HDR1012000150060813971500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Turkey                                                                          
Hatchery                                                                        
                                                                                
National                                                                        
Agricultural                                                                    
Statistics                                                                      
Service                                                                         
                                                                                
USDA                                                                            
Washington, D.C.                                                                
                                                                                
Released August 13, 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 August 1 Down 3 Percent                        
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on August 1, 1997, in the United States totaled       
35.0 million, down 3 percent from August 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators      
were down 9 percent from the revised July 1 total of 38.6 million.  Regional    
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 3; W N          
Central, up 8; N & S Atlantic, down 11; S Central, down 2; and West, down 8.    
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
               Poults Placed During July Up 4 Percent                           
                                                                                
The 30.1 million poults placed during July 1997 in the United States were up    
4 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements     
were up 6 percent from the revised June 1997 total of 28.4 million.  Regional   
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 1; W N Central,   
up 12; N & S Atlantic, down 1; S Central, up 2; and West, up 4.                 
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Notice:  This release includes 1996 and 1997 revisions by Region and U.S.       
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (8-97)                                                                    
             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    *27,121      99      125,808     127,578         101      
Feb     :   27,596    *27,145      98      153,404     154,723         101      
Mar     :   27,932    *27,610      99      181,336     182,333         101      
Apr     :   29,725    *28,220      95      211,061     210,553         100      
May     :   29,668    *29,120      98      240,729     239,673         100      
Jun     :   27,987    *28,380     101      268,716     268,053         100      
Jul     :   28,913     30,092     104      297,629     298,145         100      
Aug     :   27,496                         325,125                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   Revised.                                                                    
1/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                  Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                 
                 and United States, August 1997 with Comparisons                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :  Aug 1   :  Jul 1   :  Aug 1   :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :                                                                
               : ----------- 1,000 -----------        ----- Percent -----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,059      5,153      4,885         97              95       
W N Central    :   9,883    *11,484     10,716        108              93       
N & S Atlantic :  12,937     13,016     11,526         89              89       
S Central      :   4,066      4,021      3,974         98              99       
West           :   4,212     *4,911      3,858         92              79       
               :                                                                
US             :  36,157    *38,585     34,959         97              91       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Revised.                                                                      
                                                                                
          Poults Placements:  Entire Month by Region and United States,         
                        July 1997 with Comparisons 1/                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Jul    :   Jun    :   Jul    :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1996   :   1997   :   1997   :     Year     :     Month      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               : ----------- 1,000 -----------        ----- Percent -----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,850     *3,651      3,893        101             107       
W N Central    :   8,121     *8,802      9,104        112             103       
N & S Atlantic :  10,065      9,608     10,005         99             104       
S Central      :   3,242      3,274      3,320        102             101       
West           :   3,635      3,045      3,770        104             124       
               :                                                                
US             :  28,913    *28,380     30,092        104             106       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   Revised.                                                                    
1/  Regional placements refer to poults placed from hatcheries located in that  
    region, and not the actual location of the birds after placement.           
                     Turkey Hatchery Production                                 
                       1996 and Revised 1997                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         :      United States      :  East  :  West   :North & :        :       
         :-------------------------: North  :  North  : South  : South  : West  
  Month  :       :        :1997 As :Central : Central :Atlantic:Central :       
         : 1996  :  1997  :Percent :--------------------------------------------
         :       :        :Of 1996 :                    1997                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         :---- 1,000 ----  Percent   ------------------ 1,000 ----------------- 
         :                                                                      
         :                  Eggs in Incubators, First of Month                  
All      :                                                                      
Breeds   :                                                                      
Jan      : 35,618 *34,111     96      4,994   10,076   *11,609    3,986   3,446 
Feb      : 36,343 *35,683     98      4,970   10,856   *11,825   *4,296   3,736 
Mar      : 36,180 *35,035     97      5,016  *10,573    11,717   *3,966   3,763 
Apr      : 39,218 *37,214     95      5,099  *11,604    12,544   *3,894   4,073 
May      : 37,915 *36,574     96      5,319  *11,058    11,898   *4,150   4,149 
Jun      : 38,128 *36,803     97      5,021  *11,534   *12,308    3,951   3,989 
Jul      : 37,685 *38,585    102      5,153  *11,484    13,016    4,021   4,911 
Aug      : 36,157  34,959     97      4,885   10,716    11,526    3,974   3,858 
Sep      : 32,048                                                               
Oct      : 32,333                                                               
Nov      : 31,668                                                               
Dec      : 33,667                                                               
         :                                                                      
         :                           Poults Placed 1/                           
All      :                                                                      
Breeds   :                                                                      
Jan      : 27,391 *27,121     99     *3,806    7,586     9,690    3,310   2,729 
Feb      : 27,596 *27,145     98     *3,654    8,025     9,135    3,520   2,811 
Mar      : 27,932 *27,610     99     *3,699   *8,141     9,633   *3,231   2,906 
Apr      : 29,725 *28,220     95     *3,814   *8,365     9,691   *3,359   2,991 
May      : 29,668 *29,120     98      3,987   *8,688     9,749    3,496   3,200 
Jun      : 27,987 *28,380    101     *3,651   *8,802     9,608    3,274   3,045 
Jul      : 28,913  30,092    104      3,893    9,104    10,005    3,320   3,770 
Aug      : 27,496                                                               
Sep      : 24,154                                                               
Oct      : 25,354                                                               
Nov      : 23,830                                                               
Dec      : 27,119                                                               
         :                                                                      
Total    :327,165                                                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   Revised                                                                     
1/  Regional placements refer to poults placed from hatcheries located in that  
    region, and not the actual location of the birds after placement.  Excludes 
    exported poults.                                                            
                                                                                
                                                                                
    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           
September 11, 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.                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                 PRINTED REPORTS OR DATA PRODUCTS                               
                                                                                
 CALL OUR TOLL-FREE ORDER DESK:   800-999-6779 (U.S. and Canada)                
  Other areas, please call 703-834-0125       FAX:  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 800-727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail:                  
nass@nass.usda.gov.