Pou 3-2 (1-00)

Washington, D.C.

Turkeys

Released January 12, 2000, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of

Agriculture. For information on "Turkeys" call John Lange at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Turkeys Raised in 1999 Down 4 Percent

Turkeys raised in the United States during 1999 totaled 273 million birds, down 4 percent

from the 285 million turkeys raised during 1998.

North Carolina ranked first in the number raised with 46.5 million, followed by Minnesota

with 43.5 million, Arkansas with 27.0 million, Virginia with 24.0 million, Missouri with

22.0 million, California with 17.5 million, and Indiana with 13.5 million. These States

accounted for 71 percent of the turkeys produced in the United States during 1999. 

Turkey Growers Plan 1 Percent Increase in 2000

Turkey growers in 20 States which produced 96% of the turkeys raised in 1999, intend to

increase the number of birds raised in 2000 by 1 percent. Intentions for the top seven

producing States compared with 1999 are as follows: North Carolina down 1 percent,

Minnesota, Arkansas, and Virginia unchanged, Missouri up 9 percent, California up

14 percent, and Indiana down 4 percent.

The number of turkeys actually raised in 2000 may vary from growers' intentions shown in

this report depending on feed costs, supply of hatching eggs, cost of poults, and prices

growers receive for turkeys during the next few months. 
Turkeys Agricultural Statistics Board

January 2000 2 NASS, USDA

Turkeys: Number Raised in 1998 and 1999 1

State

Number 1999

as % of

1998 1999 1998

1,000 Head 1,000 Head Percent

AR

CA

CT

IL

IN

IA

MD & DE

MA

MI 2

MN

MO

NH

NJ

NY

NC

ND

OH

PA

SC

SD

VT

VA

WV

Oth Sts 2

US

28,000

19,000

5

3,200

13,500

7,000

600

81

44,500

22,000

14

71

500

50,000

1,800

5,500

10,500

10,600

3,800

41

26,000

4,300

34,192

285,204

27,000

17,500

5

2,900

13,500

7,800

604

78

2,700

43,500

22,000

15

50

490

46,500

1,800

4,700

9,800

9,500

4,200

41

24,000

4,500

29,811

272,994

96

92

100

91

100

111

101

96

98

100

107

70

98

93

100

85

93

90

111

100

92

105

96 1 Revised. 2 CO, GA, KS, NE, OK, OR, TX, UT, and WI combined to avoid disclosing of individual operations (and MI for

1998). 
Turkeys Agricultural Statistics Board

January 2000 3 NASS, USDA

Turkeys: Death Loss by Geographic Region and United States, 1997-99

Geographic

Region

Young Turkeys Lost as a Percent of

Total Poults Placed

1997 1998 1999

Percent Percent Percent

East North Central

West North Central

North & South Atlantic

South Central

West

US

10.5

10.8

11.2

10.5

10.2

10.8

10.8

11.0

10.2

11.9

10.7

10.8

10.2

11.6

10.3

11.3

10.8

10.9

Regional Listing:

 North Atlantic: CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.

 East North Central: IL, IN, MI, OH, WI.

 West North Central: IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD.

 South Atlantic: DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV.

 South Central: AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, TX.

 West: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY.
Turkeys Agricultural Statistics Board

January 2000 4 NASS, USDA

Turkeys: Number Raised in 1999 and Intentions for 2000,

Selected States and 20 State Total

State

Number 2000

as % of

1999 2000 1999

1,000 Head 1,000 Head Percent

AR

CA

IN

IA

MN

MO

NC

ND

OH

PA

SC

SD

VA

WV

Oth Sts 1

20 State Total

27,000

17,500

13,500

7,800

43,500

22,000

46,500

1,800

4,700

9,800

9,500

4,200

24,000

4,500

26,500

262,800

27,000

20,000

13,000

7,500

43,500

24,000

46,000

2,100

4,800

9,600

9,100

4,400

24,000

4,600

24,800

264,400

100

114

96

96

100

109

99

117

102

98

96

105

100

102

94

101 1 CO, KS, OK, TX, UT, and WI combined to avoid disclosing individual operations.

Turkeys Hatchery Production: Monthly Poult Placements,

United States, 1997-99 1

Month

Total All

Breeds

Percent

of

Previous

Year

Cumulative

Total

Percent

of

Previous

Year 1997-98 1998-99 1997-98 1998-99

1,000 1,000 Percent 1,000 1,000 Percent

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

23,907

24,587

23,281

25,711

26,240

25,093

26,362

25,747

25,677

26,957

26,247

24,450

21,124

22,749

22,167

24,985

24,590

23,722

25,917

26,817

26,085

25,621

26,755

24,755

88

93

95

97

94

95

98

104

102

95

102

101

23,907

48,494

71,775

97,486

123,726

148,819

175,181

200,928

226,605

253,562

279,809

304,259

21,124

43,873

66,040

91,025

115,615

139,337

165,254

192,071

218,156

243,777

270,532

295,287

88

90

92

93

93

94

94

96

96

96

97

97 1 Excludes exported poults.
Turkeys Agricultural Statistics Board

January 2000 5 NASS, USDA

Turkeys Raised Estimates

Survey Procedures: Survey data for the turkeys raised estimate are collected from a list of

contractors and independent growers during December. States use all known sources of producer

names to ensure that the list is as complete as possible. Turkey producers are then contacted either

by mail, telephone, or in person. Diligent effort is made to ensure that all operations are accounted

for in the estimate.

Estimation Procedures: Turkeys raised estimates include young turkeys intended for meat

production, as well as breeder turkeys which reached maturity during the calendar year. These

estimates exclude turkeys lost to disease or those destroyed. Placements of turkey poults from the

Monthly Turkey Hatchery Survey provide 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 estimates are based on a census of known active producers 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 Census of Agriculture are

available. No revisions are made after that date.
The next "Turkeys" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on August 25, 2000.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs on the

basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and

marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who

require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)

should contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten

Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call 202-720-5964 (voice

or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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