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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS Wednesdq, January 61 Number 210 1954 COTTON 12,116-inch cotton in the ten spot markets on Monda;r, Januar;y 4, averaged 32.8cellts per pound, which is a few points above pre-Holldq levels but Mid~ still slight'.q below loan values. The canparable price on the Dallas market Mondq was 32.60 cents, which compares with 32.10 cent s 2 weeks earlier and 32.15 cents a month ago. CCC loan entries reported in the week ended December 18 were 2961 200 Notei covertng 84, 800 ba1es had been returned to lending agencies for correction, leaving net loan receipts for the season through December 18 at 5,159,SOO bales. Net loans, less repa,mente, on 1953-crop cotton totaled 5,1201 400 bales. bales. COMMERCIAL VEGETABLES commercial vegetables tor fresh market produced in Texas during 1953Was 12 percent less than the 1952 value but 26 percent more than the 3-year (1949-51) average, according to the USDA. The total for 1953 was $58,606,000 (excluding conmercial potatoes and strawberries). In addition to crops for fresh market sales, the value of vegetables !or processing totaled $2,130,000 in 1953. -----. Acres in production of camnercial vegetables in Texas was up considerab~ Ui 1953, but prices averaged lower than in 19.52 and there was heavy econaaic aban• ·)nment of beets, cabbage, and onions. The value of commercial. vegetables, strawberries, and ear]¥ commercial .rish potatoes grown in Louisiana in 1953 totaled tlJ,004,000, or 13 percent more than in 1952. A largeboost iii strawberry production accounted for much of the increase. For the United States the production of 28 principal vegetables for fresh .arket in the 1953 season was a record 10.1 million tons, 6 percent larger than in ;he 1952 season. Production of 11 vegetables for commercial processing totaled >.$5 million tons, down 2 percent from 1952 and 9 percent below the 1951 record. The value ol or G R A. I N S The Secretary Agriculture has announced that there will be no rice narket;ing quotas or acre~ allot.merits in l~. The supp4" of ri'CeisbeIOwthii quantl ty which wo"Uld re re marketing quotas under present laws. Moreover, this action was taken in view of an expected continuation of the heavy export demand Exports have been running about SO percent o! estimated production in the United States. Texas and Louisiana rice markets have been holding relative:cy- steady, dth trading season&lli light.--xt mid-December, Texas farmers received an average . $$.80 per cwt. for rice sold. Rice prices national.11' averaged 15.34 per cwt., r 100 percent of parity. Texas farmers have seeded 4,731 1 000 acres of winter wheat for harvest in 1954. This is 13 percent less than the acreage seeded for harvest in 1953. ~bout 5 percent of the acreage seeded for the current season is in excess of ind.1dual allotments and has been designated for pasture and cover. Condition or the winter wheat crop .!!! Texas is the best since the very avorable 1947-crop season and indicates a yield of 11 bushels per planted acre, a total of 52 1 0411 000 bushels. which has prevailed during the past 2 years. This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org). LIVE STO CK Present indications point to a $2 .0 million head spring l?!g crop in 1954~ reports the USDA. Such a crop would be 4 percent larger than last spring • .!!!,! ~ E!&. crop totaled 82 .1 million head, a decrease of 10 percent from 1952. The sprliig pig crop was down 11 percent and the f all crop down 9 percent. Numbers .2£ .E!s! ~ in most southwestern states ast year showed rather sharp declines from 1952.u The 1953 pig crop in Oklahoma was down 34 percent; in Louisiana and Texas, down 29 percent; in New Mexico, down 14 percent; and in Arizona, down 6 percent. · During and af'ter Wurld War II it appeared that hog raising in the Southwest might expand i nto one of the major fann enterprises. However, there has ~en a sharp curtailment in hog production in this r egion in the past couple of years. In fact, the number of pigs saved in 1953 was less than half the 1942-Sl annual average. A very significant retort ~ meat prices was released by the USDA during the Christmas Holid81' period.t sqs that declining prices for cattle in 1952 and 1953 were not caused primari~ by widening marketing margins. The primary cause for the decline of cattle prices, sqs the report, was the increased cattle slaughter which took place in 1952 and 1953 as cattle numbers leveled oft after soaring to new peaks. Prices of lover grade cattl.e dropped the most, during the autumn, in 1952 and again iD 1953. How the percentage of the f am-to-market price spread increases as the price of beet decreases is shown by an example cited in the report. For beeiat retail sell.1nc at 80 cents a pound with a 20-cent f'arm-to-retail price spread, the margiia would be 25 percent of the price, but it would be 33 l/3 percent f'or beet selling at f:IJ cents a pound with the same 20-cent price spread. A copy of the .full report is available on request to the Press Service, u. s. Department ot Agriculture, Washington 25, D. c. On Monda;y, January 4, Good and Choice slaughter steers ~yearlings sold in Fort Worth at $17.50 to $21.00, very .few to $22.oo. Camnercial cows were scarce at $12.00 and better, Utility mostly $10.00 to $11.50. Medium and Good stockers and feeders sold from $13.00 to $17.00. The Fort Worth market reports Good and Choice killere sold mainly fran $16.oo to $20.00. Medium and Good stocker ~ calves turned $13.00 to $18.oo. MISCELLANEOUS value of !!!! principal ]'~ cro~2 of 1953 is estimated by the USDA at $1,2 3 million, or~ percent less th:ui in 19 • The total volume of crops produced in the state was ful~ 10 percent more th.an in 19~--2, but this increase was more than offset by lower prices tor most crops. The Texas Department of .Agriculture reports t~a·~ camnercial broiler prices in Texas on Mon~ of this week averaged mostly 25 cents to 27 cents per pound. Meanwhile, placement of broiler chicks on Texas farms continues well above yea:rearlier levels. The Index of Prices Received El Farmers in the US at mid-December was 252 percent (1910-14-; 100). This figure is 3 points-aboVi the November index and represents a reversal of the downward trend that has prevailed tor about the past 2 years. Prices or most important commodities, except eggs and hogs, were lower on December 15 than a year earlier. The USDA stated last week that while operations under the 1954 wool price support program do not begin until April, both shorn and pulled wool produced in the January-March period of 1954 will be eligible tor support under the 1954 program. Agricultural exports from the US in the Juq-October period of 1953 were valued 4 percent above those of a year earlier, al.though the October figure showed a 9 percent ;year-to-year loss. Ag~regate w. M. Pritchett Agricultural Econanist
