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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE V'lEEK Wednesday, August 16, 1950 NUmber 33 ~---------Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas --- . .. . COTTON . The cotton market continues -in a verY.ut?-sett.l ed condition. On Tuesday, August 15, Middling 15/16-inch staple averaged 37-39 cents per pound in the 10 designated markets, compared with 38.13 cents a week earlier and 38.22 two weeks ago. Spot market sales were very large in volume last week, according to the PMA, Reported sales in,the 10 markets totaled 354;900 bales; compared with 360,900 the previous week and 69,900 in the corresponding week a year ago • . CCC loan repayments on ·1949-crop cotton were reported on llJ,500 bales for the week ended August. 3,-brineing total re:PaY-Jnents for the season to that date to 2.8 million and leaving loans outstanding on 387,000 bales. With cot~on prices at relatively· high levels, the CCC is rapidly disposing of its holdings of 1948-crop E_£oled cotton. Prior to .August 9 the CCC had sold about 1.2 millio!'.l bal : , leaving 2.5 mIIlion bales of pooled cotton on hand •. W11en ·the CCC accepted bids on August 9, there were so many offers to buy that the Corporation was unable . to process them in time to send out acceptances last _week. Some estimates were that bids covered .between 700,000 and 1 million bales, and acceptances are expected to total around li00,000 bales. In addition, the CCC opened bids for more cotton last Friday and again o~ ruesday of this week. 1 GRAINS Cash wheat prices on the Fort Worth Grain and Cotton Exchange have made no important changes during August, fluctuating within a range of about 3 cents per bushel. On Tuesday, August 15, No. 1 hard wheat sold for a· top' price of $2.44-3/4 per bushel - the same as. a week earlier, · ' · The visi~ supply of wheat in the u. s. as of August 12 was 217 million bushels, according to estimates compiled by the Chicago Bo~rd of Trade. This. estimate compares with 199 million a year ago. The Bureau of Statistics in Ottawa estimates the Canadian spring wheat crop at 51.5 million bushels, vs. 343 million last year, - - - - -. - - -. The dovmward ~rend in ~ pr:i. c~, which has been 1inder way for the past 3 weeks, continues., Or.L Tuesday of this week, No. 2 white Texas corn sold in Fort Worth for a top price of $2~16-1/2 per bushel, compared 'With $2.JO a week earlier and a season's high of $2.75 on JtJ.ly 26 Tuesday's top price for No. 2 yellow corn -was $L 6h-l/2 per bushel - off about 10 cents for the week,. --The vlsi_ble su9ply of corn in the U. s. on August 12 was 38 million bushels, vs. 5 million aye&°ragu~--. Approval of a contract to exchange 215,000 bushels of CCC-owned corn for a foreign-produced strategic and critical material for transfer to the nationa:C-stock pile was announced last week by the CCC • . Prices of oats and ba.rley on the Fort Worth market have held st~ady for the past week 93-centsalld ~~l.42-per bushel, top prices, respectively.. 0 at PEANUTS The PMA ?as announced specific support prices for 1950-crop farmers stock quota peanuts based upon 90 percent of parity • . These prices,' which provide a basic support level of 10. 8 cents ·p er pound, or about ~216 per ton, apply to farmers stock quota peanuts which are eligible for price support tmder the 19.50·~-crop marketing quota program. The average support price for Spanish and Valencias west of the Mississippi River is $209 per ton. AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK N~um--b_e_r~J~3------~~~-~------·----_,..----------- LI V ~ _ _ _We~~day, August 16, 1950 Page-"2 S T0 CK Prices of lambs and most classes oi' cattle on the Fort Worth market declined late last week or early this week. On Tuesday, August 15, slaughter steers brought a top price of $28e.50 per cwt. - off $2.00 from a week earlier; slaughter heifers, at $28.oo, were lower by the same amount. Cows sold as high as-$21,50 ~O'"'"below 2 weeks ago. Slaughter calves remained unchanged at $29.00. Feeder and stocker steers the Fort Worth market brought a top price of $30.00 per cwt.-on Tuesday of this week - as high as they have sold this year. Tuesday's top price for spring lambs was $28,00 per cwt. - $1.00 under a week earlier and $2. 00 under 2 weeks ago.--Hogs sold as high as $24.00 per cwt. ·on Tuesday, August 15, r·c'ga,ini:ngt the losses suffered last week and equaling the top price of 2 weeks ago ..: Commercial meat production in Texns during J~ne totaled 70 milli.on pounds l percent more than in May and 7-pcrcont above June 1949,· according ·to this.week's BAE report. During the first half of 19.50, total production of commerciai meat in Texas amounted to 385.million pounds, vs, 367 million in the first 6 months of 1949. on W 0 0 L AND MO.HA IR Contracts for fall clip wool in Texas sold.at D.5 cents per pound during the past week, according to the P:MA.-:- Dealers placed the clean cost at about $1 • .58 per pound, delivered at Boston. An estimated 1,250,000 pounds of wool sold in Alb1:.lq11 orqne, Nei:·(Mexico, the past week. Original bag, bulk fine, average Fr~nch combing wool sold at a clean price of about $1. 85 per pound. Some buyers offered $1. 90 for good, French combing types in original bags, The Texas wool clip shorn Cl;nd to be shorn in 19.50 is estimated at over 52 million pounds - 1 percent"below last year's· clip and nearly 30 percent belvw the 1939-48 average. The number of sheep shorn and to be shorn is slightly under 6.8 million head, or J percent above last year. Lighter fleece weights more than offset the increase in number of sheep shorn. A 5-year program to increase U. s. sheep herds by 37 percent to help meet wool needs was recommended last week by the BAE and PMAG The agtncies urged continued w9ol price supports, better soil conservation to improve pl\.s'Gures, maintenance of maximum livestock on public lands, and betterment of production and marketing practices, . Business in the mohair market v~s practically at a sta~dsti11 in Texas and at Boston the past week; little or no mohair was available for sale. MISCELLANEOUS Farm real estate values in the u. s. rose 2 percent in the 4-month period, March-July-mo, according to the USD~. Increases wnre reported for 34 statRs. Farm real estate values now average about .the .same as a year ago and are only 3 percent below the peak reached in 19 118 ~ The increased land values '\I ere said to reflect higher prices for farm corrunod.lt.ies, especialJy citrus fruits, livestock, and cotton. There were over 11.6 million people vorking on farms in tho u. s. during the last week in July - about 1/2 million loss tf1ai1a ye.arearliF~r. This decrease -· ""'!ltinuation of the decline in number of workers on farms over the past several e:rs, althou_g•n·'..L""t wa,.. ~- partly accounted for by unfavorable ~~athcr during tho survey Y wc0k. W. M. T'i tchett Agricultural Economist
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