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AGTtICULTURAL TEVS OF TFE WEEK
Number

56 .·
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Federal Reser7e Bank of rallas

C 0. T T 0 N
'Gott-on prh~es reacred ~· newr-P.cord-h;igh on Tuesday. of this ;wE)e){ with
Mi'ddling 15/16--:lnchs"fap1e. ave.raging 45. lh cent~ . per pound· ~-n· the 10 designated spot
markets; Tl!~. comparable price · a .:reek earlier was 4l+c 33 cents. Average -prices · for ., ·
grades ranged from licS. lO '" cerit·s ·for Good_· Ordina_ry to 45. 93 'cents for -Good Middling. · ·
·
· The USDA has· announced. that ·it intends to sup-pO-.rt the price ·of 1951-crop
Arrisak and _p~ma 32 varieties .qf .Am~r~can--~~gyptian extra> J6nri; staplecottorr ·i n order
to obtain necessary domestic production; The act:.i.on to build. up s\1pplies ·of· this
strategic a!1d :. critical materia1 was taKen in accordance with a reciuest from the
Munitions Board.
·
·
Under present -conditions, .1d.. th no acreage li1;:i.itations on uplan·d c·otton,
it is estimated that not mo~'e tban around 10; 000. bales· of ·extra. long staple cotton
wou1d be produced . in the US in 19;1 wi t11.o ut s peciai- pr.ice 3.ncentIv·e s ~ - It is also
estimated that a minimum .domestic production' of at le.a$t 75, 000 bales · this year
would be desirable.·
·
·
· ·
On the ·uasis of la.test information . a"rnilable to the USDA, j t is·-· believed
that a support 1evel of ar.ound ;sl.04 per pound Tor r:rade 'No. 2, 1-1/2 in~hes in
length, with appropria.te differentials for other gracies ·and staple lengt11s,. will· be
necessary to secure the desired production~
Mills cons1med an average of 41,JOO bales of cotton-per working day during
December, compared with a daily rate of hl~ 200 bales in l~ovember and 34, 900 in .
December, 1949. During the first S months of the current _season, mill consumption
totaled h. ·4 million bales, compared ·with ·306. million -in tli.e . con~esponding period a
year :earli{;r
Mill stocks of cotton increased during December ·a nd at end of· the month
totaled s.lightJ.y under .2 million bales, vs. 1. 8 million a month earl.ier and 1ess than
1.7 million a y~ar ago~
II

GR A I NS
.
Grain prices on the Fort 1forth Grain and Cotton Exchange generally advanced
during the pai:rt wee~re co re.r4-rig most . of the previous week .1s lo~ses. On Tuesday,
January 23, N·o. 1. hard wheo.t sold .for a top price . of ">?-~63 per bushc.i,. vs~. '?2.60-1/4
a v-reek earlier 9 and ;~2 ~b4-17'-i 2 weeks a8o... No. 2 white oats· brou~-rht 4>1.1.5-3/4 per
bushel -- up 2 cents fron a '.·eel~ earlier. Barley held steady at $L7.5 per bushel.
llo. 2 .yellow ·corn sold at Fort \forth Tuesday for ,~1. 90-3/h per bushel, vs.
$1.89 a ~reek earlier. and JJ ... 9Ji--l/2 ?. v.reeks . a,c:;o .. No. 2 whit,c corn at $2.lh-3/4 1:ras
off fractionaiiy. · No~ 2 yellow milo at ~~2.65 per cwt. was llp 6 cents from a week
earlier but at the s~ne level as 2weeks. agoo
·
· ·
Rice ·markets l1eld firm during tne i'feek ended January 1) with some further
·
improvement
the demancl uoth from tl e Cuban a_n d domestic trade, reports to the USDA
indicate. Trading irt rou61:1 rice ·Las lin1i ted by the sma11 stock.s remaining in "arrner0 t
ha.nds but price-s held firm. The mi 1 led .rice market show8d · increased activity reflecting· relatively' la:q;e purchases. by t1e .Suban trade and resumption of buying by domestic
distributors to re. plenish. stocks.
.
Distribution of son'Lhern 'milled rice (luring December 'totaleci. aJiilOSt 1. 7
million· cv~-t. ,- · ma·~in0 a total distribution since ~h·e_ ·first of August of 9. B million
cvrt . ; compared 1: i tn 9. 6 million during the corresp·o ndi.ng period last season. Approxin:.:~-.ciy 9.6 miJlion cvt. re1 aine c for distribution January: 1, or for ca-rry-over at
the end of this. sea~on. The comparable figure n January 1, 19)0 as 8.5 million c·:rt.,

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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WF.EK

Number 5.6

Wednesday; Jaml.ary 2!+, 19.51
Page 2

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1 I VE S T 0 CK
Cattle and lamb prices-On tne'Fort 1Jorth market are reaching new recordhigh levels each week. On Tue-sday, January 23; Choice slaughter steers brought
$3.5.00 per cwt., up $1.00 from a week ago. Choice heifers-brougl1t ~~3hoOO, unchanged.
Calves brought ~35~00, up $1.00 from a week ago., Feeder and stocker steers sold for
$34.00 -- $1.00 under the peak reached 19.st week~
Tuesday's top prices for J.ambs show new record highs paid for both slaughter
and feeder lambs. Slaughter lambs reached ~35. 00 per ci.vt., while vmoled feeder lambs
brought ·$3~;. 50C>
lfo~s sold Tuesday for a top price of ~p2L 2S per crrt~, unchanged from a week
ago.
Trading in goats on the Sa.n Antonio market was steady last week. The bulk
of Common and Medium Angoras and Spanish type sold for $13. 50 to ?IL.ct 25 per cwt~
Small butchers paid ~~Ko6for fresh sriC)rn Angoras and $16.oo for those in the hairo
Some yearlings in the hair reached $18.00. Kids and yearlings mixed brought $?.75
per head. -- Cattle on feed in Texas on January 1 totaled 177,000 head, up 16,000 from
a year ago. OtherSouthwestern states reporting: Oklahoma, 58,ooo, up 3,000; New
Mexico, 16,000, down l,COO; Arizona, 87,000, up 28,000. The number of cattle on
feed in the US on January 1 was 5 percent larger than a year ago and the largest on
record.
WOOL AND
MOHAIR
There was little, if any, contracting for wool in Texas last week. Little
mohair remained unsold in the State as buyerso.f fered ~n. 65 for adult and ~2015 for
kid mohairo
Prices advanced steadily for all classes of wool last week in tho Boston
wool market. Also further advances in prices were reflected in quotations from
foreign markets.

P 0 UL T R Y AND E GGS
Quotations in the Dallas wholesale poultry and egg market during the past
week show slight advances for hens but declines for fryers and ep;gs.1 Hens weighing
~- pounds and over are bri.ngj ng 24 cents per pound, up 2 cents from a ·week ago.
Hens
weighing 3 to 4 pounds at 18 cents are up 1 to 3 cents~
Arkansas fryers are bringing from 26 to 27 cents per pound, vs. 28 cents a
week ago. Local--i"r-;erS"'at 23 to 25 cents are off 2 cents~ No. 1 turkey ~ are
holding steady at 32 cents per pound~
No. 1 mixed eggs at 35 cents per dozen are off 1 cento No. 1 infertile
eggs at 40 cents are down-5 cents from a week ago and down 25 cents since mid-December•
Turkey growers in the US plan to raise a record crop of turkeys this year()
If growers carry out their intentfons, the number of turkeys raised ill be 4L~, 773,000,
about 1 percent more than in 1950. A 5 percent intended (lecrease in the Vlest almost
offsets expected increases in all other areas of the country, except the l! est North
Central States r-here no change is planned. Reasons given by turkey growers for the
slight increase from last year include an expected strong demand and hit;her prices
for red meats, as well c.s a record. level of ernployment, all of which are expected to
result in higher turkey prices,
W. H. Pritchett
Agriculturcl Economist