HDR1012000150060314961500Turkey Hatchery                                        
Released March 14, 1996, 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 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 March 1 Up 3 Percent                         
                                                                                
Turkey eggs in incubators on March 1, 1996, in the United States totaled        
36.2 million, up 3 percent from March 1 a year ago.  Eggs in incubators were    
down 1 percent from the revised February 1 total of 36.7 million.  Regional     
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, unchanged; W N       
Central, down 4, N & S Atlantic, up 11; S Central, up 2; and West, up 2.        
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poults Placed During February Up 7 Percent                         
                                                                                
The 27.9 million poults placed during February 1996 in the United States were up
7 percent from the placements during the same month a year ago.  Placements were
up 1 percent from the revised January 1996 total of 27.6 million.  Regional     
percent changes from the previous year were:  E N Central, up 9; W N Central, up
9; N & S Atlantic, up 8; S Central, up 7; and West, up 2.                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Pou 3 (3-96)                                                                    
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
      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     23,108      97       23,920      23,108          97      
Oct     :   23,517     24,945     106       47,437      48,053         101      
Nov     :   24,697     24,416      99       72,134      72,469         100      
Dec     :   25,621     25,130      98       97,755      97,599         100      
Jan     :   27,038     27,550     102      124,793     125,149         100      
Feb     :   25,943     27,863     107      150,736     153,012         102      
Mar     :   28,514                         179,250                              
Apr     :   26,906                         206,156                              
May     :   29,460                         235,616                              
Jun     :   29,916                         265,532                              
Jul     :   29,079                         294,611                              
Aug     :   27,145                         321,756                              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
1/  1994 data include revisions published in "Hatchery Production 1994 Summary".
2/  Excludes exported poults.                                                   
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
           Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region                        
           and United States, March 1996 with Comparisons                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of  :   Percent of   
   Geographic  :   Mar 1  :   Feb 1  :   Mar 1  :   Previous   :    Previous    
    Division   :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year     :      Month     
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   5,241     *5,550      5,250          100             95      
W N Central    :  10,461     10,166     10,081           96             99      
N & S Atlantic :  11,564    *12,651     12,811          111            101      
S Central      :   3,920     *4,276      4,006          102             94      
West           :   3,972     *4,025      4,056          102            101      
               :                                                                
US             :  35,158    *36,668     36,204          103             99      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
             Poult Placements:  Entire Month by Region                          
        and United States, February 1996 with Comparisons 1/                    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :          :          :          :  Percent of :   Percent of    
  Geographic   :   Feb    :   Jan    :   Feb    :   Previous  :    Previous     
   Division    :   1995   :   1996   :   1996   :     Year    :      Month      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
               :     -------- 1,000 -------             ---- Percent ----       
               :                                                                
E N Central    :   3,534      3,742      3,865         109           103        
W N Central    :   7,184     *7,377      7,802         109           106        
N & S Atlantic :   9,031    *10,204      9,711         108            95        
S Central      :   3,153     *3,286      3,380         107           103        
West           :   3,041      2,941      3,105         102           106        
               :                                                                
US             :  25,943    *27,550     27,863         107           101        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
*   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              
April 15, 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.