Turkey Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1964 Released April 13, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Eggs in Incubators on April 1 Up 2 Percent from Last Year Turkey eggs in incubators on April 1, 2026 in the United States totaled 25.6 million, up 2 percent from April 1, 2025. Eggs in incubators were up 5 percent from the March 1, 2026 total of 24.4 million eggs. Poults Hatched During March Down Slightly from Last Year Turkey poults hatched during March 2026 in the United States totaled 21.2 million, down slightly from March 2025. Poults hatched were up 3 percent from the February 2026 total of 20.7 million poults. Net Poults Placed During March Down Slightly from Last Year The 20.2 million net poults placed during March 2026 in the United States were down slightly from the number placed during the same month a year earlier. Net poult placements were up 3 percent from the February 2026 total of 19.6 million. Eggs in Incubators and Poults Hatched by Month - United States: 2024-2026 [Blank data cells indicate estimation period has not yet begun] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ :Eggs in incubators first of month: Percent of : Poults hatched entire month : Percent of Month :---------------------------------: :---------------------------------: : 2024-2025 : 2025-2026 : previous year : 2024-2025 : 2025-2026 : previous year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ------ 1,000 eggs ----- percent ----- 1,000 poults ---- percent : September ........: 24,069 24,681 103 20,076 20,738 103 October ..........: 24,533 26,122 106 21,381 22,981 107 November .........: 24,822 24,205 98 20,330 19,900 98 December .........: 24,249 23,766 98 21,202 20,600 97 January ..........: 25,199 25,523 101 22,525 21,749 97 February .........: 24,558 25,830 105 19,963 20,670 104 March ............: 24,607 24,374 99 21,271 21,194 100 April ............: 25,104 25,616 102 21,474 May ..............: 24,790 21,615 June .............: 24,324 19,443 July .............: 24,562 21,754 August ...........: 24,568 20,245 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Net Poult Placements by Month - United States: 2024-2026 [Includes imports and excludes exports. Blank data cells indicate estimation period has not yet begun] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Total all breeds : Percent of : Cumulative total : Percent of Month :---------------------------------: :---------------------------------: : 2024-2025 : 2025-2026 : previous year : 2024-2025 : 2025-2026 : previous year ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----- 1,000 poults ---- percent ----- 1,000 poults ----- percent : September ........: 18,601 19,096 103 18,601 19,096 103 October ..........: 20,165 21,284 106 38,766 40,380 104 November .........: 18,770 18,482 98 57,536 58,862 102 December .........: 19,740 19,243 97 77,276 78,105 101 January ..........: 20,586 20,031 97 97,862 98,136 100 February .........: 18,899 19,628 104 116,761 117,764 101 March ............: 20,196 20,194 100 136,957 137,958 101 April ............: 20,621 157,578 May ..............: 20,669 178,247 June .............: 18,918 197,165 July .............: 21,439 218,604 August ...........: 19,742 238,346 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for turkey hatchery estimates are collected from all known turkey hatcheries. Individual NASS regional field offices maintain a list of all known turkey hatcheries and use known sources of hatcheries to update their lists. Approximately 30 hatcheries in 17 states are contacted each month. All known turkey hatcheries hatching 15,000 or more poults annually are mailed a questionnaire as close to the first of the month as possible. Adequate time is given to respond via mail, fax, or electronic data reporting. 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 regional 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 United States totals. Only United States level estimates are published due to the limited number of hatcheries involved. The Net Poult Placement data include imported poults and exclude 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. 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 April. 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 through 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 2.9 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 25.6 million eggs by more than 2.9 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 4.9 percent. Reliability of April Turkey Hatchery Estimates [Based on data for the past 24 months] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Root mean : 90 percent : Difference between first and latest estimate :square error : confidence : : : : : : : level :------------------------------------------------------ Item : : : : : : Months : : : : : :--------------------------- : : :Average :Smallest:Largest :Below latest :Above latest ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent -------- 1,000 ------- ---- number ---- : Eggs in incubators ................: 2.9 4.9 534 17 1,881 13 9 : Poults hatched ....................: 3.9 6.7 670 51 1,648 11 11 : Net poult placements ..............: 4.4 7.6 799 33 1,775 14 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov. Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch................................................ (202) 692-0069 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter............................................. (202) 690-8632 Tiffany Byrne - Dairy Products...................................................... (651) 440-7789 Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed................................................. (202) 720-3040 Kim DaPra - Milk Production......................................................... (202) 720-3278 Fatema Haque - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Trout................. (202) 690-3237 Ralph Mondesir - Hogs and Pigs...................................................... (202) 720-3106 Suzanne Richards - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies, Sheep and Goats.. (202) 720-4448 Shulonda Shaw - Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage................... (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs......................................................... (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery................................. (202) 720-6147 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. The national specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. Economics, Statistics, and Market Information (ESMIS) - National Agricultural Library (NAL) website houses NASS's and other agency archived reports at https://esmis.nal.usda.gov. 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