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W~dnesday, AGRICULTURAL NEJS OF THE WEEK NuriiL8r- 68 - - -·· - --.--- .-..-.. -,---. - - - - - - Federal Reserve Ban~ April 18, 1951 of Dallas CO'l1TON Spot cotton prices remain unchanged at ceiling levels. Distant futures are still substa.ntiall~r below la.st month Ts levels; a1.though Tuesdayrs (Apr;il ii} qi,.~otations were fractionally abov'e those of ·a week agoo Reports continue to indicate that a- very large cotton crop will be planted in tl:.e SouthFest this year> Planting is virtually completed in the Valley and the r'.-;." ·•p _is in all stages of grovifh;-a~~c~ording to the PMA. The acreage in · south Texas w::._~:.J cxc eed €\.~.d."'; estiri·!ates ~ C01. t"n plantlng is unJe~ -r-ray in central Texas and R0!:18 h::.,,-; ·:1 een pla- . J~ :·, ri ~-:i norti1 Tox.s.s~ Vmd prepara+,ion in wester::1 sections of Texas ar:j 01~:.:~Eoma is --:" er~:-- g . 1od) c:-;:.ys thP. PH.:·~.9 but more noisture · is needed. Planting se·e d is s:-:ct:~· ;.;'3 in all sections and if much replanting becomes nec·es"Sa.ry, gi~ run seed will have to be used. G .R A I N S Grain prices on the Fort W~rth Grain and Cottop Exchange continue to ' fluctuate Tifithin-r!arro;;, limits , All quotations this week ·yerc within a few cents of l87els ma~_ntained ck.r:i_ng t .!12 past several months ., Weck·to-·week changes of a few c~2rr'1s per buahel or hu:.1.d:.--ed~Hej_g.ht reflect changes :in the outlook for producticn of grain~ in 19.51, in vra1· news, and in export developn.ents. However, even these cause only minor price chan~e s. . . Grain stocks on Texas farms on April 1, 19Sl 'rnre s 11bstantially 'uelow a year aGO, accorrffr:g t'o a USDA report. Farracrs held 12, 9 miilion bus!iels of corn, or l..L. million le so than last year; 1 million uushels of w..ieat ~ dov.n 2 rrd.llion; 6. 2 million bt1.shels of oats, off half million; and . Jess tr.an hal.f million bushels of barley an.J rye combined. Oklahoma- farmers held i.nore corn tl an last rear, but less of other grains. Proc:-pcr.ts for sr:i.a.11 grain prod ictj.on ·in . Te~as continue poor, according to a BAE report .--n!-owin~ crops o.f ·wheat and oats made .. slow prog"!:'ess last week, due to cool weather anri, drying -..vinds. Warm '\!·eather and .:cains are needed on all ren·aining acreage. A N D .·v E.. Cr-. E T A B . 1 E S F R.U ITS Texas peach crop pro-spects are fair to good, -::tcc::n·ding to the BAE. Cold weather delayed blooming of early varieties and caused some d'.3.mage to trees. Citrus trees in the Lower Rio Granc e Val1ey. are said to be niaking very slow recover;("f":r-;'om thtJ damage inflicted by last winter ts freezes. . ood dar:age was very severe. Removal of entire groves has been extensive. Prospects for 1951-52 production are poor. De.fensc· Food Order No. 2, ectal."'lishing the amoun~ of ·cannPd vegeta le pa ck to be set as:i.de for defense use, has bee;.1 announced. Ti.1e amo:mtofany ·specifie_d__ canned ve;:;etablo to be sot 3.side by each rroces'"'or is determined by applying a setaside percenta:e to that Processor's 11 base pack. 11 Percent of Lase pc...ck to be set aside: asparagus 12, lirna ·beans 2.S , green and ·wax bec....ns 11+, carrots 27 , sreet c rn 15, creen peas 15, pTu!1pkin 17, fJYvect potJ.toes 22, tom.:.:.toes 20 , tonato cats p 16, and tomato paste 17 percent . . The acrea re of early spring CUC .d uers in Texas t:1is year totals 2 ' ~00 acres - 1,000 less than last year; yields a1;e hj ~; ier. The south Texas early s r~ rin 0 onion crop is estiiuated .J.t 1. 9 million sad s, or l ~ ss than half last year 1 s c:-op. AGRICULTURAIJ NEWS OF THE \liJEEK NU11iller 68 Wednesday, April 18, 1951 - - -,__ Page~ LIVESTOCK Livestock prices on theFort Worth market have made few noteworthy changes during the past 2 weeks. Slaughter steers dropped 50 cents, or to ~J6.)0 per cwt., while spring lambs reached 036.oo, a new high for the season. The outlook for the eai·ly lamb crop in Texas declined further during the past month, reports the BAE. Green feed diO-not aev'8Top during March as expected. Mid-February rains started grass and clover, but the dry, windy weather depleted the moisture supply, and the low temperatures checked the growth of grass before it coul< furnish much feed. Most yearlings marketed before mid-May will carry only feeder flesh; spring lambs have made only fair progress, and the market movement probably will begin the last of r.{ay or in early June. The early lamb situation in Arizona has continued favorable. Marketings were under way April--r;-with the movemen·t g~ng mostly to midwestern and eastern markets. Commercial meat production in Texas during February totaled 53.7 million pounds, which was about one-third less than in January and about 2 percent lower than in February 1950, according to the BAE. The numbers of cattle, calves, sheep and lambs slaughtered during February were smaller than a year ago, while the number of hogs slaughtered was higher. Livestock receipts on the Fort 1North market in March were substantially below those of the same month in 1950:--Marketings of all classes were lighter. Receipts of cattle were off 13 percent; calves down 39 percent; hogs off fractionall: and sheep down 52 percent. WOOL AND MOHAIR There was no buslness in Texas wools or mohair last week., Meanwhile, ~ prices on the Boston market continued to decline; dealers estimated that the prices of nohair were 20 percent below recent high levels. The wool tops and grease wool futures exchange reopened on April 9 after having been closed since January 26. Ceil:mg prices for wool top futures were set at $1~. 265 and for grease wool futur~s at ~3 .535. FARM EllPLOYliENT AND TIAGE RATES A report relec.sed by the USDA last week shows that farm wage rates in the U. s. rose 6 percent during the past 3 months and on April 1 13 percent hit;her than a year ago. On the other hand, there were h percent fewer persons working on U. S. farms than a year earlier. Farm v ages, says the report, continue to reflect · increases in prices received by farmers, the competition of higher industrial wages, and the increased cost of living. Farm employment in the Southwest in late March was some 4 percent under a year ago ana-8 percent below the March average for the past S years. Wage rates in Texas on April 1 were 12 percent above a year ago~ Texas farmers paicran-average ~4.75 per day with room or $5040 per day without room or board. Farmers ~N"ho employed laborers by the hour paid an average of 56 cents per hour with room or 64 cents per hour v:ithout board or room. were " M. Pritchett Agricultural Economist