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AGRICULTURAL NEWS OF THE WEEK Number 82 · ------------ Wednesday, July 25, 1951 ----·-------- Federal Reserve : Bank·qf Dallas· COTTON Spot cotton prices continue.,tO decline and are lower than at any time since last August. On Tue·s day, July 24; Middling 15/16-inch cotton in the 10 designated spot markets averaged 37.?7 cents per pound, compared with 38.35 cents a week earlier and 45.25 cents a month ago. Tuesday's com?arable price on the New Orleans Exchange was 37.25 cents; Dallas averaged 37.10 cents. Cotton futures have fluctuated within relatively narrow ranges for the past two "ieeks, after having declined for several weeks. October 1951 futures closed Tuesday on the New Orleans Exchange at 34.79 cents, compared with 34.61 a week earlier and 35. 23 two weeks ago. Farmers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where cotton harvest is under way, are said to be offering current gj.nnings freely.. 1 he crop in this area is later than usual and the peak movement is not expected until after the first of August. Dornestic mills consumed a total of 819, 000 bales durin.cs the ).,i-week period ended June JO, 1951. During the August 1950-June 19Sl period this season, mills consumed 9~9 million bales, vs. 8.2 million in the corresponding 11 months a year earlier. It now seems likely that mill conswnption this season will total in the neighborhood uf 10.6 million bales. This would be the largest consumption since the 1942-43 season and the third largest on rBcord~ Cotton exports through ivlr.,.y this St~ason were 3.8 million bales vs .. h.8 million last year. Exports for the current season will approximute l+t million bales. 1 GRAINS Grain prices on the Fort Worth Grain and Cotton Exchanf;e continue to fluctuate around levels maintained for the past several months. The principal change during the past -iveek was a decline of 5! cents f::>r ~ats. Tuesday's top prices: No. 1 hard wheat, $2.53 3/4; No. 2 white oats, )1.02; No. 2 yellov.· corn, 2.02 3/4; and No. 2 white corn, ~2.28 per bushel. Sorghum grain i.s holding at ~2.50 per c~vt. In the Houston rice mar:cet, No. 1 Rexoro and Blue Bonnet are quoted generally at $>11. 00 to ~pll. )0 per hundred pounds. Zeni th is quoted· at ~10. 00 to $10.)0. Combining of a poor sorghum crop neared completion in th.e Coastal Bend this week and harvest was active over most of south Texas. lains were received in many North High Plains and Low Rolling Plains counties where the crop has been badly in need of moisture. LIVESTOCK Only minor changes in livestock prices on the Fort V'orth market have occurred during the past week. Top quotations ·on Tuesday, July 24: hogs p22.75; slaughter steers $J6.00; slaughter calves ~34.00; and feeder and stocker steers ~35.00 per cwt. Lambs held at $31.00. Goat prices in San Antonio dropped ~1.00 to ..;il.)O per cwt. last week. Medium and good Angoras in the hair brought $15.75 to ~16.00; some sold lower. Angora kids on stocker account went at ~8.50 each$ The number of cattle for feed for m2rkct in the 11 Corn Belt States on July 1 this year is estimated by the BAE at 9 percent smaller than the relc:tively large number a year ago. During June the avera e cost of stocker and feeder steers shipped from the leading markets l~s ~6.03 per m~. higher than in June 1950. Wednesday, July 25, 1951 AGRICULTURAL N.EVJS OF THE WEEK Page-2° Number j2 P 0 UL TRY AND E GGS Poul try prices in the Da.llas wholesale- ma rketheld steady during the past week, except for a rise of 1 cent in the price of fryers. Tuesday's quotations: Arkansas fryers, 30 cents on farms;- local fr'Yers, 27 cents; hens 4 lbs .. and over, 22 cents; hens 3 tv 4 lbs., 18 cents; and baby beef turkey hens, 35' cents per lb. No. 1 infertile eg~s are quoted at 45 cents, while candled mixed eggs are muving at l+l cents per dozen. . Texas commercial hatchery production during June totaled 7 million chicks, the largest output on record for the month. Commercial broiler chicks comprised 3/4 of the total. During the first six months of 1951, commercial hatchery production in Texas totaled 58.) million chicks - 26 percent more than a year ago. U. S. production was up 15 percent. The placement of broiler chicks on Texas farms totaled 1,078,000 during the ·week ended July 14, bringing the total for the year to 33, 600 chicks, vs. 20,JOO to the same week last year. Broiler prices in Texa0 averaged J'),2 cents per pound during the week ended July ll+, compared with 30.J cents the previous week and JO.O cents a year ago. w0 () 1 Trading in the Boston wool market came to a virtual halt last week, with no greasy vvorsted wools reported sold, while prices were unknown throughout the trade. Growers in Texas continued to ask prices above what buyers were willing to pay, resulting in a stagnant market. Esti:nates placed the unsold quantity of 12-months wool in Texas at around 3. 5 million pounds, vd th about -! million pounds of 8-months w0ol unsold. MI S C E 1 1 A N E 0 U S The USDA announced a final decisicm to issue Feder2l orders to regulate handling of milk in North Texas and V"ichita falls, Texas, milk marketing areas. Federal orders would establish appropriate minimum prices to be paid by milk dealers to dairy farmers for milk approved under local health regulations. They also would require that milk dealers' payrrents for miJk be pooled and paid out to individual farraers on basis of a uniform or avera e price. The miJk marketing area to which North Texas order ~:ould apply ir.cludes 16 counties of Cooke, Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant. l\1lk mar eting area fur 1idchita Falls 1 ould include ; ichi ta County only. U. S. production of truck crops for commercial canning and freezing this year are expected to be adequate to provide for the i11creased military requirements and the demand o.f civilain consumers. Acreages are expected to be la ger than last year for lirn bean:::, snap b;)ans, sweet con1, green peas, cucumbers, spinach,and tomatoes. 'rhe U. S. farm populat'on de reased b;r nearly 5 million between Jlpril 1940 ana l pril 1950, according to a report issued last. i.;eek by the Bureau of the Ct:nsus and the &iE. The f rm ponulation in 1950 Nas 2~,533,000 persons, according to the report; this compares rith 32,077,000 in 1910. • M. Pritchett Agricultural Economist
