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GRICULTU FEDERAL L RESERVE THE WEEK BANK OF DALLAS Numb r 236 ednesday, July 7, 1954 •ARM C 0 11 OD I TY RIC ES The U. • • Department of Agriculture reported last week that a sharp decline in ho d r·n ~h month ended June 15, together with lower prices for cattle, co: ~erc'al ve t t ~s, an what, s lted ·n a 4% (10 points) decline in the In ex of Prices ceived by Fa mer • The Index on June 15 was at 248 (1910-14 ; TISO), which com a· w· th258 ·n lay an 257 in June 1953. Prices of Irish potatoes, corn, cotton, a s vera im ort t frtit crops increased uring the month, part:· 1y f 'settin the lownwa d rnovem nt re istered by most other commodities. The ar·t.v In ex (th ·n ex of prices fanners pay, inclu ing interest, tax s, nnd wares) w's---;t'2 2 on Jun 15, wlich is 2 points below a month earlier repr nt~ the fi t lee ·n sine last October. ost of the ecline in prices ar ners pay wa fue to ow r Jr·ces for fann production goods, principally feed and feeder livestock, while fami y livin items eased only slightly. The June Parity Index was 5 J ·nts, or ·bout 2%, higher than a year earlier. With farm cornmo 'ty 1rices own more than prices paid by farmers for com no ·tie an s rv·· c , tl e June arity Ratio also declined. t 88% the ratio w- s the west 1 ce arcb 94Y:-The Parity \at· o at 88% mean , theoretically, that farmers generally w · r c 'ving 88% o p 'ty fo commodities sold as of June 15. Among producers of 'nlividual farm com. odities, however, the ratios of prices received to parity Le varied s "rply. Bor exampl , cotton so at 92% of parity, while wheat brought 77% of p rity. Percen age i u es for oth r farm comnodities: rice 76, corn 82, peanuts 3, Irish iotato s 00, milk 82, cottonseed 71, sor hum grain 89, beef cattle 80, c1ick ns 76, e s 78, r o s 105, ambs 88, and ool 94. s G the acreage nat ·on 1954 that the price support rates for 1954-crop nationally instead of the 2.20 minimum average The n w support rate is the highest ever un er its w eat price support program. The 2 .21. are seasonally inactive. th Am m kn e innin to head up. 11eanwhile , crop MI S C E L L A N E 0 U S Changes in spot cotton prices during the past week or two probably have limited significance, since many prospective buyers are awaiting the first official 1954 cotton acreage estimate which will be released on Thursday, July 8. Several private estimates already have been published, but these show considerable variation. CCC cotton loan repayments have been declining weekly, and the week ended June 25 totaled 37,500 bales, which brings the total for the season to less than 1.6 million. Red meat production in commercial slaughter plants in the U. S. during May totaled almost 1.8 billion pounds, according to the USDA. This was 1% less than in April but 3% more than in May 1953 and represented the largest May production since records were started in 1946. In the first 5 months of 1954, production of beef was up 9%, veal up 18%, lamb and mutton unchanged, and pork down 11% from the correspondi months last year. The Fort Worth office of AMS reports that cattle prices on the local market lost 50¢ to $1 last week, calf prices declined about ~l. Butcher hog prices advanced 50¢ to 75¢, while lamb prices gained as much as $1. Texas broiler markets closed steady to strong last week. Prices rose to the highest level since January 8. Broilers or fryers weighing 2~ to 3 pounds brought 26¢ in major producing areas. Weekly placementsof broiler chicks on Texas farms have been running well below comparable weeks of 1~3, but higher than in 1952. In the week ended June 26, placements totaled 1,347,000 chicks, down 6% from a year ago. Prospective production of crimson-clover seed in the U. S. this year is forecast by the USDA at 16,430,000 pounds of clean seed, 13% less than the 1953 harvest and 10% below the 1943-52 average. The Texas crop is indicated at 350,000 pounds, which compares with 480,000 pounds last year and is only about one-half the 10-year average. Growth of the peanut crop in Texas and Oklahoma, which is almost entirely planted, continues good.- Some sections are becominE a little dry and rains will be needed within a couple of weeks. With the heavy recent rains in south Texas, some additional peanut acreage is being planted there for late harvest. New crop Texas-grown Irish potatoes sold in Dallas last week as follows, per 50-pound sack, washed: U. S. No. 1 A, ~l. 75 to ~~2; size B, ,~pl.)O. W. M. Pritchett Agricultural Economist
