2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 9. 1975
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Agricultural trends setting some records
NET INCOME FIGURES REVISED
Farmers probably haven’t noticed it, but ac
cording to a report received by Lancaster Farming
earlier this week, farmers made more money in
1974 than was previously calculated.
According to USDA’s most recent statistics, net
farm income for last year has been pegged at $27.7
billion. Six months ago they had counted $27.2
billion.
In an apparent effort to prove they and their
computers do make mistakes, USDA admitted that
this was the second time figures had to be revised.
The 1973 net income figures, by the way, were also
revised again. USDA’s Economic Research Service
had originally posted net farm income for 1973 at
$26.1 billion. Later it revised its estimate to $32.2
billion, and just last week the computers spit out
$29.5 billion for the answer.
A NEW HIGH REACHED
“H'gher prices for hogs, wheat, potatoes, cotton,
milk-and soybeans more than offset lower prices
fo r cattle to boost the Index of Prices Received by
Farmers five points (three percent) during the
month ending July 15,” begins a USDA newsletter
dated August 4. It notes that the index was up 11
points from a year ago and at its highest point since
March of 1974 It also marked the fourth straight
month of increase
Average national prices for July according to the
news release, were as follows
Hogs $5410 per cwt, up $6 80, Cattle $36 20,
down $2 30, Potatoes $7 51, up $135, Milk
$Bll, up 17 cents, Soybeans $5 27, up 37 cents
“Meanwhile," the news release states, “higher
prices for food and fuel were mainly responsible for
a one point boost in the Index of Prices Paid by
Farmers It was up 18 points from a year earlier,
and record high
The Ratio of Prices Received to Prices Paid
advanced three points to 101 Last year it was 105
at this time
By Dieter Krieg
A pastoral scene on the Fred Crider farm, Little Britain, Lancaster County.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz says U.S.
farmers raised about 1.4 billion bushels more
wheat than U.S. consumers can use this year, and
that thus far the United States has sold about 125
million bushels to the Soviet Union. This is sup
posedly 10 percent of what is expected to be
available for export.
Lashing out at critics of deals with the com
munists, Butz called opponents of the deal
“unrealistic and unfair . . intellectually nanve or
dishonest ... people who don’t know the wheat
from the chaff (and are) drawing ridiculous con
clusions.”
The Secretary also noted that the fact wheat
prices plunged $1.70 per bushel from October to
June did not reduce bread prices proves that ...
“either the prices of wheat that farmers get has
little to do with the price that consumers pay for
bread, or that somebody has been making
exhorbitant profits during the last several months
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U.S farm exports hit a record $21.6 billion during
the recently ended fiscal year, USDA reports The
fiscal year ended on June 30 The report noted that
the mam reason for this new record is that higher
prices were being paid for agricultural com
modities. Farm exports, when measured in tons,
have actually declined 15 percent - from 100
million tons in fiscal 1974t0 85 million tons in fiscal
1975 A year earlier the total dollar value of farm
exports stood at $213 billion
The USDA report indicated that feed gram ex
ports fell 23 percent, but the value of those
products increased seven percent
In compiling the record, American farmers
utilized 96 million acres - with one out of every
three and a half acres going for export in 1974 Last
year America exported two-thirds of its wheat and
rice crops and more than half of the soybeans and
cattle hides About two-fifth of the 1974 tobacco
WHEAT, CHAFF, AND PRICES
FARM EXPORTS BOOMING
crop was exported; more than a third of all the
cotton that was grown; and a fourth of the feed
grains.
Farm exports outstripped farm imports by a
whopping $l2 billion and tipped the trade balance
to the plus side by a margin of $2.2 billion. With
that kind of a record, it can honestly be said that
American farmers are keeping the U.S. economy
afloat.
THE WORST IS OVER
The worst of the cost-price squeeze is over,
according to economic outlooks received by
Lancaster Farming.
Milk prices are expected to hold up better for the
rest of this year than they did during the latter half
of 1974. Contributing to a brighter outlook are
prospects for lower feed costs because of the
expected bumper crops, and the fact that govern
ment support prices for manufacturing milk are 63
cents higher than last year.
Wide price fluctuations are expected’from week
to week m the nation’s feeder cattle markets.
Cheaper feed grams are expected to spark more
interest in feeder cattle, and big shipments of them
are expected to become available. Largejiumbers
of feeders are expected on the market, and along
with it some mighty stiff competition for prices.
Fed cattle prices are likely to weaken in the
months ahead, according to reports furnished by a
Commonwealth National Bank bulletin. Choice
steers may bring around $44 to $4B this month and
$43 to $45 in September. Economists note that
these figures assume normal grazing conditions
and enough non-feds on the market to boost total
slaughter to levels six to eight percent above a year
ago
Hog producers should be able to count on
continued high prices, although prices may drop
slightly from here on Major market prices are
being pegged at around $5O per hundredweight for
200 to 240 pound butchers Beef supplies and
(Continued on Page 2Z|
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