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ARM AND Q anch Q ULLETIN Vol. 21, No. 8 August 1966 THE W H E A T SITUATIO N A recent Review of the U.S. Wheat Situa plement its concessional wheat exports, which tion by Secretary of Agriculture Freeman usually take two-fifths or more of the total shows that both wheat and feed grain carry harvest, with concessional exports of corn or overs in the United States are down sharply grain sorghum, depending upon the preference from the high levels reached in 1961. The of the food-aid recipient country. Both of these carry-over of wheat has been reduced by more grains are substaples in the diets of the peoples than one-half, and that of feed grains has been of Asia and Africa. Corn is consumed through cut by just over one-third. Total stocks of out much of Latin America. wheat and feed grains combined have dropped Canada and France have a combined carry from 115 million tons in 1961 to 61 million over of wheat totaling approximately 550 mil tons in 1966. lion bushels, or 3 percent above the U.S. hold The 1966 wheat crop in the United States, ings. This volume can be used to supplement as of July 1, is placed at 1,240 million bushels, concessional wheat shipments of the United or 7 percent below last year’s production. This States. Canada has already agreed to supply decrease, occurring at a time when India and India, on concessional terms, with just over other food-deficit countries are requiring large a million tons of wheat (about 40 million imports of wheat, has caused considerable con bushels) during the coming year. cern. A further reduction in the U.S. wheat According to the report, the United States carry-over is expected during the next year — has a responsibility to maintain adequate sup mainly as a result of present commitments and plies of wheat for domestic use, as well as an anticipated heavy export demand; however, the responsibility of being the world’s leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not supplier of food. Under the Food and Agri expect the carry-over to decline to a level that culture Act of 1965, this Nation has a great is far below the desired holdings. Some per deal of flexibility in adjusting both the level sons have interpreted the reduction in wheat and the pattern of food production to meet output as meaning that there will be a world worldwide needs. wide shortage of food. The USDA says that In early May, President Johnson announced such a situation is clearly not the case. a 15-percent increase in the acreage allotment The U.S. wheat carry-over this year of an for 1967-crop wheat. The allotment totals 59 estimated 536 million bushels (15 million million acres, up 8 million acres from that for metric tons) is backed by a carry-over of 51 the 1966 crop. If normal weather conditions million short tons of other grains (1.7 billion prevail, this acreage could produce a crop of bushels in wheat equivalent), principally corn about 1,555 million bushels. An outturn of and grain sorghum. The United States can sup this magnitude would be the largest crop ever F E D E R A L R E S E R V E DAL L AS, B A N K TEXAS OF D A L L A S harvested. The President has asked the Secre the vast amount of data obtained. Production tary of Agriculture to review carefully, over information on every aspect of agriculture is the next few weeks, the wheat situation at released in hundreds of reports each year. home and abroad, in order to determine Collecting statistics on foreign agriculture whether it might be advisable to expand fur is now the responsibility of the Foreign Agri ther the U.S. wheat acreage allotment for cultural Service. A global network, based on 1967. 94 agricultural attaches and officers, stationed at 60 key posts and covering more than 100 Lower Hog Prices Forecast for 1967 countries, provides current information on all Hog slaughter in the Nation likely will con of the major commodities moving in world tinue to expand and to average above last trade. year’s levels throughout 1966, according to the As U.S. crop reporting enters its second U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 1966 century, it will become even more inter spring pig crop totaled 47 million head, re national in scope. Accurate agricultural re flecting a 10-percent gain over a year earlier. porting is necessary in order to sell this coun These animals will provide most of the slaugh try’s abundance in world markets and help ter supplies during the remainder of the cur friendly nations under such government pro rent year. The fall pig crop (as indicated by grams as Food for Peace. The USDA says that June 1 farrowing intentions) is expected to be diet deficits in food-scarce regions can hardly up 10 percent, which probably will reduce hog be defined, much less remedied, without know prices in 1967 sharply below the high levels ing how much each country produces, how of a year earlier. much it needs, and how its economy functions. From W agon Wheels +o Data Reels Farmland Values Continue Upward A century ago, when crop reporting was first set up on a national basis, U.S. farmers traveled by horse and wagon to post their re ports to Washington, D. C. Today, data are transmitted by fast communication methods and are processed and analyzed by electronic computing machines. Nationwide statistics on major crops, livestock, agricultural prices, and wages of farm labor have been published con tinuously by the U.S. Department of Agricul ture since 1866. From the beginning, data have been collected on both domestic and for eign agriculture. The total value of U.S. farm real estate reached $171.1 billion as of March 1, 1966, according to a current report of the Economic Research Service. Per-acre values averaged $157, and the average value of land and build ings per operating unit rose to $57,100. The national index of average value per acre reached 150 (1957-59 = 100), or 8 percent above a year earlier and 3 percent higher than in November 1965. Land prices are expected to continue upward through late 1966. During the latter part of 1965 and early 1966, there was an increase in the number of Since the early days, the collection of sta persons desiring to purchase farms and a de tistics has developed apace with the demands crease in the number of farms being offered fo r of the times. Crop and livestock estimates for sale. Nonagricultural factors in the rural land U.S. agriculture are now the province of the market have increased in importance as more Statistical Reporting Service and its network land has been taken for suburbs, roads, and of 43 field offices that are financed coopera industrial uses. tively with the states. Raw data are derived from questionnaires mailed to hundreds of Two-thirds of all farmland buyers during thousands of voluntary crop reporters; these the year ended March 1, 1966, were active data are supplemented by enumerative surveys farmers. Sellers continued to be the m ajor and objective field measurements. Modern source of credit for farmland purchases. electronic computers are used for processing Three-fourths of the sales in each of the past 3 years involved credit. As a percentage of the Support Prices Increased sale price, debt incurred has trended upward. The U.S. Department of Agriculture re Sellers financed 38 percent of all credit sales in cently announced a shorn wool incentive price 1965; of these sales, more than three-fourths of 66 cents per pound for the 1967 marketing were by land contract. Among commercial year. This figure is 1 cent per pound higher lenders, commercial banks were the most fre than the 1965 level. The support price for mo quent source of funds, followed by insurance hair will be 76.4 cents per pound, or 0.6 of a companies and Federal land banks. cent per pound more than the present support Compared with November 1, 1965, farm price. land values in the states of the Eleventh Fed Secretary of Agriculture Freeman has raised eral Reserve District at the beginning of March price supports for manufacturing milk to $4 1966 were up 1 percent in both New Mexico per hundredweight, an increase of 50 cents. and Oklahoma and 4 percent in both Louisi The price-support increase will be effective ana and Texas. The farmland value in Arizona through March 1967. The action is expected was unchanged. For the year ended March 1, to result in a price-support level of about 68 1966, farmland values advanced 4 percent in cents per pound for butterfat in farm-separated Texas, 5 percent in Arizona, 7 percent in Oklahoma, 9 percent in New Mexico, and 14 cream. percent in Louisiana. Shortage of Dairy Cows Seen Medfly Found in Texas A critical shortage of dairy cows may The U.S. Department of Agriculture and occur in the future, the State of Texas have taken emergency steps according to Shan to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly which non Carpenter, Ex has invaded Brownsville, Texas. The first tension Dairy Spe “Medfly” was found in a trap on June 13 by cialist with Texas workers with the USDA’s Agricultural Re A&M University’s East Texas Research Sta search Service. Additional flies and larvae dis tion at Tyler. The number of dairy replace covered since that date indicate that this dan gerous pest has become established. How the ments is about 7 percent below a year ago, and the inventory of milk cows is the smallest in Medflies entered this country is not known. 50 years. In order to eradicate the pest, most of the Mr. Carpenter says that there are several city of Brownsville will be treated with a mix ture of malathion insecticide and a food at- ways to reduce the shortage of dairy cows. The tractant at the rate of 12 ounces per acre. first method is to employ good management Aerial treatments will be applied once a week practices. The average productive life of a dairy cow is about four lactations; good care until no more Medflies are recovered. of dairy cows can boost this number to five Fruits and other host materials that might lactations. The specialist recommends that re harbor Medflies cannot be shipped from the placement heifers be put in the milking barn area unless they are treated to free them from at 24 months of age instead of the usual 30 the pest. The Medflies attack a wide range of months. With good feeding practices, a heifer soft fruits and vegetables, as well as citrus. may produce from 7,000 to 8,000 pounds of Damage is caused by the flies when the eggs milk in the extra 6-month period. are deposited beneath the skin of the fruit or In addition, all cows in the herd should be vegetable. Larvae (maggots) hatching from the eggs burrow into the fruit and feed on the bred to dairy bulls. According to Mr. Carpen contents, making the fruit unfit for human con ter, a cow that is worth milking twice a day is sumption. When it is heavily infested, the fruit satisfactory for producing a calf for dairy pur poses when bred to a good dairy bull. falls from the tree and rots. Some Kind of a Record! Cow Number 84-41, which was for 25 years a part of the herd of Texas A&M Uni versity’s Pasture Station near Lufkin, died re cently. Her last calf was born when she was 22 years old. She raised 18 calves, with a total weaning weight of nearly 9,000 pounds. Her mother was a full-blooded Hereford, and her sire was a purebred Brahman; consequently, she was a first cross. E. K. Crouch, Superintendent of the Uni versity’s pasture station, kept detailed monthto-month records on Cow Number 84-41 and her calves. The cow left 5 daughters, 2 grand sons, 7 granddaughters, and 1 great-grand daughter in the station herd. Mr. Crouch de scribes her as the perfect mother cow. Artificial Respiration for Stillborn Pigs Up to two-thirds of the apparently stillborn baby pigs can be revived through an improved method of artificial respiration which was de vised by Elmer Krehbiel, Geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service. Mr. Krehbiel uses an ordinary soft plastic (polyethylene) funnel to adapt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to newborn pigs. The flexibility of the plastic allows the funnel to fit tightly over the pig’s nose and mouth. The specialist blows into the stem of the funnel, forcing air into the lungs of the nonbreathing pig. Mr. Krehbiel attempts to revive only those nonbreathing pigs whose hearts are still beat ing. Resuscitation must start promptly. The complete procedure involves the following five steps: 1. Hold the pig by its hind legs, with its head down, in order to drain fluid from its nose and mouth. 2. Turn the pig, with its head up, and place the funnel over its mouth and nose. 3. Blow forcefully into the funnel. 4. Remove the funnel and allow the pig to exhale. 5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 at the rate of 15 to 20 times per minute. After several repetitions, the pig should kick or show other signs of fife. Lay the pig on its side or stomach and massage its chest and mouth. If it does not begin to breathe normally within a few seconds, artificial respiration should be resumed. Pigs have revived up to a half hour after the beginning of treatment. New Process for Dairy Products In an effort to improve skim-milk and whey powders, processors are experimenting with a modified foam-spray process. The process, which was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, involves the use of liquefied gas. Skim-milk powder made by the new method sinks and disperses readily in water, reconsti tuting, without foaming, into a flavorful nonfat milk. Whey also can be converted from a trou blesome cheese-manufacturing waste into a powder that is useful as a food and feed ingre dient. The USDA says that the process is espe cially valuable for cottage-cheese whey, a prod uct which, because of its high acid content, is virtually impossible to dry by any other means. New Pima Co+fon Varieties Two new extra-long staple cotton varieties for the Southwest will be available for produc tion in 1967, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The varieties have been named Pima S-3 and Pima S-4. Pima S-3 is intended to replace Pima S-2 a t elevations above 2,500 feet in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Its higher fruiting char acteristic and lower lodging tendency will f a cilitate machine harvesting. The longer staple length of Pima S-3 will produce a better yarn and will be a marketing advantage. Pima S-4 is intended to replace Pima S-2 a t elevations below 2,500 feet in Arizona. Its major advantages over Pima S-2 are its longer fibers and higher yields. Pima S-4 begins fruit ing relatively low on the plant but continues to fruit throughout the growing season. C om pared with Pima S-2, the new cotton variety has a slightly lower lint percentage, similar fiber strength and spinning performance, an d slightly finer fiber.
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