HDR1012000150061115961500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Released November 15, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service     
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For     
information on "Turkey Hatchery" call Jim Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office    
hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.  For assistance with general agricultural      
statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the       
Agricultural Statistics Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail:                    
NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV.                                                             
                                                                                
                                                                                
          Eggs in Incubators on November 1 Down 1 Percent                       
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on November 1, 1996, in the United States totaled     
31.5 million, down 1 percent from November 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators    
were down 3 percent from the revised October 1 total of 32.3 million.           
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 13; W N  
Central, down 5, N & S Atlantic, down 4; S Central, up 1; and West, up 9.       
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poults Placed During October Up 2 Percent                          
                                                                                
The 25.4 million poults placed during October 1996 in the United States were    
up 2 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements  
were up 5 percent from the revised September 1996 total of 24.2 million.        
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 11; W N  
Central, down 9; N & S Atlantic, up 8; S Central, up 12; and West, down 12.     
                                                                                
      Turkey Hatchery Production:  Monthly Poult Placements,                    
                    United States, 1995-97 1/ 2/                                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        :      Total All      : Percent :       Cumulative      :    Percent    
        :        Breeds       :   of    :         Total         :       of      
  Month :---------------------: Previous:-----------------------:    Previous   
        :  1995-96  : 1996-97 :  Year   :  1995-96  :  1996-97  :      Year     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        :      -- 1,000 --      Percent       --- 1,000 ---          Percent    
        :                                                                       
Sep     :   23,070     24,208     105       23,070      24,208         105      
Oct     :   24,868     25,354     102       47,938      49,562         103      
Nov     :   24,438                          72,376                              
Dec     :   25,144                          97,520                              
Jan     :   27,550                         125,070                              
Feb     :   27,549                         152,619                              
Mar     :   27,949                         180,568                              
Apr     :   29,722                         210,290                              
May     :   29,712                         240,002                              
Jun     :   27,943                         267,945                              
Jul     :   28,881                         296,826                              
Aug     :   27,733                         324,559                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
1/  1995 data include revisions published in Hatchery Production 1995 Summary.  
2/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
           Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                        
            and United States, Nov 1996 with Comparisons                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Nov 1  :   Oct 1  :   Nov 1  :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year     :      Month     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   4,309      5,008      4,854          113             97      
W N Central    :   9,164     *8,335      8,664           95            104      
N & S Atlantic :  11,698    *12,303     11,199           96             91      
S Central      :   3,977     *3,969      4,027          101            101      
West           :   2,533      2,717      2,761          109            102      
               :                                                                
US             :  31,681    *32,332     31,505           99             97      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region                          
          and United States, Oct 1996 with Comparisons 1/                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of    
  Geographic   :   Oct    :   Sep    :   Oct    :   Previous  :    Previous     
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,290      3,348      3,667         111           110        
W N Central    :   7,015      6,128      6,382          91           104        
N & S Atlantic :   9,212      9,596      9,908         108           103        
S Central      :   2,890     *2,763      3,230         112           117        
West           :   2,461      2,373      2,167          88            91        
               :                                                                
US             :  24,868    *24,208     25,354         102           105        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
*   Revised                                                                     
1/  Regional placements refer to poults placed from hatcheries located in that  
    region, and not the actual location of the birds after placement.           
                                                                                
                                                                                
    Regional Listing:                                                           
     North Atlantic  = CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.                      
     E North Central = IL, IN, MI, OH, WI.                                      
     W 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            = AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY.      
                                                                                
                                                                                
                     Turkey Hatchery Estimates                                  
                                                                                
Data Sources:  Primary data for the "Turkey Hatchery" report are collected      
               from weekly and/or monthly questionnaires sent to turkey         
hatcheries in 19 States.  An attempt is made to collect hatchery information    
from all known hatcheries in these 19 monthly States.  Approximately 64         
hatcheries are contacted each month.                                            
                                                                                
                                                                                
Revisions:  Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data and    
            are usually less than 1 percent at the U.S. level.  Revisions to    
the previous month are published in the monthly "Turkey Hatchery" report,       
while annual revisions are published in the "Hatchery Production - Annual       
Summary" report at the end of the marketing year.  The annual report also       
includes data for six States which report on an annual basis only.              
                                                                                
                                                                                
Procedures and Reliability:  Hatcheries are mailed a questionnaire and given    
                             adequate time to respond by mail.  Those that do   
not respond by mail are called by phone.  Diligent effort is made to ensure     
that all hatcheries are accounted for in the estimate.  An allowance is made    
for all non-reporting hatcheries.                                               
                                                                                
Accumulated poult placements beginning on September 1 and ending on August 31   
are shown in the monthly "Turkey Hatchery" report.  This time period            
corresponds with the placements of poults which will reach maturity and be      
available for slaughter during the calendar year.  Only regional and U.S.       
level estimates are published due to the limited number of hatcheries           
involved.  Regional placement data in the report refer to placement of poults   
from hatcheries located in that region, not the actual location of the birds    
after placement.  Poults exported out of the U.S. and poults imported from      
outside of the U.S. are not included in the report.                             
                                                                                
Turkey hatchery estimates are based on a census of operating hatcheries and,    
therefore, have no sampling error.  However, they may be subject to errors      
such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and        
processing 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.                               
                                                                                
States in the monthly estimating program are:  Arkansas, California, Colorado,  
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio,     
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia,   
and Wisconsin.                                                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
The next "Turkey Hatchery" report will be released at 3 P.M. ET on              
December 13, 1996.                                                              
                                                                                
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in  
its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age,  
disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status.  Persons with    
disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program         
information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA     
Office of Communications at (202) 720-5881 (voice) or (202) 720-7808 (TDD).     
                                                                                
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington,      
D.C., 20250, or call (202) 720-7327 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD).  USDA is   
an equal employment opportunity employer.                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
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