4. No. 8 ||S. '5 8 Crop lltal Up 11% |Bs. crop production in (Breached an all-time hi |B H per cent larger than |B>revious record. High SB P er a cr e were mainly SBisible as harvested ac- BB was the third, lowest »B>re than 20 years. ißnted acreage was the KBest in 40 years. all-crop production IB for" 59 crops reached |81947-49 - 100) a sur |Bg surge in a single year IB the 106 reached by |B former best production 11, 1957, 1956 and 1948. IB feed gram production il reached 134, food gra §■l7, oil seed crops 181 ilsugar crops 124. |»ather generally seemed lit working for the farm- Ssßiroughout the entire cy glrom before seedmg un jlftter harvest Soil mois- SBwas more generally ade |» for seed germination il plant growth than in 19 years. legation water supplies |H ample. Moderate tem |9ures favored full grow |9nd maturity. Dry fall llier aided rapid and sus llil harvest. Hw yield per acre records K set by com, wheat, oats, Beans, barley, rye, sorg in grain, and silage, rice, Eton, hay, peanuts, potatoes reet-potatoes and tobacco. The all-crop index of yie per acre reached 143, over e 1957 record of 127. The large increase in per :re yield over the 1957 pre ous record made 1958 the ition’s biggest corn year ith a 3 8 billion bushel op, more than a tenth above st year’s. Ideal growi ig conditions (Turn tr 10) Penna. 1958 Crop Value Increase Over '57 Totals $43 MUlion H The value of principal crops and fruits produced in ■Pennsylvania in 1958 at 317 million dollars is 16 per cent »bove last year’s value of 274 million for the same crops. ®'icarly all major crops, excepting potatoes and apples, jfenowed production value increases. B Corn oroduction is valued at 103 million and led the ■increase with 26 million over last 1957. All hay production ®vas valu.. i at 101 million to be the second most important ijcrop in Pennsylvania. M Farm value of the tobacco crop increased 65 per cent miom the 1957 value, greatest percentage increase in any ftf the major crops. I 1 Corn production at 82,202, 000 bushels, the largest on re nt'd, is 30 per cent above the 1947-56 average Yield per ac re at 65 5 bushels for all tw n is 17 per cent above the previous record set in 1956 Com had a slow start from continued cool,wet wea ther, but during June grew quite rapidly and was start lnf> to mature nicely. Com silage yield at 11 5 ton per cent is 10 per cent above the previous record set 27 years ago. Pa wheat production at 16,920,000 bushels is up 18 7 Per cent from the lowest - °n-record 1957 crop. This? season's wheat yield at 30 ba siiel per acre is two bushel above the previous record set four years ago. IT’S JUST one short memory away from days when nearly every farm required a “banty” rooster in its livestock program. To signal the start of 1959 and herald its coming, we offer our barnyard bugler with this thought. —As the change in many farming operations has removed the “banty” from the Lancaster Farming scene, may it provide a better life in 1959 for our readers. May the passing of time, once marked by the early-morning cock-crow, bringgreater returns to each of you. Oats yield at 43 5 bushel is one bushel above the pre vious highs in 1951 and 1955. Rye at 26 bushel per acre was three bushel above the previous 1957 record Record barley production at 9,600,000 was four per cent above the 1954 record high. Buckwheat production at 46,000 bushel is 11 per cent above last year but 60 per cent below the 1947-56 average Fall potato yield at 175 cwt per acre is nine per cent above the previous record of 1954. Total potato production at 9,530,000 cwt. is 27 per cent above last year but 10 per cent below the 1949-56 average. The state tobacco yield at 1,700 lbs. per acre equals the Lancaster, Pa.. Saturday, January 3. 1959 previous high of 1956. The tobacco crop grew nicely and matured well during the summer months Weather for curing was favorable and an excellent quality crop was produced. Winter supplies of hay are generally ample throughout the state Production at 3, 828,000 tons is 21 per cent above last year’s low of 3,167 000 tons and 13 per cent a- U. S. Fresh Vegetable Output Up 4s> Over '57 United States’ production of the 28 principal fresh mar ket vegetables and melons in 1958 was four per cent more than in 1957. The 1958 production of 212 3 million hun dred-weight compares with 204 8 million cwt. in 1957 and was three per cent above average. Several important crops came through with substan tially larger supplies in 1958 than a year earlier These included broccoli, cabbage, sweet corn, •antaloupes, and watermelons. Production of celery, on ions and tomatoes was con siderably below the 1957 out put while slightly smaller crops of asparagus, snap bea ns, cauliflower, cucumbers, bove the 1947-56 average. The state peach crop at 3,100,000 bu. exceeded last year by 35 per cent and equ als the record of 1954 The Keystone state commercial apple crop at 6,400 000 bus. is three per cent below last year but five per cent above the 1947-56 average. Grape production of 25,000 tons is 28 per cent above the 1957 sl'ght crop. and green peppers were pro duced Value of principal vege table and melon crops totaled $745,555,000 for the nation m 1958 This is 12 per cent under the record high value of these crops in 1957 but about equal average. Production of the 10 prin cipal vegetables for proces sing in 1958 is about 10 per cent above last year. *s2 Per Year State Vegetable Crop Production Up 55% In 1958 Production of 12 Pennsyl vania vegetable crops for fresh market and 10 crops for processing totaled 443,450 tons in 1958 and was 55 per cent above the 286,900 tons produced in 1957 Most of the increase was due to the sharp rise in tomato produc tion for processing which was more than double 1957’s crop. Production of other crops for processing increased mo re moderately and green peas and lima beans showed small declines. Total production for process crops amounted to 305,000 tons, or 85 per cent more than the 1957 pro duction of 165,200 tons. Fresh market production totaled 138,450 tons, up 14 per cent from the 121,700 ton production of last year. These aggregate tonnages in clude strawberries. Total harvested acreage, amounting to 76,060, was se ven per cent less than the 81,900 acres harvested a year ago. Acreage for fresh mar ket at 31,990 was up three per cent but acreage for pro cessing at 44,070 with 50,940, off 13 per cent from 1957. This is the smal lest acreage for processing since 1948. The processing tomato ac reage was only slightly lar ger than last year’s 19,500 compared with 18,500, an all t’me per acre record yield accounting for the sharpness of the production increase. The value of all state cro ps for the 22 crops on which estimates are made, totaled $20,181,000 in 1958 1.3 million more than in 1957. Total value for fresh market was $8,676,000, down 23 per cent from the $11,505,000 of the 1957 season. Vegetable crops for processing were val ued at 11,505,000 an increase of 52 per cent from the S, 559,000 of 1957. Chick Placing Off, Still Above Last Year Placement of broiler chicks in Pennsylvania the week; Total placements were the lowest in nine weeks, at 714- ,000 chicks Outshipments were 198,000 Inshipments were 63,000. The indicated number of Penna broilers for market a bout 10 weeks from now is 817,000, compared with 681,- 000 at the same time in 1958. Eggs set tor broiler chicks production totaled 1,204,000, lowest in sc\en weeks, and 16 per cent below the pre vious week Total hatchings during the period Dec 27 to Jan 17 will be about one per cent below the compar able period last vear. 22 Slate Report Placements m the 22 im portant broiler producing states, declined fh c per cent from the previous week, af ter eight consecutive weekly increases Total placements were 28,529 000 However, placements for the week were 13 per cent above the corresponding week of 1957. Indicated (Turn to page 2)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers