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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK Number 123 Wednesday, May 1 , 1952 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas C O T T ON • • Cotton prices tended to level o ff early th is week, following one of the sharpest declines s in c e .la s t summer. At the end of la s t week, the 10-market average was at the lowest le v e l since late-October 1951* Middling 15y 16-inch staple at Dallas was quoted at 38.10 cents per pound on Tuesday of th is vreek - the sane as a week ago and nearly 2 cents below 2 weeks e a r lie r . Trading was very lig h t , with the cotton te x tile market quiet and inquiries for exportTvery lim ited. Some m ills were reported to .be requesting deferred delivery for cotton scheduled to be delivered during the next 2 months. D etails of the cotton price .support program for 1952 have been announced by the Secretary of Agriculture. The program d iffe rs from previous cotton price support programs p rin cip a lly in that i t gives greater encouragement to the use of local lending agencies in the granting and servicing of loans on cotton. Furchase agreements are also available to producers for the f i r s t time. The Secretary had announced”previously that the average loan rate fo r th is year’ s crop would be not less than 30.91 cents per pound for Middling 778-inch stap le. The fin a l loan rate w ill be based on p arity as of Ju ly 15 and w ill be announced about August 1. Cotton plantin g is making good to excellent progress in most of the Southwest. A ll sections except extreme south Texas have adequate moisture for proper germination and growth. The te rrito ry south of Lubbock w ill need additional rain soon, inasmuch as i t has not received as much moisture as other sections of west Texas. The Lower Rio Grande Valley crop continues to be a question. Water for irrig a tio n is s t i l l short, and less than 500,000 acres are reported up to a stand. Insect in fe sta tio n , including both pink bollworms and b o ll "weevils, is reported on the increase and the heaviest in several years. A severe h a il storm in the v ic in it y of Weslaco caused some damage la te la s t week. Chopping has become general in south-central Texas. Indications are that insect in festation w ill be heavy in v ir tu a lly a l l areas. GRAINS Wheat prospects continue to improve in northeastern Texas as a resu lt of good rains' and warmer weather. Some fie ld s that were damaged by the freeze in early A pril are beginning to grow again and may make.a crop i f weather conditions continue favorable. Some early fie ld s have begun to ripen in the Low Rolling Plains. Department of Agriculture o ffic ia ls indicate that the Nation’ s winter wheat crop w ill be su bstantially larger than a year ago and may reach a b illio n bushels. .Grain prices on the Fort Worth Grain and Cotton Exchange have fluctuated within a narrow range during'.the past week. Closing prices on Tuesday of th is week were: No. 1 hard wheat, $2.75 per bushel; No. 2 barley, $1,61; No. 2 white oats, $1.0?-3A 5 No. 2 yellow corn, $2,12-1/2; and No. 2 yellow grain sorghums, $3#20 per cwt. The Texas rice crop is making f a ir to good progress, although cool nights have been delaying growth and wet fie ld s have slowed progress of seeding in some sections. Flax is maturing in south-central Texas counties, and the harvest is nearing completion in earlier areas. Yields have been somewhat higher than anticipated. Page 2 LI VES TOCK No sig n ifica n t changes occurred in livestock p r ices during the past week except in the hog d iv isio n . Prices of Good to Choice butcher hogs reached $19.00 per cwt. on the Fort Worth livestock market yesterday. This represents an increase of about $1.00 per cwt. over la s t Tuesday. The increase in the price of hogs has been anticipated, since they normally increase at th is time of year, usually reaching a peak in Ju ly or August and declining again in la te September or October as the spring pig crop moves to market. On Tuesday of th is week, Good to Choice fed steers and yearlings sold on the Fort Worth market at $30.00 to $3 *4*00. Fat cows changed Hand's at $21700 to $29.00, and Good and Choice fa t calves brought $30.00 to $35»50» ' Good and Choice stocker calves sold at $32.00 to $1|0.00, with two loads of 368 - l b . steer calves at the latter~ price. The heifer end of th is same lo t brought $38.00. Good and Choice stocker yearling steers brought $30.00 to $35.00. Good and Choice s i anghter spring*""Iambs"" sold a"t $27.00 to $29.50. Stocker spring lambs brought $20.00 ToHpTJ.00, and stocker and feeder lambs and yearlings, sold from $ 15.0 0 to $ 21,00 per cwt. Reports over the week end from the Panhandle- of Texas indicate a rather heavy movement of c a ttle in that area, but prices remained■ steady to strong. P O U L T R Y AND EG G S Broi le r prices continue to decline and on Tuesday of th is week were quoted at T8~cents per pound in east Texas and 18 to 19 cents in south Texas. Heavy birds were reported bringing only 17 cents. This represents a decline of from 8 to 10 cents a pound in the past 3 weeks. Most b ro iler producers are reported taking a substantial loss on birds going to market during the past 3 weeks. According to reports from the USDA at Austin, placements of chicks in Texas con tinue generally unchanged. For the week ended AprilHPF/ 17581/000 ETrUH'were placed with growers, compared with 1,326,000 during the comparable week of 1951 and 750,000 in 1950. In the Nation as a whole, to ta l placements in commercial broiler-producing areas were somewhat lower for the eighth consecutive week. I t was the second week that to ta l placements th is year were lower than the corresponding week of 1951. The break in b ro iler prices has been reflected in lower prices for a l l poultry meat. On Tuesday of this week, prices at Fort Worth for top grade com mercial fryers were 20 cents per pound - down 6 cents from a week ago. Light weight fowls were quoted at I 4 to 16 cents - o ff 2 cents. Heavy hens brought 18 to 19 cents per pound - down 2 to 3 cents. Egg prices remained generally unchanged. COMMERCIAL VEGETABLES The outlook for commercial vegetable production in Texas improved sub s ta n tia lly following rains during ’the second h a lf of A pril and warmer weather dur ing the f i r s t few days of M ay.. K ail storms in the Eagle Pass section and the Lower Rio Grande Valley caused heavy damage lo c a lly on. the night of May 1. The tomato crop was a to ta l loss in some areas near the center of the V alley. Elsewhere, progress of v ir tu a lly a l l commercial vegetable crops is ' generally sa tisfa cto ry . Harvest of the south Texas onion crop is very a c tiv e , while some cantaloupes and watermelons in the V alley are furnishing a lig h t harvest. Transplanting of the late-sp rin g tomato crop in northeastern Texas 'counties has been retarded, and cool nights during the la s t h a lf of A pril slowed growth of early plantings.
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