HDR1012000150060514961500Turkey Hatchery

Released May 14, 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 Down 1 Percent

Turkey eggs in incubators on May 1, 1996, in the United States totaled
37.0 million, down 1 percent from May 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators were
down 6 percent from the revised April 1 total of 39.2 million.  Regional
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, down 1; W N
Central, down 10, N & S Atlantic, up 6; S Central, up 4; and West, down 1.



             Poults Placed During April Up 11 Percent

The 29.7 million poults placed during April 1996 in the United States were up
11 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements
were up 6 percent from the revised March 1996 total of 27.9 million.  Regional
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 5; W N Central,
up 15; N & S Atlantic, up 15; S Central, up 3; and West, up 6.



Pou 3 (5-96)


      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     29,693     111      205,918     210,261         102
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, May 1996 with Comparisons
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of
   Geographic  :   May 1  :   Apr 1  :   May 1  :   Previous   :    Previous
    Division   :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year     :      Month
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----
               :
E N Central    :   5,297     *5,242      5,235           99            100
W N Central    :  11,253     11,738     10,182           90             87
N & S Atlantic :  12,537    *13,835     13,268          106             96
S Central      :   4,071      4,056      4,216          104            104
West           :   4,165      4,325      4,125           99             95
               :
US             :  37,323    *39,196     37,026           99             94
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region
         and United States, April 1996 with Comparisons 1/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of
  Geographic   :   Apr    :   Mar    :   Apr    :   Previous  :    Previous
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----
               :
E N Central    :   3,692     *3,684      3,869         105           105
W N Central    :   7,640      7,590      8,800         115           116
N & S Atlantic :   9,155     10,426     10,503         115           101
S Central      :   3,092      3,178      3,199         103           101
West           :   3,132      3,071      3,322         106           108
               :
US             :  26,711    *27,949     29,693         111           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.





    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
June 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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