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AGRICULTT.frl.AL NEVV-S UF THE WEEK · ·wednesday, October 10, 1951 Number-93--·__. _:.:..--...;.,-......-----·-------._...:-;-·-.··-:.-:-:-:-.. - - ·--·----·Federal .Reserve Bank .o.f Dallas COTTON. The USDA annonn·ced this ts .rev.i sed estimate of the 19.51 cotton crop, placing the figure at. 16,931,000 bales - down-· ~60~0lJ0--bales since Septem~er L Reductions were reported for Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, a,d vree"ki Tennessee~ Except for the declines of 50,000 bal~~ in Louisiana and 45,000 bales in Oklahoma, production estimates in other states of tl1e Eleventh Distriqt remain unchangedc uctober 1 estimates in bales: Louisiana 800,000, Oklahoma 580,000, Ilew Mexico 300,000,"Arizona 820,000 and Texas 4,800,000. The new official estimate of the. cotton crop was somev.hat lower tJ an most private estimates amiOUnced-arounductober. l~ rhe USDA announcement wa~ follmved by an immediate advance in prices,. Prices rose more than. lOO points but settled with a net gain of about 60 points. On Tuesday, October 9, Miadling 15/16-inch cotton the 10 designated spot markets averaged 36. 87 cents per pound compared 'iii th last weekts close of 36~24 cents. Cotton ginnings in Texas throu~1 September 30 totaled 1,761,000 bales, or 37· percent Of the -estimated crop, compared with 34 percent of the crop hc:rvestE:d to the same date last year . · Unofficio.l reports indicate 'that · from SO to 60 percent of the U,S& cotton crop has been harvested, whi..Le only 10 to 15 percent has been sold. Farmers are holding a large quantity of cotton from the market, 1 in G R A I :J S 1 Grain ·prices· on the Fort ~!orth ·Grain and Cotton Exchange fluctuated considera.bly ci.uring the pas.t vreek, but on Tuesday of this week were at approximately the same levels as a week ago. The only notei.vorthy net change was in the price of corn; prices are higher than a week or 2 veeks ago, reflecting frost dainage to the corn "Crop in the Middle West where final 0utcome of the crop. is s.till uncertain" The relative level of feed grain prices in the U.S., as compared with a year ago, is shown in a feed crain index computed by the USDA. The index last week wa;s 255.4 compared with 210:-7-a.yearago. · ·. · The price support level for the 19)1 corn crop will be ~lc57 per bushel, national aver~-,~This iS-90 percent of parity as of October 1, and is 10 cents per bushel above the support level for the 19SO cropc Rice markets in TexG.s and Louisiana have been stroncer for the past 2 weeks, reflecting -a more-active demand for both rough and milled' rice. U,S" rice expurts during the marketin 0 yt;ar ended Au"!ust 1 totaled 9.1 million ba~s vs-: J..l. 2'i11:::-i1io'n· i? the ·previous . year and So 9 million in 19!10-49, according to inf orrnation published lco..:i t week by the USDA. .Exports last season more than doubled the annual averag12 before ·. ·orld -Nar II. T _UC K CP.OPS Insofar as weath0r conJi tions areconveril d, prospPcts for fc-~11 and , rintcr commerci.al vegetables in Texas are materially impr ·)Ved fromt,he -outi.'ook--a f~ •r 1 eeks ago but thG.erlen:-~ Of pl&ntin S Ifill depend upon other factors .J.3 ·vell, sav J the BAE office in Austin~ Preparation of soil was delayed by earlier unf ' vorable conditions, harvest of summer fi eld crops was frorr. 2 tu 4 i;ceeks latEr than usual, end the local supply of field ieln is not suf:icient tJ plan extensive vegetable pl~nt ings and still take care of earl~ field crop plantin~s in 1952. AG.fiICULTURAL NK.VS OF THE WEEK Nmnber Wednesday1 October 10, 1951 Page2 93 Growers' present plans indicate that the over-all acreage for harvest during the 1951-52 season will be on a much lower Jevel than that of the past few years. However, spinach and onion plantings are showing increases over last year 1 s small acreage because of the present favorable moisture conditions in most nonirrigated sections; such ·conditions did not prevail last season. DA I RY I NG There are indications that milk prices during the coming months may rise more than seasonally,, Dairy farmers areexpE-:riencing a squeeze between rising feed costs and the price of rnilko The nverage wholesale price received by Texas farmers in mid-Septmnber was $6. 35 per cwt., or 2) cent0 above a year earlier.. However, the average price of all mixed dairy feeds in Texas on September 15 was $4,35 per cwt. vs. ;~3. 75 a year earlier, according to USDA figures. The price of hay was up $5 or more per ton as compared with a year ago. Another factor in the dairy price situation in Texas is the relatively poor condition of pasturesc The August drought and heat caused serious deterioratior of pastures and there is a shortage of adequate grazing in many sections of the State. This loss must be replaced by the purchase of expensive feedso 1-:iilk production per cow in the UcS. is above a year ago but in Texas it is probably· som0:·,-:-1 t lower-,- The pric~ received by farmers for milk at mid-September was 93 percent of parity, wlliiebutterf!...t> in crt.:2m., 1'VBS 90 percent Gt parity. LIVES Tu CK Cattle markets weakened last week e.s a --result of a slackening demand for feeder and stockercattle2 The better grades of cattle lost 25 to So cents, while some of the low r grades dropp0d as much as $2.00 p8r r;;wt.; however, the markets in the first 2 days of this we ··k gen -rally were steady., Hog prices this we -'k were off from a week earlier although near the level of a month arso.. ThE. top price paid on the Fort '::orth market on October 9 was ~p2L,00 per cwt. vs. $21.75 on most days last week., NUl~bers of cattle and ccJ.ves on 1arms are now on the upswing ph·1se of the sixth cycle since 1080.--TFi~rcwere ab-out 84 million heaa of cattle on U.S. farms at the beginning of 19)1 nnd the large scale restocking of pastures and ranges during the year indicates that the total by yeari s end may :i.... each 90 million head, If the pattern of previous c~ cles is rcpeatnd, numbers ·will continue upward in the next feW years but at a sloi:rer ro.te than in 1951. The BAE says that they may reach 100 million by the mid-19)0 1 so Largely because o.l the reduced cattle sl~ughter, n1eat consumption per person has been slightly smaller this year than 1'2.st; however, with a lar,~e cattle slaughter and beef supply in the 12st quart r of 1951, consumption of allincat per person for this year may about equal the 144 pounds of 1950. v.r 0 0 L Domestic wool markets continue unsettled while dealers attempt to evaluate the sharp c...dvances scor.ed by vwol prices at Austr,~lic. n sales Domesti8 dealt~rs are al:rea.dy marl'ing up their pric s but as yet there is i o indicatio.r of a 1Y substantial pickup in demand for woolen materi~:so o sales of Texas wools were r~ported last 'ieek. . • 4•. Pri tch tt Agricultural Economist
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