Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 27, 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 December 22, 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 167 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 22, 2012. Placements were up 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through December 22, 2012 were 8.25 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 17, :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, :December 15, :December 22, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 27,978 28,045 27,975 27,628 27,607 27,736 Arkansas .....................: 21,588 21,532 21,963 20,830 21,845 21,128 Delaware .....................: 3,415 3,413 3,415 3,414 3,415 3,414 Florida ......................: 1,351 1,353 1,655 1,048 1,350 1,353 Georgia ......................: 32,130 32,298 34,317 30,251 32,433 32,432 Kentucky .....................: 7,966 7,350 7,283 7,696 7,694 7,679 Louisiana ....................: 3,288 3,258 3,258 3,273 3,288 3,304 Maryland .....................: 7,158 7,182 7,067 7,117 7,185 7,153 Mississippi ..................: 16,865 17,178 17,089 17,377 16,927 16,575 Missouri .....................: 8,040 8,013 8,012 7,713 7,881 7,897 : North Carolina ...............: 19,640 20,043 20,022 19,259 19,992 19,979 Oklahoma .....................: 6,830 6,825 7,026 6,809 6,581 6,968 Pennsylvania .................: 3,749 3,701 3,935 3,583 3,812 3,729 South Carolina ...............: 5,397 5,657 5,557 5,316 4,675 5,462 Texas ........................: 14,128 14,212 14,764 13,761 14,237 14,033 Virginia .....................: 6,275 6,455 6,638 6,002 6,476 6,490 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,830 10,420 10,939 9,443 9,694 10,575 : 19 State total ...............: 196,628 196,935 200,915 190,520 195,092 195,907 : Previous year total ..........: 195,158 194,560 194,178 194,887 194,602 195,380 : Percent of previous year .....: 101 101 103 98 100 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 17, :November 24, : December 1, : December 8, :December 15, :December 22, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 19,390 17,883 19,786 21,156 21,449 21,366 Arkansas .....................: 20,306 18,987 19,476 19,134 20,377 19,661 Delaware .....................: 4,371 4,309 3,550 3,831 4,086 3,744 Florida ......................: 1,326 1,162 1,020 1,369 1,311 1,304 Georgia ......................: 24,885 24,958 26,525 25,978 26,221 27,338 Kentucky .....................: 5,745 5,875 5,542 6,122 6,315 5,624 Louisiana ....................: 2,891 2,664 2,642 2,940 2,912 2,958 Maryland .....................: 5,307 5,710 7,060 6,526 6,198 5,513 Mississippi ..................: 13,993 12,984 14,757 14,396 14,770 14,652 Missouri .....................: 5,265 4,869 5,316 5,768 5,720 5,633 : North Carolina ...............: 15,712 16,127 16,728 15,865 16,416 16,861 Oklahoma .....................: 3,680 3,997 4,204 5,307 4,718 5,273 Pennsylvania .................: 2,488 2,772 2,804 3,084 2,900 3,283 South Carolina ...............: 4,184 4,885 3,843 5,064 4,344 4,763 Texas ........................: 11,256 11,162 11,832 11,940 11,809 12,416 Virginia .....................: 4,507 3,929 3,592 4,264 4,456 4,973 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,589 9,465 10,742 10,657 9,602 11,489 : 19 State total ...............: 155,895 151,738 159,419 163,401 163,604 166,851 : Previous year total ..........: 152,567 156,853 160,576 162,541 162,116 162,753 : Percent of previous year .....: 102 97 99 101 101 103 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, Mink .......................... (202) 720-0585 Dawn Keen - Egg Products ............................................. (202) 720-4448 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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