Full text of Agricultural News Letter : Volume II, Number 10

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AGRICULTURAL
N E W S L E TT E R
THE

FEDERAL

Vol. II

RESERVE

BANK

OF

Dallas, Texas, October 15, 1947

THE

FEED

Based upon the total prospective supply of
feed concentrates, the feed situation for the
Nation as a whole during the 1947-48 feed­
ing season was estimated by the United States
Department of Agriculture in early Septem­
ber as near the average for the past 10 years,
though somewhat less favorable than that of
last season. This year’s production of feed
grains— the major component of the total
feed supply— was expected to be about onefifth less than the 1946 output, but a larger
carry-over this year than last of old-crop feed
grain will partly offset the smaller produc­
tion. Total supplies of byproduct feeds and
supplies of hay per animal unit were expected
to be near the largest on record. It was antici­
pated that larger quantities of wheat would
be fed to livestock than during last season
because of the record wheat crop and the high
price of corn in relation to wheat. Total live­
stock requirements were expected to be smaller
this season than last on account of reductions
in numbers of cattle, sheep, and workstock

DALLAS

Number 10

SITUATION
on farms and little, if any, changes in num­
bers of chickens and hogs.
Since the release of the Agriculture De­
partment’s report, two developments affect­
ing the feed situation have occurred. First,
the prospect for the year’s corn production
has improved, resulting in a somewhat larger
prospective supply of feed grains and causing
the price of corn in relation to wheat to de­
cline. Second, sharply increased estimates of
the grain requirements of the emergncy relief
program for Europe have induced the Gov­
ernment to launch a food-conservation cam­
paign designed to withdraw from domestic
use an additional 100 million bushels of grain,
mostly wheat, for export. Working in oppo­
site directions, one favorably, the other un­
favorably, these two developments will alter
some details of the following summary of the
feed outlook at the beginning of the 1947-48
season, but they do not appear likely to make
drastic changes in the situation as a whole.

PLANTING TIME FOR A 10-YEAR MONEY CROP

Farmers and ranchers in the Southwest, as in other parts of the United States, this year
are reaping the greatest harvest of net income in the history of the Nation—the result of a rare
combination of large production and high prices. It is another in a series of “fat years,” during
which, according to the United States Treasury, farmers and ranchmen in great numbers are
preparing for the “lean years” to come by investing heavily in United States Savings Bonds.
The twelve top states in net E-Bond sales in the first half of 1947 were states with heavy agri­
cultural income. These bonds, maturing in 10 years from date of purchase, will return four
dollars for each three dollars invested in them.
The Treasury believes that nearly all farmers and ranchmen who are operating places pro­
ductive enough to make a living in normal years can well afford in this year of unusual pros­
perity to invest 10 percent of their incomes “in the crop that never fails”—the savings bonds
of their Government. For those who can put 15 or 20 percent into E Bonds, up to the annual
limit of $5,000 maturity value for each member of the family, the reserve for the “lean years”
will be just that much greater.
Bankers throughout the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, cooperating with the Treasury,
are ready to serve the convenience of the farmers and ranchmen as well as other investors of
their communities in the purchase of E Bonds or other types of U. S. Savings Bonds.

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

Production of the four principal feed
grains (corn, oats, barley, and grain sor­
ghums) in the Nation was expected to be
about 22 percent below last year and the
smallest since 1939. The decline in combined
production is due largely to a reduced corn
crop this year, which was estimated at 2,403-,
913,000 bushels on September 1, compared
with the record crop of 3,287,927,000 bushels
produced last year. Corn normally accounts
for more than half the quantity of all grains
and other concentrates fed to livestock. Con­
sequently, this year’s decline of 27 percent in
corn production, coupled with declines of 19
percent in oats and 13 percent in grain sor­
ghums, seriously affects the supply of feed
concentrates per animal unit this season. How­
ever, as suggested above, the reduced supply
of new-crop feed grains is partly offset by a
large carry-over of old corn, an improved
outlook for the new crop on October 1, and
a prospect of record supplies of oilseed cake
and meal.
August reports on production of oilseed
crops indicated that the total supply of cake
and meal would be larger in 1947-48 than
in the previous season—possibly about 10 per­
cent. Most of the anticipated increase was
in linseed and cottonseed cake and meal, since
soybean cake and meal production was ex­
pected to be somewhat smaller than in 194647. Production of grain byproduct feeds was
expected to be heavy, although slightly smaller
than last season’s very large output. It is now
evident that this estimate will be affected
considerably by the expanded grain export
program and that the season’s output of these
feeds may be considerably smaller than in
1946-47.
The total feed concentrate supply (includ­
ing feed grains, byproduct feeds, and wheat
and rye for feed) was estimated by the De­
partment of Agriculture on September 1 at
12 percent less than the large 1946-47 supply
and smaller than in other recent years, but
slightly larger than the 1937-41 average.
Livestock numbers, however, have been de­
clining since the peak was reached in 1944,
and a further small reduction is in prospect

this year. Therefore, the indicated 1947-48
supply of feed concentrates per grain-con­
suming animal unit was near the average
for the past 10 years.
Adequate supplies of hay, much above av­
erage for the last ten years, were in prospect
for the 1947-48 feeding season, although esti­
mated on September 1 to be a little smaller
than the very large supplies of last year. Since
the number of hay-consuming livestock on
farms in 1947-48 was estimated to be lower
than in 1946-47, due to reduced numbers of
cattle and horses, the supply of hay per ani­
mal unit was expected to be the largest on
record.
With a record United States wheat crop
and the smallest corn crop in recent years,
wheat prices in 1947-48 probably would be
low relative to corn prices were it not for the
upward pressure on wheat prices created by
heavy actual and prospective exports of grain.
The high prices of wheat resulting from this
pressure may be expected to restrict sharply
the feeding of wheat to livestock and may re­
sult in marketing some cattle and hogs at
lighter weights.
The feed situation in the Southwest is simi­
lar to that in the Nation as a whole. Produc­
tion of the four principal feed grains in
1947 is expected to fall about nine percent
below 1946 and about 11 percent below the
10-year (1936-45) average. Corn production
in five southwestern states— Arizona, Louis­
iana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas-—
was estimated on September 1 at 89 percent
of last year’s crop and 70 percent of averageEstimated production of grain sorghums, the
second most important feed grain in the
Southwest, is 16 percent below last year’s
total, while production of oats is about the
same as in 1946. The carry-over of corn, oats,
and barley in off-farm locations in the South­
west, estimated at 2,190,000 bushels on
1, is about three times the carry-over of last
year, but is small in relation to the annual
production. The 1947 production of hay it1
this region is estimated as slightly above last
year’s and about 15 percent above average.

July

AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER
The effects of indicated reductions in total
feed supplies in the Southwest will be par­
tially offset by a decline in livestock numbers.
In terms of animal units, livestock numbers
in the Southwest, including poultry, declined
13 percent between January 1, 1946, and the
same date this year. Recent reports indicate
that numbers of some types of livestock are
continuing to decline. Shortages of some
kinds of feed, however, particularly protein
concentrates, may develop in this area dur­
ing the coming winter. In any case, it is likely
that feed prices will remain at high levels.
Thus, southwestern livestock growers may
find it unusually profitable to seed additional
acreages of small grains, legumes, and grasses
to furnish fall, winter, and early spring graz­
ing. Similarly, it will be a gain to continue
close culling of livestock so as to dispose of
all animals that do not make efficient use of
feed.
___________

FARM MANAGEMENT
Control of Peach Tree Root-Borer
The root-borer, a serious threat to peach
trees, can be controlled by applications of
either of two treatments to the ground
around the trees, according to recent reports
issued by the Experiment Stations of Louis­
iana and New Mexico. October is the time
for application of these treatments since the
root-borers lay their eggs in this month. The
usual sign of infestation is an accumulation
of reddish, gummy sawdust at the base of
the tree.
The first of the two preparations, known
as paradichlorobenzine, or P.D.B., is a white
sugar-like compound which can be bought at
most drug or seed stores, and is easy to apply.
In the use of this treatment, the grass and
weeds should be scraped from around the tree,
but care should be taken not to hoe up the soil.
One-half ounce to two ounces of the prepara­
tion, according to the age of the tree, should
be applied in a circle about two inches from
the base of the tree, and covered with a
mound of soil eight inches high to protect the
tree from direct contact with the chemical.
Three or four weeks later, the soil should be
leveled around the tree with a hoe.

3

The other treatment is ethylene dichloride
emulsion, a liquid which is easier to apply
than P.D.B., and is safer for young trees. It
is applied by pouring on the ground around
the tree, but not directly on the tree. This
preparation varies in strength and should be
used according to directions. Rough ground
should be leveled before the liquid is applied.
It is not necessary, in using this preparation,
to erect a protective mound around the trunk
of the tree.
________
Vote on Peanut Marketing Quotas
December 9
A referendum on the adoption of a system
of peanut marketing quotas for the 1948,
1949, and 1950 corps will be held Tuesday,
December 9, 1947, according to a recent an­
nouncement of the United States Department
of Agriculture. All persons engaged in the
production of more than one acre of peanuts
in 1947, including tenants, share croppers,
and owners who share in the proceeds of the
1947 crop, are eligible to vote. Acreage allot­
ments for 1948, which will apply if the quota
system is approved, are being prepared on
state, county, and farm bases. Questionnaires
have been distributed by county Agricultural
Conservation Committees to individual pro­
ducers to obtain data for use in determining
farm acreage allotments. It is expected that
each farm operator will be advised of his
farm’s allotment for 1948 before the refer­
endum.
Acreages allotted to the four peanut-grow­
ing states of the Eleventh Federal Reserve
District for 1948 and the estimated acreage
of peanuts grown alone (not interplanted
with other crops) in 1946 and 1947 are as
follows:
1948 Allotment
(acres)

Louisiana.... ... 4,152
6,559
New Mexico.
Oklahoma ....... 147,197
Texas........... .... 562,626

1946
(acres)

4.000
7.000
221,000
767,000

1947
(acres)
1 0 ,0 0 0

14,000
282,000
823,000

COMMODITY NOTES
Grading Standards for Citrus Fruits
Amended
The United States Standards for Citrus
Fruits have been amended by an order issued

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS LETTER

last month by the Production and Marketing
Administration. The new standards, which
became effective September 30, provide addi­
tional measurements for the internal quality
of citrus fruits and will, in general, improve
the quality of fruit graded in accordance with
the standards. The standards apply to the com­
mon or sweet orange group, grapefruit, and
varieties belonging to the Mandarin Group,
except tangerines. They do not apply to tan­
gerines or to California and Arizona citrus
fruits for which separate United States stand­
ards are issued. Complete information regard­
ing these new standards may be secured from
the Production and Marketing Administra­
tion, Washington, D. C., or from local agents
of the PMA.

TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
Killing Potato Tops by Defoliants
The application of certain chemicals to cot­
ton, soybeans, pepper, tomatoes, and other
crops for purposes of defoliation has been
practiced for several years, but now it has
been found practicable by increasing the dos­
age of defoliant chemicals to kill even the
rank growths of potato tops, including the
stems, with benefit to the crop. This practice,
which destroys the heavy foliage that is an
encumbrance to harvesting machines and a
nuisance in hand picking, enables the grower
to choose the best time for digging, when the
potatoes are at their preferred size and before
development of knobby secondary growths.
Timely elimination of foliage is also said to
to be an important method of preventing in­
sects from transmitting virus diseases to the
healthy seed tubers and of getting rid of the
late blight fungus to avoid storage rot. Ex­
periments indicate that killing the vines about
ten days before harvest causes the skins of
the potatoes to thicken and toughen nor­
mally, thereby reducing "feathering” and
mechanical injury from subsequent handling
and improving the appearance of the potatoes
in the market.

Caution Needed in Using Insecticides
The dangers involved in the use of inflam­
mable insecticides to spray barns and grain
storages were reported in a recent release by
the Louisiana Agricultural Extension Service.
For example, carbon bisulfide, or "high life”
as it is commonly known, is an effective spray
but is one of the most dangerous. It is said
to be more explosive than gasoline, and it
can ignite from the heat of a steam pipe. If
flammable fumigants and insecticides must be
used, says this report, they should not be kept
inside a building housing persons or animals,
and one should not strike matches near a
building which is being sprayed. When apply­
ing any inflammable spray, it is desirable to
have a fire extinguisher handy, preferably one
especially designed to deal with chemical fires.
Persons using insecticides are cautioned also
against using preparations which produce
harmful fumes. According to the report, gases
or fumes set up by some fumigants can cause
a serious lung condition which may result in
death. This fact prompts the Extension Serv­
ice to advise farmers to be wary about pu r­
chasing fumigants and insecticides that do
not bear the seal of the Underwriters’ L ab ­
oratory.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings
The Texas Flying Farmers will hold their
first annual fall meeting at the Flying L
Ranch, near Bandera, on October 18-19.
The Louisiana State Fair will be held at
Shreveport, October 18-27.
The House Agriculture Committee will
conduct a hearing at Temple, Texas, Novem ­
ber 1, on a long-range program for agricul­
ture. This will be one of a series of such hear­
ings which the Committee is holding through­
out the Nation.
The Annual Meeting of the Texas Federa­
tion of Cooperatives will convene at the J e f ­
ferson Hotel in Dallas, November 4-5. Speak­
ers on the program will include the Honor­
able Wright Patman, Texas Congressman,
and Charles A. Richards, Executive Secretary
of the Kansas Cooperative Council.

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