HDR1012000150060415971500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Released April 15, 1997, 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.                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Eggs in Incubators on April 1 Down 5 Percent                        
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on April 1, 1997, in the United States totaled        
37.2 million, down 5 percent from April 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators were  
up 6 percent from the March 1 total of 35.0 million.  Regional percent changes  
from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 3; W N Central, down 1; N & S   
Atlantic, down 10; S Central, down 3; and West, down 6.                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poults Placed During March Down 1 Percent                          
                                                                                
The 27.6 million poults placed during March 1997 in the United States were      
down 1 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.            
Placements were up 2 percent from the February 1997 total of 27.2 million.      
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 1; W N   
Central,up 7; N & S Atlantic, down 8; S Central, up 2; and West, down 5.        
                                                                                
Pou 3 (4-97)                                                                    
             Turkey Hatchery Production:  Monthly Poult Placements,             
                            United States, 1995-97 1/                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :      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     :  23,371     24,154      103       23,371      24,154         103      
Oct     :  25,158     25,354      101       48,529      49,508         102      
Nov     :  24,619     23,830       97       73,148      73,338         100      
Dec     :  25,269     27,119      107       98,417     100,457         102      
Jan     :  27,391     27,130       99      125,808     127,587         101      
Feb     :  27,596     27,152       98      153,404     154,739         101      
Mar     :  27,932     27,607       99      181,336     182,346         101      
Apr     :  29,725                          211,061                              
May     :  29,668                          240,729                              
Jun     :  27,987                          268,716                              
Jul     :  28,913                          297,629                              
Aug     :  27,496                          325,125                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                  Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                 
                 and United States, April 1997 with Comparisons                 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :  Apr 1   :  Mar 1   :  Apr 1   :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :                                                                
               :  ----------- 1,000 ----------         ----- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,242      5,016      5,099         97             102       
W N Central    :  11,738     10,569     11,588         99             110       
N & S Atlantic :  13,852     11,717     12,528         90             107       
S Central      :   4,061      3,975      3,928         97              99       
West           :   4,325      3,763      4,073         94             108       
               :                                                                
US             :  39,218     35,040     37,216         95             106       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
          Poults Placements:  Entire Month by Region and United States,         
                         March 1997 with Comparisons 1/                         
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Mar    :   Feb    :   Mar    :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :  ----------- 1,000 ----------        ----- Percent -----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,684      3,661      3,707        101             101       
W N Central    :   7,590      8,025      8,139        107             101       
N & S Atlantic :  10,427      9,135      9,633         92             105       
S Central      :   3,160      3,520      3,222        102              92       
West           :   3,071      2,811      2,906         95             103       
               :                                                                
US             :  27,932     27,152     27,607         99             102       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 22 States.  An attempt is made to collect hatchery information    
from all known hatcheries in these 22 monthly States.  Approximately 65         
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, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New        
Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South    
Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.                  
                                                                                
The next "Turkey Hatchery" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on           
May 14, 1997.                                                                   
                                                                                
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) 720-2791.                                     
                                                                                
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, USDA, Washington,      
D.C., 20250, or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD).  USDA is   
an equal employment opportunity employer.                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
                         SUBSCRIBE TODAY!!                                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data       
products, and services:                                                         
                                                                                
                                                                                
                          INTERNET ACCESS                                       
                                                                                
All NASS reports are now available free of charge on the worldwide Internet.    
For access, connect to the Internet and select:                                 
                                                                                
   1.  Worldwide Web:  http://www.usda.gov/nass/       OR                       
                                                                                
   2.  For Gopher/Telenet/FTP access:                                           
       HOST=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu        OR                                  
                                                                                
   3.  For a subscription direct to your e-mail address,                        
       send an e-mail message to:  usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu        
       and in the body of the message type the word:  list                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
                           AUTOFAX ACCESS                                       
                                                                                
NASSFax service is available for some reports from your fax machine.  Please    
call 202-720-2000, using the handset attached to your fax.  Respond to the      
voice prompts.                                                                  
                                                                                
                  PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS                              
 CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK:   1-800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada)              
       Other areas, please call l-703-834-0125         FAX:  1-703-834-0110     
 (Visa, MasterCard, check, or money order acceptable for payment.)              
                                                                                
                             ASSISTANCE                                         
                                                                                
For assistance with general agricultural statistics or further information      
about NASS or its products or services, contact the Agricultural Statistics     
HOTLINE at 1-800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail:                
NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV.