HDR1012000150060415961500Turkey Hatchery                                        
                                                                                
Released April 15, 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 April 1 Up 6 Percent                          
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on April 1, 1996, in the United States totaled        
39.3 million, up 6 percent from April 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators were    
up 8 percent from the revised March 1 total of 36.2 million.  Regional percent  
changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 2; W N Central, up 15,  
N & S Atlantic, up 9; S Central, down 1; and West, down 3.                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poults Placed During March Down 2 Percent                          
                                                                                
The 28.0 million poults placed during March 1996 in the United States were      
down 2 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.            
Placements were up 2 percent from the revised February 1996 total of 27.5       
million.  Regional percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central,   
down 8; W N Central, down 8; N & S Atlantic, up 6; S Central, down 2; and       
West, down 4.                                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (4-96)                                                                    
                                                                                
                                                                                
      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     27,969      98      179,207     180,588         101      
Apr     :   26,711                         205,918                              
May     :   29,476                         235,394                              
Jun     :   29,986                         265,380                              
Jul     :   29,013                         294,393                              
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, April 1996 with Comparisons                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Apr 1  :   Mar 1  :   Apr 1  :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year     :      Month     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,424     *4,878      5,308           98            109      
W N Central    :  10,201     10,081     11,738          115            116      
N & S Atlantic :  12,715    *13,161     13,826          109            105      
S Central      :   4,099      4,006      4,056           99            101      
West           :   4,451      4,056      4,325           97            107      
               :                                                                
US             :  36,890    *36,182     39,253          106            108      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region                          
         and United States, March 1996 with Comparisons 1/                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of    
  Geographic   :   Mar    :   Feb    :   Mar    :   Previous  :    Previous     
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   4,046     *3,594      3,704          92           103        
W N Central    :   8,210      7,802      7,590          92            97        
N & S Atlantic :   9,836     *9,668     10,426         106           108        
S Central      :   3,248      3,380      3,178          98            94        
West           :   3,184      3,105      3,071          96            99        
               :                                                                
US             :  28,524    *27,549     27,969          98           102        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
*   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 p.m. ET on              
May 14, 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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