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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS Number 409 Wednesday, October 30, 1957 C 0 T T 0 N S T AT E ACREAGE A L L 0 T ME N T S The U. S. Department of Agriculture recently announced state acreage allotments for the 1958 crops of !!£land and extra-long staple cotton. The total upland cotton allotments for the states of the Eleventh District (and comparisons with 1957 allotments) are: Arizona, 367,572 acres (360,892); Louisiana, 609,922 acres (609,540); New Mexico, 184,247 acres (184,029); Oklahoma, 827,162 acres (841,990); and Texas, 7,474,661 acres (7,547,503). Acreage allotments for the 1958 crop of extra-long staple cotton in the District states which produce this variety (and comparisons with 1957 allotments) are: Arizona, 35,050 acres (36,657); New Mexico, 16,194 acres (17,522); and Texas, 27,829 acres (29,983). P R 0 DUCE R S AS KE D T 0 C UR B 0 U T P U T The Secretary of Agriculture has requested the Nation's hog producers to avoid heavy output in 1958. The Secretary is concerned that existing conditions could stimulate production to the extent that the market would be flooded with pork beyond consumer demands and that prices would decline disastrously. The present large supply of feed grains at relatively low prices is a major factor which could lead to increased hog outturn in 1958. Analysts in the USDA think that at least a 7% increase in production is in prospect and that for a gain of this size, price declines might not be exceptionally large. However, the risk of sharp declines would be greater for increases above the 7% level. QUARANTINE P R 0 P 0 S E D F I R E ANT The USDA recently announced that a proposal to quarantine 10 states where infestations of the imported fire ant have been found will be discussed in a public hearing in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 19. The following states are under consideration for quarantine action: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. L I VE S T 0 CK A moderate to light ~ of cattle was received at Fort Worth on Monday, October 28, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. The marketings, at an estimated 3,100, reflected declines of 33% from a week earlier and 47% from the corresponding date in 1956. Prices for slaughter cattle were generally steady, while those for stockers and feeders ruled strong with the recent upturns. Good 800- to 1,000-lb, slaughter steers sold at $20 to $21.75; the bulk of the Utility cows, $13 to $14; and Good 550- to 650-lb. stocker yearling steers, $20.50 to $22 per cwt. Monday's calf receipts are placed at 2,000, compared with 2,200 a week earlier and 1,600 a year ago. Prices of slaughter calves were about steady with those in the latter part of the past week. The bulk of the Good grades of slaughter calves cleared at $19.50 to $20.50, and stocker and feeder steer calves were $21 to $23.50. The hog supply totaled an estimated 700, or 200 below the previous Monday's level and 800 fewer than on the corresponding date last year. After a late start, butcher hogs sold at prices which were 25¢ to mostly 50¢ per cwt. lower than in the latter part of the past week. Prices for sows were mostly steady. Mixed U. S. No. 1 through No. 3 Grades of 200- to 275-lb. barrows and gilts brought mainly $17.25. Sheep and lamb offerings totaled about 1,100, or 800 below the week-earlie r marketings but only about one-fourth of the year-ago supply. Trading was fairly active, and prices ranged from steady to 50¢ per cwt. higher than in the preceding week. Good and Choice 80- to 95-lb. wooled slaughter lambs brought $21 to $22, and Good shorn slaughter lambs with No. 1 pelts sold at $21. P 0 UL T RY The major Texas commercial broiler markets were generally steady during the week ended Friday, October 25, reports the State Department of Agriculture. Closing prices were mostly 17¢ per lb. in east Texas and Waco. Marketings in south Texas were too limited to establish prices in that area, and prices were not available for the Corsicana F.O.B. plant. During the comparable period in 1956, closing prices were 16¢ per lb. in south Texas and Waco and were 15¢ to 17¢ in east Texas. The Texas commercial broiler markets were weak on Monday, October 28. The following prices were quoted: South Texas, 17¢, with a very few at 17.5¢; east Texas , 16¢ to 17¢, with a very few higher; Waco, 16.5¢; and the Corsicana F.O.B. plant, 18¢ per lb. Area BROILER CHICK PLACEMENTS Week ended October 19l 1957 Percentage change from Comparable Previous week, 1956 week Texas •••.•. Louisiana •• 1,946,000 359,000 -1 -8 7 26 22 states •• 232800,000 -1 15 FARM POPULATION DECLINES The number of persons living on the Nation's farms in April 1957, at an estimated 20,396,000, was 8% below the year-earlier level and was down 19% from the number in April 1950, according to data prepared cooperatively by the Bureau of the Census and the AMS. The change between 1956 and 1957 is one of the greatest recorded for a single year. Except for brief interruptions, the size of the farm population in the United States has been declining steadily since 1933. According to the report, the following are among the maior factors accounting for the decrease: (1) lowered requirements for manpower in agriculture, (2) increased opportunities for employment in nonagricultural industries, and (3) the unfavorable disparity between farm and nonfarm incomes in certain regions. The proportion of farm residents in the total Q. ~· population has decreased rapidly with the continued growth of the total population. Only 12% of the Nation's people lived on farms in April 1957, compared with 13.3% a year earlier and 16.6% in April 1950. J. z. Rowe Agricultural Economist