326 Georgia ......................: 27,814 25,953 26,577 25,812 25,119 25,014 Kentucky .....................: 6,718 5,762 5,910 5,544 5,247 5,659 Louisiana ....................: 2,845 2,700 2,703 2,949 2,981 2,891 Maryland .....................: 6,386 6,331 5,259 5,712 5,246 5,307 Mississippi ..................: 13,545 13,616 14,142 13,994 13,869 13,993 Missouri .....................: 5,327 4,770 5,543 4,996 4,849 5,265 : North Carolina ...............: 14,407 15,158 14,988 14,505 15,055 15,679 Oklahoma .....................: 4,782 4,854 4,356 3,706 4,181 3,680 Pennsylvania .................: 2,675 2,972 2,945 2,901 2,634 2,647 South Carolina ...............: 3,704 4,127 3,818 4,251 3,726 4,365 Texas ........................: 10,751 11,684 11,148 11,027 10,769 11,234 Virginia .....................: 4,877 4,495 4,494 4,526 4,349 4,507 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,020 9,802 10,666 10,090 8,560 10,729 : 19 State total ...............: 155,979 154,264 156,734 151,721 147,516 156,027 : Previous year total ..........: 155,108 151,134 153,311 149,126 152,174 152,567 : Percent of previous year .....: 101 102 102 102 97 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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