Pou 3  (9-09)

Turkey
Hatchery

Washington, D.C.

Released September 15, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service 
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For 
information on "Turkey Hatchery" call Troy Marshall at (202) 690-3237, office 
hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Eggs in Incubators on September 1 Down 7 Percent from Last Year

Turkey eggs in incubators on September 1, 2009, in the United States totaled 
26.5 million, down 7 percent from September 1, 2008.  Eggs in incubators were 
down 7 percent from the August 1, 2009 total of 28.6 million eggs.  Regional 
changes from the previous year were:  East North Central down 14 percent, 
West North Central down 1 percent, North and South Atlantic down 19 percent, 
and South Central and West up 25 percent.

Poults Hatched During August Down 8 Percent from Last Year

Turkey poults hatched during August 2009, in the United States totaled 
23.3 million, down 8 percent from August 2008.  Poults hatched were down 
10 percent from July 2009 total of  25.8 million poults.  Regional changes 
from the previous year were:  East North Central down 11 percent, West North 
Central down 7 percent, North and South Atlantic down 8 percent, and South 
Central and West down 10 percent.

Net Poults Placed During August Down 7 Percent from Last Year

The 22.5 million net poults placed during August 2009 in the United States 
were down 7 percent from the number placed during the same month a year 
earlier.  Net placements were down 10 percent from the July 2009 total of 
25.0 million.  

 Eggs in Incubators:  First of Month by Region and United States, September 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :            :            :            :Percent of:Percent of
                   :   Sep 1    :   Aug 1    :   Sep 1    : Previous : Previous 
       Region      :    2008    :  2009 1/   :    2009    :   Year   :  Month   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :   ------------- 1,000 ------------       --- Percent --    
                   :                                                            
E N Central        :    4,570        4,190        3,936        86         94    
W N Central        :   11,498       11,330       11,380        99        100    
N & S Atlantic 2/  :    9,666        9,320        7,847        81         84    
S Central & West 2/:    2,656        3,754        3,308       125         88    
                   :                                                            
US                 :   28,390       28,594       26,471        93         93    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Revised.                                                                    
2/  Regions combined to avoid disclosure of individual operations.              

     Poults Hatched:  Entire Month by Region and United States, August 2009     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :            :            :            :Percent of:Percent of
                   :    Aug     :    Jul     :    Aug     : Previous : Previous 
       Region      :    2008    :  2009 1/   :    2009    :   Year   :  Month   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   :   ------------- 1,000 ------------        -- Percent --    
                   :                                                            
E N Central        :    3,777        3,709        3,377        89         91    
W N Central        :   10,272       10,221        9,578        93         94    
N & S Atlantic 2/  :    7,936        8,325        7,300        92         88    
S Central & West 2/:    3,342        3,575        3,018        90         84    
                   :                                                            
US                 :   25,327       25,830       23,273        92         90    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Revised.                                                                    
2/  Regions combined to avoid disclosure of individual operations.              

          Net Poult Placements:  By Month, United States, 2007-2009 1/          
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :        Total All        : Percent :       Cumulative        : Percent 
        :         Breeds          :   of    :          Total          :   of    
  Month :-------------------------:Previous :-------------------------:Previous 
        :  2007-08   :  2008-09   :  Year   :  2007-08   :  2008-09   :  Year   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        :   ------ 1,000 ------     Percent    ------- 1,000 ------     Percent 
        :                                                                       
Sep     :   24,073       22,515       94        24,073       22,515       94    
Oct     :   25,222       22,165       88        49,295       44,680       91    
Nov     :   24,755       20,702       84        74,050       65,382       88    
Dec     :   24,091       23,179       96        98,141       88,561       90    
Jan     :   26,183       24,131       92       124,324      112,692       91    
Feb     :   25,011       22,079       88       149,335      134,771       90    
Mar     :   26,394       23,817       90       175,729      158,588       90    
Apr     :   25,880       23,988       93       201,609      182,576       91    
May     :   27,084       22,975       85       228,693      205,551       90    
Jun     :   25,557       24,107       94       254,250      229,658       90    
Jul 2/  :   26,551       24,989       94       280,801      254,647       91    
Aug     :   24,363       22,546       93       305,164      277,193       91    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/  Includes imports and excludes exports.                                      
2/  Revised 2009 data only.                                                     

                               Regional Listing:                                

     North Atlantic: CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT.
     East North Central: IL, IN, MI, OH, WI.
     West 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.

                    Reliability of Turkey Hatchery Estimates                    

Survey Procedures:  Data for turkey hatchery estimates are collected from all 
known turkey hatcheries.  Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of 
all known turkey hatcheries and use known sources of hatcheries to update 
their lists.  Approximately 40 hatcheries are contacted each month.  All 
known turkey hatcheries are mailed a questionnaire as close to the first of 
the month as possible and given adequate time to respond via mail, fax, or 
electronic data reporting (EDR).  Those that do not respond are contacted by 
phone.  Care is exercised to ensure that all hatcheries are accounted for in 
the estimate.

Estimating Procedures:  Sound statistical methodology is employed to derive 
the estimates from reported data.  All data are analyzed for unusual values.  
Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and 
to trends from similar operations.  Data for missing operations were 
estimated based on similar operations or historical data.  NASS field offices 
prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and 
historic trends.  Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural 
Statistics Board for reasonableness.  Individual hatchery data are summed to 
State, regional, and U.S. totals.  Only regional and U.S. level estimates are 
published due to the limited number of hatcheries involved.  The Net Poult 
Placement data includes imported poults and excludes exported poults.

Cumulative net 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.

States reporting turkey hatcheries are:  Arkansas, California, Florida, 
Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Revision Policy:  Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected 
data.  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 in May.

Reliability:  Turkey hatchery estimates are based on a census of all known 
operating hatcheries and therefore, have no sampling error.  However, 
estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes 
in reporting, recording, and processing the data.  While these errors cannot 
be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in 
the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for 
consistency and reasonableness.

To assist in evaluating the reliability of the estimates in this report, the 
"Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the following table.  
The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past 
performance and is computed using the differences between first and final 
estimates.  The "Root Mean Square Error" for turkey eggs in incubators on the 
first day of the month over the past 24 months is 0.5 percent.  This means 
that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or 
below the current estimate of 26.5 million eggs by more than 0.5 percent.  
Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.9 percent.

           Reliability of U.S. September Turkey Hatchery Estimates 1/           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                :       :             :   Difference Between   :Number of Months
                : Root  : 90 Percent  :    First and Latest    :----------------
                : Mean  : Confidence  :       Estimates        : First : First  
      Item      :Square :    Level    :------------------------: Above : Below  
                : Error :             :Average:Smallest:Largest:Latest : Latest 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                :Percent Percent 1,000   ------- 1,000 ------        Number     
                :                                                               
Eggs In         :                                                               
Incubators      :  0.5     0.9    240     98      0       442      8       12   
                :                                                               
Poults Hatched  :  0.4     0.6    144     58      0       236     10        8   
                :                                                               
Net Poult       :                                                               
Placements      :  0.9     1.6    357    174      5       570     16        8   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Based on data for the past 24 months.                                        

Information Contacts

Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the 
National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional 
information. 

Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch	(202) 720-3570

Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section	(202) 720-4447
     David Colwell - Cold Storage	(202) 720-8784
     Chris Hawthorn - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout 
Production,
                                  Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, 
Mink	(202) 720-0585
     Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs	(202) 690-8632
     Troy Marshall - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised, 
                               Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey	(202) 
690-3237

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