HDR1012000150060813961500 Turkey Hatchery                                       
                                                                                
Released August 13, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service       
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For     
information on "Turkey Hatchery" call James E. Brewster at (202) 720-8784,      
office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.  For assistance with general            
agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services,      
contact the NASS Information Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail:               
NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV.                                                             
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Eggs in Incubators on August 1 Up 1 Percent                         
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on August 1, 1996, in the United States totaled       
36.1 million, up 1 percent from August 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators were   
down 4 percent from the revised July 1 total of 37.6 million.  Regional         
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 4; W N Central,   
down 2, N & S Atlantic, down 1; S Central, up 10; and West, up 7.               
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
               Poults Placed During July Up Slightly                            
                                                                                
The 29.1 million poults placed during July 1996 in the United States were up    
slightly from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements      
were up 4 percent from the revised June 1996 total of 27.9 million.  Regional   
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 4; W N          
Central, unchanged; N & S Atlantic, unchanged; S Central, up 4; and West, up    
1.                                                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (8-96)                                                                    
                                                                                
      Turkey Hatchery Production:  Monthly Poult Placements,                    
                    United States, 1994-96 1/ 2/                                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        :      Total All      : Percent :       Cumulative      :    Percent    
        :        Breeds       :   of    :         Total         :       of      
  Month :---------------------: Previous:-----------------------:    Previous   
        :  1994-95  : 1995-96 :  Year   :  1994-95  :  1995-96  :      Year     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        :      -- 1,000 --      Percent       --- 1,000 ---          Percent    
        :                                                                       
Sep     :   23,920     23,070      96       23,920      23,070          96      
Oct     :   23,517     24,868     106       47,437      47,938         101      
Nov     :   24,697     24,438      99       72,134      72,376         100      
Dec     :   25,621     25,144      98       97,755      97,520         100      
Jan     :   27,024     27,550     102      124,779     125,070         100      
Feb     :   25,904     27,549     106      150,683     152,619         101      
Mar     :   28,524     27,949      98      179,207     180,568         101      
Apr     :   26,711     29,722     111      205,918     210,290         102      
May     :   29,476     29,712     101      235,394     240,002         102      
Jun     :   29,986     27,943      93      265,380     267,945         101      
Jul     :   29,013     29,060     100      294,393     297,005         101      
Aug     :   26,596                         320,989                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
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, Aug 1996 with Comparisons                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Aug 1  :   Jul 1  :   Aug 1  :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year     :      Month     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   4,844      5,043      5,059          104            100      
W N Central    :  10,052     10,907      9,883           98             91      
N & S Atlantic :  12,987    *13,037     12,843           99             99      
S Central      :   3,701      4,034      4,066          110            101      
West           :   3,977      4,598      4,239          107             92      
               :                                                                
US             :  35,561    *37,619     36,090          101             96      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region                          
          and United States, Jul 1996 with Comparisons 1/                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of    
  Geographic   :   Jul    :   Jun    :   Jul    :   Previous  :    Previous     
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   4,000      3,468      3,850          96           111        
W N Central    :   8,102      7,760      8,121         100           105        
N & S Atlantic :  10,032    *10,252     10,033         100            98        
S Central      :   3,111      3,211      3,242         104           101        
West           :   3,768      3,252      3,814         101           117        
               :                                                                
US             :  29,013    *27,943     29,060         100           104        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
*   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 3:00 p.m. ET on           
September 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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