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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS Number 699 Wednesday, May 22, 1963 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~r * * JUNE I S DAIRY MONTH * * * * In calling attention to the 27th annual "June Is Dairy Month" ob* * servance, Secretary of Agriculture Freeman stated that U. S. milk pro* * duction this year may reach a level of about 126 billion lbs. An out* * put of this magnitude would be enough to supply every man, woman, and * * child in the Nation with about a quart of milk a day. Every state in * * the Union produces milk, and dairying accounts for about 14% of the * * total U. s. farm income. * * * * ************************************* ***** TEXAS PEACH CROP Texas peach production in 1963 is expected to total 800,000 bu., according to the Statistical Reporting Service. An output of this size woulcr-be more than 3~ times the previous year's small outturn and 18% above the 5-year (1957-61) average. The condition of the State's peach crop as of May 1, at 83% of normal, was the second highest for the month in the past 14 years. PROGRAM CHOLERA ERADICATION H 0 G ~~--~~~----~--------~---------------~-------~~---~ Twenty-seven states and Puerto Rico have entered into the four-phase stateFederal hog cholera eradication program, announces the U. S. Department of Agriculture. This four-phase cooperative program establishes uniform procedures for eradicting this hog disease. The phases are: I - preparation or program organization; II - reduction of hog cholera incidence; III - elimination of outbreaks; and IV - protection against reinfection. Hog cholera, a virus disease which affects swine only, costs the Nation's hog producers $50 million a year, points out the USDA. For many years, livestock producers and state agricultural and livestock health authorities have sought to eradicate the disease. DEDICATED NEW RESEARCH BUILDINGS Large-scale tests of tillage machinery can be made indoors, unhampered by unfavorable weather conditions, in a new building dedicated on May 17 at the USDA's National Tillage Machinery Laboratory at Auburn, Alabama. The new building for tillage research, which contains 14,000 square feet of floor space, provides two 20- by 200-ft. soil bins that permit year-round operations. Also dedicated on May 17 was a new laboratory-ad.ministration building which houses three laboratories, service facilities, and offices. Scientists-rn-:EW'O""'of the laboratories will study physical and mechanical properties of soils and how the physical condition of soil affects plant growth. In the third laboratory, model tillage tools will be tested. Service facilities include a conference-reading room, drafting room, and photographic darkroom. L I VE S T 0 CK Marketings of cattle and calves at Fort Worth during the week ended Thursday, May 16, were moderately larger than in the preceding week but weTe" substantially below-:rhe-Corresponding period in 1962) according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. The cattle supply of an estimated 3,900 compares with 3,600 a week ago and 6,700 a year earlier. Trading was generally slow, and closing quotations were steady to 50¢ per cwt. lower than on the preceding Thursday. Prices per cwt. were: Good 855- to 1,090-lb. slaughter steers, $20.50 to $22.25; Utility and Commercial cows, $13 to $16; and Good 500- to 700-lb. feeder steers, $21 to $24.50. The calf run is placed at 700, or 50 more than in the preceding week but 450 fewer than--a-year-ago. Prices were steady to 50¢ per cwt. lower than a week earlier. Good grades of killing calves brought mainly $23 to $24 per cwt., and feeder steer calves cleared at $23 to $26.50. Hog receipts totaled about 1,400, reflecting decreases of 3% from a week ago and 39%"""from the comparable period last year. Numerous lots of U. S. No. 1 through No. 3 Grades of 195- to 250-lb. barrows and gilts sold up to $15 per cwt. for the first time since mid-March. A total of 17,800 sheep and lambs was received at Fort Worth during the week ended May 16, compared with 1"5;800 a week ago and 52,800 a year earlier. Demand was fairly broad for most classes. Good and Choice offerings sold at prices which were steady to 50¢ per cwt. higher than in the preceding week, with 65- to 100-lb. slaughter spring lambs quoted at $20 to $22 per cwt. POULTRY Texas commercial broiler markets during the week ended Friday, May 17, opened steady in both south and east Texas, according to a report from the-B'tate Department of Agricult;;re:- At t~losec;f trading on Friday, markets in both areas closed with a firm undertone. Closing prices per lb. were 15.5¢ to 16¢, mostly 15.5¢, in south Texas and ranged from 14.25¢ to 15.2¢, mostly 15¢ to 15.2¢, in east Texas. During the comparable period in 1962, the closing quotation in south Texas was 14¢, and prices in east Texas ranged from 13.4¢ to 14.1¢. On Monday, May 20, commercial broiler markets in Texas were steady, and movement of available supplies was brisk. Quotations in south Texas were 16¢ per lb., and those in east Texas ranged from 14.7¢ to 15.5¢. BROILER CHICK: PLACEMENTS Percent change fromPrevious Comparable week week, 1962 Area Week ended May 11, 1963 Texas •..•.. Louisiana •• 3,338,000 639,000 2 3 13 22 states •. 46,227,000 -1 6 9
