HDR1012000150061015971500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Turkey                                                                          
Hatchery                                                                        
                                                                                
National                                                                        
Agricultural                                                                    
Statistics                                                                      
Service                                                                         
                                                                                
USDA                                                                            
Washington, D.C.                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Released October 15, 1997, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service      
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For     
information on "Turkey Hatchery" call James Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office  
hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
           Eggs in Incubators on October 1 Down 3 Percent                       
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on October 1, 1997, in the United States totaled      
31.4 million, down 3 percent from October 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators     
were up 2 percent from the revised September 1 total of 30.9 million.           
Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 8; W   
N Central, up 11; N & S Atlantic, down 5, S Central, down 18; and West, down    
6.                                                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Poults Placed During September Down 1 Percent                       
                                                                                
The 23.9 million poults placed during September 1997 in the United States were  
down 1 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.            
Placements were down 9 percent from the revised August 1997 total of 26.3       
million.  Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central,   
down 3; W N Central, up 15; N & S Atlantic, down 9; S Central, down 1; and      
West, down 7.                                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (10-97)                                                                   
             Turkey Hatchery Production:  Monthly Poult Placements,             
                            United States, 1996-98 1/                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :      Total All      : Percent :      Cumulative       :    Percent    
        :       Breeds        :   of    :         Total         :      of       
  Month :---------------------:Previous :-----------------------:   Previous    
        :  1996-97  : 1997-98 :  Year   :  1996-97  :  1997-98  :     Year      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :  ------ 1,000 -----   Percent    ------ 1,000 ------       Percent    
        :                                                                       
Sep     :   24,154     23,907      99       24,154      23,907          99      
Oct     :   25,354                          49,508                              
Nov     :   23,830                          73,338                              
Dec     :   27,119                         100,457                              
Jan     :   27,121                         127,578                              
Feb     :   27,145                         154,723                              
Mar     :   27,610                         182,333                              
Apr     :   28,220                         210,553                              
May     :   29,120                         239,673                              
Jun     :   28,380                         268,053                              
Jul     :   30,092                         298,145                              
Aug     :  *26,321                         324,466                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                  Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                 
                 and United States, October 1997 with Comparisons               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :  Oct 1   :  Sep 1   :  Oct 1   :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :                                                                
               : ----------- 1,000 -----------        ----- Percent -----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,008      4,454      4,587         92             103       
W N Central    :   8,335      9,013      9,285        111             103       
N & S Atlantic :  12,304    *11,374     11,715         95             103       
S Central      :   3,969      3,355      3,256         82              97       
West           :   2,717      2,687      2,542         94              95       
               :                                                                
US             :  32,333    *30,883     31,385         97             102       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Revised.                                                                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
          Poults Placements:  Entire Month by Region and United States,         
                        September 1997 with Comparisons 1/                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Sep    :   Aug    :   Sep    :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               : ----------- 1,000 -----------        ----- Percent -----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,348      3,426      3,250         97              95       
W N Central    :   6,128      8,069      7,077        115              88       
N & S Atlantic :   9,542     *8,769      8,646         91              99       
S Central      :   2,763      3,162      2,722         99              86       
West           :   2,373      2,895      2,212         93              76       
               :                                                                
US             :  24,154    *26,321     23,907         99              91       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   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
23 States.  An attempt is made to collect hatchery information from all known   
hatcheries in these 23 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, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.    
                                                                                
The next "Turkey Hatchery" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on November  
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's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).  
                                                                                
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.                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                        ACCESS TO REPORTS!!                                     
                                                                                
                                                                                
For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data       
products, and services:                                                         
                                                                                
                          INTERNET ACCESS                                       
                                                                                
All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet.  For   
access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at:                
http://www.usda.gov/nass/.  Select "Today's Reports" or Publications and        
then Reports by Calendar or Publications and then Search, by Title or Subject.  
                                                                                
                                                                                
                        E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION                                     
                                                                                
All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your    
e-mail address.  Send an e-mail message to:                                     
usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu.  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.  Document 0411 is a list of available reports.                         
                                                                                
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                            ASSISTANCE                                          
                                                                                
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