HDR1012000150060113971500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Released January 13, 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.  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 January  1 Down 5 Percent                       
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on January 1, 1997, in the United States totaled      
33.9 million, down 5 percent from January 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators     
were down 1 percent from the revised December 1 total of 34.4 million.          
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 1; W   
N Central, up 5; N & S Atlantic, down 14; S Central, up 2; and West, down 9.    
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Poults Placed During December Up 8 Percent                          
                                                                                
The 27.2 million poults placed during December 1996 in the United States were   
up 8 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements  
were up 14 percent from the revised November 1996 total of 23.8 million.        
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 8; W N   
Central, up 18; N & S Atlantic, up 4; S Central, up 8; and West, down 6.        
                                                                                
                                                                                
      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     24,208     104       23,371      24,208         104      
Oct     :   25,158     25,354     101       48,529      49,562         102      
Nov     :   24,619     23,830      97       73,148      73,392         100      
Dec     :   25,269     27,166     108       98,417     100,558         102      
Jan     :   27,391                         125,808                              
Feb     :   27,596                         153,404                              
Mar     :   27,932                         181,336                              
Apr     :   29,725                         211,061                              
May     :   29,668                         240,729                              
Jun     :   27,987                         268,716                              
Jul     :   28,913                         297,629                              
Aug     :   27,746                         325,375                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
1/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                  Eggs in Incubators: First of Month by Region                  
            and United States, Jan 1997 with Comparisons                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Jan 1  :   Dec 1  :   Jan 1  :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1996   :   1997   :     Year     :      Month     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,055      4,710      4,994           99            106      
W N Central    :   9,597      9,784     10,076          105            103      
N & S Atlantic :  13,399    *12,990     11,538           86             89      
S Central      :   3,897      4,066      3,986          102             98      
West           :   3,670      2,874      3,344           91            116      
               :                                                                
US             :  35,618    *34,424     33,938           95             99      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                                
             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region                          
          and United States, Dec 1996 with Comparisons 1/                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of    
  Geographic   :   Dec    :   Nov    :   Dec    :   Previous  :    Previous     
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,291      3,164      3,563         108           113        
W N Central    :   6,604      6,212      7,765         118           125        
N & S Atlantic :   9,853      8,878     10,218         104           115        
S Central      :   3,107     *3,398      3,361         108            99        
West           :   2,414      2,178      2,259          94           104        
               :                                                                
US             :  25,269    *23,830     27,166         108           114        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
*   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 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, Massachusetts, Michigan, 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 p.m. ET on              
February 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) 720-5881 (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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                            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.                                                             
                                                                                
          USDA Announces Agricultural Outlook Forum  97                         
                    February 24 and 25, 1997                                    
              Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.                             
                                                                                
An era of freer markets under the 1996 Farm Bill has begun.  For an expert      
assessment of the impact, attend the Outlook Forum.  Top speakers will discuss  
the 1997 farm outlook, prospects to 2005, risk management, concentration issues,
market stability, world food security, marketing high-valued exports and more.  
Plan now to attend.   For program and registration details, check Forum home    
page, call (202) 720-3050 or dial (202) 219-0296 from your fax machine and      
request document 66666.   Send e-mail to agforum@oce.usda.gov.                  
                                                                                
Get news from the Forum.  Can't attend? After the Forum, download speeches from 
the Internet. Or, call 1-800-999-6779 to place an advance order for the printed 
proceedings (YCON-97) or new long term projections to 2005 (WAOB-97-1).         
                                                                                
  Ag Forum home page:  http://www.usda.gov/oce/waob/agforum.htm                 
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                          Agricultural                                          
                             Outlook                                            
                            Forum  97