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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK FEDERAL RESERVE· BANK OF DALLAS i~umber 458 Wednesday, October 8, 1958 1 9 5 9 - C R 0 P C 0 T T 0 N On September 29 the Secretary of Agriculture proclaimed a national marketing quota of 12,167,000 bales (standard bales of 500 pounds gross weight) and a national acreage allotment of 16 million acres for the 1959 crop of upland cotton. The Secretary also announced that a referendum on upland cotton marketing quotas will be held December .!1, 1958. At least two-thirds of the upland cotton farmers voting in the referendum must approve marketing quotas if they are to be in effect for the 1959 crop. P R I CE S AGR I CUL T URAL The index of prices received by Q. ~· farmers advanced nearly 3% during the month ended September _!1, 1958, to 258% of the 1910-14 average, points out the Agricultural Marketing Service. Record high prices for grapefruit, near-record prices for oranges, and increases for cotton, beef cattle, milk, and eggs were primarily responsible for the gain. Lower prices for corn, hogs, and chickens were partially offsetting. The mid-September index was 5% greater than the year-earlier figure. The parity index (which reflects prices paid for commodities and services, plus interest, taxes, and wage rates), at 305, was fractionally above the level of August 15 and 3% higher than a year ago. Prices for most farm production goods increased during the month ended September 15, while those for family living items were unchanged. The parity ratio rose to 85, reflecting a 2% increase over both a month ago and the corresponding date in 1957. S UP P L I E S P E R S 0 NS 2 3 FARM WORKER Each farm worker in the United States now produces, on the average, enough agricultura:l'pr~ts (food, fiber, and tobacco) to supply more than .fl persons,according to the AMS. The number is more than twice that in 1940, when each farm worker supported about 11 persons, and is nearly 6 times the number back in 1820, when only about 4 persons were supplied by each farm worker. More than half of this long-time increase in farm worker efficiency occurred during the past 15 years. The number of persons supported per farm worker rose from 12.97 persons in 1952 to 23.55 persons in 1957. 0 NE R I C E E XP 0 R T rice exports from August 1957 bags, compared with the record export of 26.2 and 12.9 million bags sent abroad in 1955-56, Service. Cuba, Pakistan, Peru, and Indonesia 1957-58 ri.C'e"exports. ~~ Q. ~· S D 0 WN through July 1958 totaled 12.8 million million bags in the preceding season according to the Foreign Agricultural were the principal destinations of our S HAR P L Y R I S E P U L L E T C H I C K P L A C E ME N T S Pullet chick placements by 10 of the largest primary breeders of broiler replacement stocks in the United States totaled 23.4 million chicks during JanuaryAugust this year, reflecting a 34% gain from the corresponding months of 1957, according to the AMS. These 10 breeders account for a very large percentage of the total supply of replacement pullets for broiler hatchery supply flocks. Sales of replacement pullets by these breeders provide an indication of the potential number of pullets available for addition to hatchery egg supply flocks several months before the pullets actually will move into the flocks. P 0 UL T R Y The major Texas commercial broiler markets were generally steady throughout the trading week ended Friday, October l, reports the State Department of Agriculture. Closing prices were mostly unchanged from both the preceding Friday's close and the corresponding date last year, with the following prices quoted: South Texas 16¢, and east Texas, 15¢ to 16¢ per lb. (In the latter area, 81% of the sales were at undetermined prices.) BROILER CHICK PLACEMENTS Percentage change from Previous Comparable week week, 1957 Area Week ended September 27, 1958 Texas •••••• Louisiana •• 1,469,000 309,000 -9 -13 -21 -9 22 states •• 24,896,000 0 3 L I VE S T 0 C K The cattle run at Fort Worth on Monday, October ~' totaled an estimated 4,000, compared with 3,600 a week earlier and 4,200 on the corresponding date in 1957, according to the AMS. Slaughter steers sold at prices which were fully steady to strong as compared with the previous week's close. Trading on stocker and feeder cattle was very slow, and prices ranged from about steady to $1 per cwt. lower than in the latter part of the past week. Good and Choice 950- to 1,150-lb. slaughter steers brought $25.50 to $26.50; Utility and Commercial cows, $20 to $22; and Medium and Good 600- to 800-lb. stocker and feeder steers, $22.50 to $27.50. The~ supply, at an estimated 1)200, was about the same as on the preceding Monday but was 400 more than a year ago. Prices of slaughter calves were unchanged from the week-earlier level. The bulk of the Good and Choice slaughter yearlings and calves weighing under 600 lbs. cleared at $25 to $27. Good and Choice stocker steer calves weighing under 525 lbs. were quoted at $31 to $33. Monday's hog receipts are placed at 600, reflecting declines of 25% from a week earlier and 14% from the comparable date last year. Prices of butcher hogs were 25¢ to 50¢ higher than in the latter part of the preceding week. U. s. mixed No. 1 through No. 3 Grades of 190- to 250-lb. barrows and gilts sold at $19.75 to $20.25, with most sales at $20. Sheep and lamb marketings totaled slightly under 1,100, or 400 fewer than on the previous Monday but about the same as a year ago. Trading was fairly active, and all classes sold at steady prices. Medium and Good 55- to 80-lb. feeder lambs brought $20 to $21.75. P R 0 DUCT I 0 N MEAT output in the Nation's commercial slaughter houses during the first~ months of this year totaled 15.8 billion lbs., or 6% below the year-earlier level, reports the AMS. Production of beef was down 8%; veal, 23%; pork, 1%; and lamb and mutton, 4%. J. Z. Rowe Agricultural Economist Red~
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