Turkey                                                                          
Hatchery                                                                        
                                                                                
National                                                                        
Agricultural                                                                    
Statistics                                                                      
Service                                                                         
                                                                                
USDA                                                                            
Washington, D.C.                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Released December 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 December 1 Down 8 Percent                       
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on December 1, 1997, in the United States totaled     
30.9 million, down 8 percent from December 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators    
were down slightly from the November 1 total of 31.0 million.  Regional         
changes from the previous year were: E N Central, down 6 percent; W N Central,  
down 2 percent; N & S Atlantic, down 16 percent; S Central, down 4 percent;     
and West, down 9 percent.                                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
            Poults Placed During November Down 2 Percent                        
                                                                                
The 23.3 million poults placed during November 1997 in the United States were   
down 2 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.            
Placements were down 5 percent from the October 1997 total of 24.6 million.     
Regional changes from the previous year were: E N Central, up 3 percent; W N    
Central, up 12 percent; N & S Atlantic, down 13 percent; S Central, down 7      
percent; and West, down 2 percent.                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (12-97)                                                                   
             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       24,587       97        49,508       48,494       98    
Nov     :   23,830       23,259       98        73,338       71,753       98    
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     :  *29,111                             239,664                          
Jun     :  *28,381                             268,045                          
Jul     :   30,092                             298,137                          
Aug     :   26,321                             324,458                          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                  Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                 
                and United States, December 1997 with Comparisons               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :            :            :            :Percent of:Percent of
     Geographic    :   Dec 1    :   Nov 1    :   Dec 1    : Previous : Previous 
      Division     :    1996    :    1997    :    1997    :   Year   :  Month   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :   ------------- 1,000 ------------        -- Percent --    
                   :                                                            
E N Central        :    4,710        4,682        4,408        94         94    
W N Central        :    9,784        9,298        9,620        98        103    
N & S Atlantic     :   12,233       10,332       10,333        84        100    
S Central          :    4,066        4,013        3,896        96         97    
West               :    2,874       *2,639        2,608        91         99    
                   :                                                            
US                 :   33,667      *30,964       30,865        92        100    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Revised.                                                                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
          Poults Placements:  Entire Month by Region and United States,         
                        November 1997 with Comparisons 1/                       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :            :            :            :Percent of:Percent of
     Geographic    :    Nov     :    Oct     :    Nov     : Previous : Previous 
      Division     :    1996    :    1997    :    1997    :   Year   :  Month   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :   ------------- 1,000 ------------       --- Percent --    
                   :                                                            
E N Central        :    3,164        3,511        3,245       103         92    
W N Central        :    6,212        7,292        6,955       112         95    
N & S Atlantic     :    8,878        8,629        7,760        87         90    
S Central          :    3,398        3,130        3,157        93        101    
West               :    2,178        2,025        2,142        98        106    
                   :                                                            
US                 :   23,830       24,587       23,259        98         95    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   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                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :                  Eggs in Incubators, First of Month                   
        :----- 1,000 -----  Percent  ------------------ 1,000 ----------------- 
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     :*36,184    35,035     97    5,016    10,573    11,717    3,966   3,763 
Apr     :*39,242    37,214     95    5,099    11,604    12,544    3,894   4,073 
May     :*37,935    36,574     96    5,319    11,058    11,898    4,150   4,149 
Jun     :*38,148   *36,859     97    5,021    11,534    12,308    3,951  *4,045 
Jul     :*37,689   *38,586    102    5,153    11,484   *13,017    4,021   4,911 
Aug     : 36,157    34,956     97    4,885    10,716    11,523    3,974   3,858 
Sep     : 32,048   *30,928     97    4,454    *9,058    11,374    3,355   2,687 
Oct     : 32,333    31,878     99    4,587     9,306    11,715    3,728   2,542 
Nov     : 31,668   *30,964     98    4,682     9,298    10,332    4,013  *2,639 
Dec     : 33,667    30,865     92    4,408     9,620    10,333    3,896   2,608 
        :                                                                       
        :-----------------------------------------------------------------------
        :                           Poults Placed 1/                            
        :-----------------------------------------------------------------------
        :----- 1,000 -----  Percent  ------------------ 1,000 ----------------- 
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     :*27,935    27,610     99    3,699     8,141     9,633    3,231   2,906 
Apr     :*29,742    28,220     95    3,814     8,365     9,691    3,359   2,991 
May     :*29,682   *29,111     98   *3,978     8,688     9,749    3,496   3,200 
Jun     :*27,998   *28,381    101    3,651     8,802    *9,609    3,274   3,045 
Jul     :*28,916    30,092    104    3,893     9,104    10,005    3,320   3,770 
Aug     : 27,496    26,321     96    3,426     8,069     8,769    3,162   2,895 
Sep     : 24,154    23,907     99    3,250     7,077     8,646    2,722   2,212 
Oct     : 25,354    24,587     97    3,511     7,292     8,629    3,130   2,025 
Nov     : 23,830    23,259     98    3,245     6,955     7,760    3,157   2,142 
Dec     : 27,119                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*   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.                                                            
                                                                                
                     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 one State which reports 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 January   
14, 1998.                                                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
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.                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
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