The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
AGRICULTURAL NElflS OF THE WEEK Number 39· Wednes?-ay,, September 27 j ·. 1950 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas C 0 T T 0 N Cotton p_:.-ices Ia,st ·wee~. reach.ed ai'1eW high for · ~he seas.on; on Saturday, September 23, Middling l.5';1.6 11 cotton averaged 41. 20 cents per pound in the ten designated markets·. Prices · on the first two days of this week were a few points lower. Sr:i.les in the ten markets last week totaled 326,900 bales, compared with 263,000 balesin the previous week, according to' the· PM.A,. Demq.nd . continued strong, but offerings were limited. Farmers generally were selling freely·, although . rains and wet fields in several areas retarded harvesting and the nevr crop moved into trade channels slowly. Cotton textile mills continue active, the Pl.:IA reports. During recent weeks t~ere has beerl'a-8"ubst~illtial volwne of f oriivard sales extending into the second quarter of 1951. Cotton goods currently are being sold for forward deli very at prices only slightly below those being quoted for spot or nearby delivery. Textile prices g~nerally are high enough to encourage a continued high rate of mill activity. Reports show that insect damage to the cotton crop .in the Lubbock area is not too great so far, although crops in most other sections have suffered serious damage. Cottonseed prices during the first part of last, week ranged from $75 to $95 per tonar-the gin:, but were f;!ilO lower at vmek Is end. Texas cotton ginned through September 15 averaged higher : in grade and about one thirty-second of® inch longer than that···ginned to the same date last season, according to the USDA. The grade index through thi's date this year was 100.l (Middling ·white ::: 100), compared with 98.5 last season. The total ginnings in Texas throuGh September 15 amounted to 797,700 bales, compared with 1,437,060-bales last year, according to the Bureau of Census. GRAINS Prices of wheat, oats, and barley on the Fort .Worth Grain and Cotton Exchange made net declines during the past week; corn and.grain sorghum prices held steady or advanced. On Tuesday, September 26, No. 2 yellow corn sold for·a top price of $1.65-1/2 per bushel--the same as a weel .. earlier. -NO. 2 white corn at a top price of $2.51-1/2 was up 7 cents from a week ago. Grain sorghums made no net change during the past week; No. 2 yellow milo held at a top price or-:)2 .12 per c1,1vt., which is 6 cents above the post World Har II low reached in August 19490 No. 1 hard wheat sold Tuesday for a top price of $2.43-1/4 per bushel, or 2-1/2 cents below a wee k earlier. However, top wheat prices have held generally between ~~ 2.42 and ~~2.47 since late July. Tuesday's top price for No. 2 barley was ~1.55 per bushel, off 2 cents. No. 2 red oats at 97-1/2 cents per bushel were 1-1/4 cents lor.rer than on Tuesday of last week.-- L I VE S T 0 CK Prices of lambs and most classes of cattle held steady on thP. Fort Worth market last week, but hog prices declined seasonally. Slaughter and feeder-and-stocker steers sold Tuesday for $30.00 per cwt., while heifers brought ~29.50; these classes have held at these prices since the first AGR1CULTURAL NEHS OF THE VTEEK Number- Wednesday, September 27, 1950 ---Page 2 ----- of the month. Tuesday's top price for slaughter calves was $29.00 per cwt., off $1.00 from a week ago. Slaughter cows at :)22.50 were down )0 cents. Tuesday's top price for hogs was $21.2.5 per cwt., which was 75 cents below a week earlier and ~>3. 50 below...the year's high in late August. However, hog prices usually decline at this season of the year and further declines may be expected during the next 2 or 3 months. WOOL AND MOHAIR Wool auctions opened in London last week with heavy attendance and strong competition from the home trade ai1d continental buyers. Prices for morino wools generally ruled from 45 to 50 percent above the last London prices, while some types and grades of wool sold 80 to 90 percent higher. West Texas wool and mohair continued to ·bring record prices last vm~k as representativescf seveI'al Eastern-dealers bought more spot wool and contracted for 12-months and 8-months wool and mohair for 1951 spring delivery. One car load of 1950 12-mcnths wool sold at ~~L 04 per pound, grease basis, while 1951 8-months wool was contracted at the record price of 80 cents per pound. Contracting of spring mohair saw prices rise to ~l.01-1/2 per pound for adult hair and (;1.26-1/2 per pound- for kid hair, up about 25 cents over pric~s for the 1950 fall clip. However, it is reported that many ranchmen are unwilling to sell next year's mohair under contract even at these record prices, P 0 UL T RY AND E GGS The Dallas Wholesale Poult-r; and Egg Market has remained ste.ady for the past two months. Last week's prices for hens: 4 pounds and over, 22 cents per pound; 3 to 4 pounds, J5 cents; and under 3 pounds, 10 cents. Arkansas fryers are selling in the Dallas market at 32 cents per pound; local birds are bringing 25 to 30 cents. No. 1 turkey hens are quoted at 30 cents per pound. Egg prices: candled No. 1 mixed, 33-1/3 cents per dozen; No. 2 mixed, 20 cents; and No. 2 infertile, 36-2/3 cents. Commercial hatchery production in Texas during the month of August was 3. 2 million chicl . s--the highes't output on record for the month. As compared with the same month last year, August production of broiler chicks was up 70 percent, while non-broiler chick production 1,.1ras aoout one-third lower. MI S C E L L A N E 0 U S The 1950 prodlction of sw0.et clover seed in Texas is estimated at 425,000 bushels (2.5.,5 million pounds) of thresher run seed, compared with 255,000 bushels (15.3 million pounds) harvested j_n 1949, according to the BAE. The 1950 crop was harvested from 100,000 acres, vs. 56,000 acres in 1949. Holdin6S of farmers' stock peanuts at mills and in off-farm warehouses on August 31 were the lovost for any month of record beF;inning in 1938. Commercial supplies on this date amount0-d to only 17. million pounds--less than half as large as a month earlier and 10 million pounds less than a year earlier. Correction: The average s1pport price for 1951 crop flaxseed is ~2.65 per bushel, vs. ~$2.57 for the 1950 crop. f. M. Pri tchctt A ricultural Economist
