Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released October 3, 2012, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set Up 2 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 186 million eggs in incubators during the week ending September 29, 2012. This was up 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 154 million chicks for meat production during the week ending September 29, 2012. Placements were up slightly from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through September 29, 2012 were 6.37 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 25, :September 1, :September 8, :September 15,:September 22,:September 29, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 28,073 27,312 26,375 26,841 27,468 26,059 Arkansas .....................: 20,651 20,757 19,074 19,420 20,859 20,187 Delaware .....................: 3,286 3,259 3,143 3,155 3,153 3,142 Florida ......................: 1,349 1,347 1,353 1,088 1,353 1,351 Georgia ......................: 31,721 31,596 30,962 30,475 31,914 30,722 Kentucky .....................: 7,696 7,675 6,682 6,980 7,416 7,017 Louisiana ....................: 3,167 3,211 3,285 3,272 3,008 3,122 Maryland .....................: 7,346 6,944 6,932 7,182 7,119 7,121 Mississippi ..................: 15,751 16,386 16,740 16,489 15,600 16,447 Missouri .....................: 8,032 8,019 8,037 7,366 7,252 6,914 : North Carolina ...............: 19,688 19,445 18,217 18,394 19,206 19,370 Oklahoma .....................: 6,686 6,693 6,539 6,459 6,736 6,829 Pennsylvania .................: 3,726 3,584 3,505 3,473 3,271 3,516 South Carolina ...............: 5,265 4,721 5,402 5,513 4,852 5,300 Texas ........................: 13,446 12,784 13,495 12,533 12,786 13,655 Virginia .....................: 6,049 5,985 5,798 5,500 6,032 5,426 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,316 10,445 10,074 9,553 9,413 9,627 : 19 State total ...............: 192,248 190,163 185,613 183,693 187,438 185,805 : Previous year total ..........: 193,007 189,258 185,218 179,528 187,841 181,765 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 100 100 102 100 102 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - 19 Selected States: 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 25, :September 1, :September 8, :September 15,:September 22,:September 29, : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 : 2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 20,005 20,056 19,993 19,801 19,617 19,464 Arkansas .....................: 19,431 19,027 20,937 20,760 19,973 17,313 Delaware .....................: 4,577 4,947 4,023 4,033 3,907 4,261 Florida ......................: 1,248 1,186 1,105 1,300 972 1,215 Georgia ......................: 26,659 26,271 25,810 27,497 26,306 25,970 Kentucky .....................: 6,126 6,404 6,403 5,828 6,249 5,636 Louisiana ....................: 2,836 2,871 2,857 2,847 2,818 2,970 Maryland .....................: 5,682 5,738 6,350 5,620 5,924 5,262 Mississippi ..................: 15,202 14,397 14,411 13,447 14,178 14,355 Missouri .....................: 5,723 5,854 4,937 5,032 5,513 5,797 : North Carolina ...............: 15,684 15,827 15,780 16,165 15,602 14,737 Oklahoma .....................: 4,163 4,437 3,843 4,202 4,247 4,893 Pennsylvania .................: 2,953 2,838 3,040 3,140 2,997 2,933 South Carolina ...............: 4,587 3,847 5,263 3,871 4,373 4,424 Texas ........................: 11,873 11,439 10,614 11,183 10,801 11,209 Virginia .....................: 4,918 3,877 4,503 5,424 4,889 4,647 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 10,797 11,021 9,668 10,349 10,581 9,346 : 19 State total ...............: 162,464 160,037 159,537 160,499 158,947 154,432 : Previous year total ..........: 162,943 160,923 160,203 160,820 157,901 154,383 : Percent of previous year .....: 100 99 100 100 101 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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