Pou 3-2 (8-04) Turkeys Raised National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 23, 2004, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on Turkeys Raised call John Lange at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Turkeys Raised Down 4 Percent from 2003 The preliminary estimate of turkeys raised in the United States during 2004 is 263 million, down 4 percent from the number raised during 2003. The following six States are expected to account for about two-thirds of the turkeys produced in the United States during 2004: Minnesota, at 46.5 million birds, is expected to raise the largest number of any state, showing a 3 percent increase from last year. North Carolina ranks second with 39.0 million birds, down 8 percent from 2003. Arkansas is in third place by producing 28.0 million birds, 7 percent less than a year ago. Missouri growers expect to produce 21.5 million birds in 2004, down 9 percent from the previous year. Virginia, at 19.0 million birds is down 17 percent from 2003. California expects to raise 16.0 million turkeys, 8 percent less than a year earlier. Turkeys: Number Raised by State and United States, 2003-2004 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : 2004 State :-------------------------------------------------: as % of : 2003 : 2004 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---------- 1,000 Head ---------- Percent : AR : 30,000 28,000 93 CA : 17,300 16,000 92 CT : 5 5 100 IL : 2,900 2,800 97 IN : 12,800 13,100 102 IA : 8,500 9,000 106 MD : 500 750 150 MA : 73 70 96 MI : 5,000 5,000 100 MN : 45,000 46,500 103 MO : 23,500 21,500 91 NH : 5 6 120 NJ : 33 38 115 NY : 570 580 102 NC : 42,500 39,000 92 ND : 1,300 1,000 77 OH : 5,500 5,700 104 PA : 9,500 12,000 126 SC : 12,000 12,000 100 SD : 4,600 4,500 98 VT : 52 52 100 VA : 23,000 19,000 83 WV : 4,300 3,400 79 : Oth Sts 2/ : 25,110 22,949 91 : US : 274,048 262,950 96 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ CO, DE, KS, NE, OK, OR, TX, UT, and WI combined to avoid disclosing individual operations. Turkeys Raised Estimates Data Sources: The Turkey Hatchery Survey provides the basis for the preliminary Turkeys Raised estimate published in August. Turkey hatchery estimates are made in 18 States each month and provide the number of eggs in incubators and poults placed in production. Data on poults placed into the United States from Canadian hatcheries are also included in the preliminary estimate. Estimation Procedures: Turkeys Raised preliminary estimates include young turkeys intended for meat production, as well as breeder turkeys which reach maturity during the calendar year. These estimates exclude turkeys lost to disease or those destroyed. Placement of turkey poults from the monthly "Turkey Hatchery" survey provides the basis for the preliminary estimates published in August. Final estimates, published in January, use indications from the December Growers Survey in addition to updated hatchery data. Other indications for the final estimates are obtained from monthly slaughter totals and check-off data provided by individual State turkey or poultry associations. Generally, individual State data are not published if there are less than three operations in a State, or if any one operation has 60 percent or more of the total turkeys in the State. These data are combined into the "Other States" category. Reliability: Turkeys raised preliminary estimates are based on a census of known active hatcheries and, therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing of the data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process, and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Revision Policy: Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when preliminary raised estimates are made in August. Revisions are primarily based on updated hatchery and slaughter data, and at the U.S. level, are usually less than one-half of one percent of the final estimate published in January. Estimates are also reviewed after data from the five-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions are made after that date. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.usda.gov/nass/. Select "Today's Reports" or Publications and then Reports Calendar or Publications and then Search, by Title or Subject. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 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