Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 12, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 2 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 190 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 8, 2012. This was down 2 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 Slightly Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 8, 2012. Placements were up slightly from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through December 8, 2012 were 7.92 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November 3, :November 10, :November 17, :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 24,206 26,346 27,978 27,056 27,369 27,628 Arkansas .....................: 20,132 20,996 21,588 21,532 21,963 20,830 Delaware .....................: 3,284 3,389 3,415 3,413 3,415 3,414 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,353 1,351 1,353 1,655 1,048 Georgia ......................: 29,979 31,559 32,130 31,711 33,372 30,365 Kentucky .....................: 7,412 7,397 7,836 7,171 6,772 7,638 Louisiana ....................: 2,956 2,956 3,288 3,258 3,258 3,273 Maryland .....................: 6,803 7,136 7,158 7,182 7,067 7,117 Mississippi ..................: 15,168 17,223 16,865 17,178 17,089 17,377 Missouri .....................: 6,859 7,258 8,040 8,013 8,012 7,713 : North Carolina ...............: 19,336 19,975 19,640 19,786 19,794 19,259 Oklahoma .....................: 6,662 6,553 6,830 6,825 7,026 6,809 Pennsylvania .................: 3,530 3,546 3,749 3,630 3,935 3,583 South Carolina ...............: 5,156 5,129 5,397 5,657 5,557 5,316 Texas ........................: 13,023 14,007 14,128 14,000 14,764 13,761 Virginia .....................: 4,780 5,176 6,275 6,455 6,638 6,002 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 9,966 10,414 10,816 10,421 10,940 9,279 : 19 State total ...............: 180,603 190,413 196,484 194,641 198,626 190,412 : Previous year total ..........: 186,594 194,224 195,158 194,560 194,178 194,887 : Percent of previous year .....: 97 98 101 100 102 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : November 3, :November 10, :November 17, :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,325 18,897 19,390 17,883 19,786 21,156 Arkansas .....................: 17,289 17,258 20,306 18,987 19,476 19,134 Delaware .....................: 4,164 4,095 4,371 4,309 3,550 3,831 Florida ......................: 1,276 1,035 1,326 1,162 1,020 1,369 Georgia ......................: 25,812 24,781 24,678 24,791 26,359 25,951 Kentucky .....................: 5,544 5,250 5,745 5,875 5,542 6,190 Louisiana ....................: 2,949 2,981 2,891 2,664 2,642 2,940 Maryland .....................: 5,712 5,246 5,307 5,710 7,060 6,526 Mississippi ..................: 13,994 13,869 13,993 12,984 14,757 14,396 Missouri .....................: 4,996 4,849 5,265 4,869 5,316 5,768 : North Carolina ...............: 14,505 15,055 15,712 16,127 16,728 15,726 Oklahoma .....................: 3,706 4,181 3,680 3,997 4,204 5,307 Pennsylvania .................: 2,901 2,634 2,488 2,965 2,804 3,084 South Carolina ...............: 4,251 3,726 4,184 4,885 3,843 5,064 Texas ........................: 11,027 10,791 11,256 11,162 11,832 11,940 Virginia .....................: 4,526 4,349 4,507 3,929 3,592 4,264 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,090 8,560 10,573 9,435 10,751 10,586 : 19 State total ...............: 152,067 147,557 155,672 151,734 159,262 163,232 : Previous year total ..........: 149,126 152,174 152,567 156,853 160,576 162,541 : Percent of previous year .....: 102 97 102 97 99 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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