AGRICULTURE - 1975 summary A £rop values down Crop values (or the past year are down slightly compared to the year before (1974) according to in formation released last Monday by the United States Department of Agriculture. At 155.7 billion, the value of crops in the United States in 1975 was down by 1.7 per cent, but it was still 1.5 per cent higher than the 1973 figure. Corn, valued at $14.4 billion, wheat at $7.43 billion, and soybean at $7.0 billion, remained the leaders. But they accounted for only 52 per cent of the total value of all principal crops, compared to 54 per cent for both 1973 and 1974. Corn averaged only $2.49 per bushel, compared to $3.02 in 1974. Wheat, at $3.49 per bushel, is down litem $4.09 a year earlier. Soybeans ciropped by more than two dollars per bushel from an average of $6.64 in 1974 to $4.63 last year. As of January 15, the national Index THE SENTINEL of Prices Received by Farmers decreased by one point over figuresN (or the preceding month That amounts to one-half of one per cent. The index was 14 points (eight per cent) above a year earlier, however. Prices reportedly increased for corn, potatoes and soybeans, but these increases were more than offset by declining prices for cattle, eggs, apples, and lemons. Meanwhile, the Index of Prices Paid by Farmers increased two points (one per cent) from a month earlier. At 191, it was 10 points (six per cent) above a year earlier. Penna . exports Pennsylvania, although a big ex porter of agricultural products, is not in the top 10 list of exporting states, according to USDA compilations. According to a report released earlier this week, five states provided a third of U.S. farm exports, and the top 10 accounted for more than half Round-the-clock guardian of stored milk temperature If you depend upon your milk check for a living, protect that income by insuring milk quality. The least expensive, single-payment insurance obtainable is the Sentinel the heavy-duty, 10-inch recorder which charts round-the-clock temperature of your milk-cooling or holding tank. Assure yourself and your processor that proper milk temperature is always maintained. Keep a permanent log of compressor operation and tank cooling or pre-cooling efficiency, from first filling to pickup. Cleaning temperatures increasingly ques tioned by sanitarians—arc recorded on the same chart At little added cost, the Sentinel is available with provision for actuating an alarm or warning light if milk holding temperature rises above pre-set level Remember—if It prevents the loss of only one tank of milk, the Sentinel has paid its own way. Q PARTLOW See your dealer about the Sentinel —or drop us a line P.O. Box 433 Elizabethtown, PA 17022 ol the 121.6 billion total during fiscal 1975 USDA's Economic Research Service reports that Illinois and lowa with SI 67 billion and $1.66 billion, respectively, were the leaders They were followed by Kansas, SI 35 billion; Texas, 51.26 billion, and California, $1.14 billion. Completing the top ten were: Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Arkansas, and North Carolina. Pennsylvania's export total for 1975 was around $5O million, ac cording to a spokesman at the Bureau of Markets, Harrisburg. Among the leading items leaving the state for foreign countries are; dairy cattle, horses, poultry, processed fruits and vegetables, processed meats, and frozen semen. Since Harrisburg’s Olmstead airport is a gathering point for cattle exports from the Commonwealth as well as surrounding states, last year's shipment of 5,278 head only included 2,003 from the Keystone State. Cattle were mostly Holstein breeding stock which were destined for new homes in Europe and the Middle East. In Lancaster Farming. Saturday, Fab. 7.1976- addition, 161,509 ampules of semen left the state last year. Among the more bizarre export items are ■ chewing gum ingredients, gold (ish, and even one fox Penn sylvania agriculture also exported 47 sheep, 24 swine, two goats, and 137 cats and dogs last year. New meat record The smallest pork production in ten years is being given as a reason for a three per cent decrease m meat production in this country. While the pork supply was down, U.S. beef output was at a record high last year, and veal production reached its highest level in ten years. Over-all, red meat production in 1975 was at 36.2 billion pounds. Beef production for 1975 was reportedly up by four per cent from last year's previous high; veal production was nearly double that of the previous year; and pork output was off by 17 per cent when com pared to 1974. Lamb and mutton production was down by 12 per cent the USDA summary revealed Statistics HARRISBURG - During 1975 Pennsylvania fanners produced more soybeans, hay and corn silage than in 1974 but less of other major *ield crops, according to the Crop Reporting Service. Acres harvested, production and change in production from 1974 are, corn for grain, 1,080,000 acres harvested in 1975, 88.560.000 bushels produced, down one percent from 1974; corn for silage, 440,000 acres, 6.160.000 tons, up ten per cent; all hay, 1,970,000 acres, 4.399.000 tons produced, up two percent; fall potatoes, 29.000 acres, 6,815,000 cwt. produced, down seven percent; and soybeans for beans, 43,000 acres, 1,204,000 bushels produced, up five percent. Tobacco, 12,500 acres harvested in 1975, lbs. produced, down 16 percent from 1974; winter wheat, 345,000 acres, 11.385.000 bushels, down ten percent; oats, 375,000 acres, 19,1£>,000 bushels, down five percent; barley, 155,000 acres, 7,750,000 bushels, down eight percent; and rye, 16.000 acres, 464,000 bushels, down nine percent. Acres harvested, production and the change in production from 1974 at the United States level are, corn for grain, 66,905,000 acres harvested, 5,766,991,000 bushels produced, up 24 percent; corn for silage, 9.713.000 acres, 113.336,000 tons, up three percent; all hay, 61,863,000 acres, 132.917.000 tons, up five percent; fall potatoes, 1,042,700, 271,942,000 CWt., down six percent; all Irish potatoes, 1,257,000, 315.647.000 cwt., down eight percent; and soybeans for beans, 53,606,000 acres, 1.521.370.000 bushels, up 25 percent. Tobacco 1,063,500 acres, 2.184.075.000 lbs., up ten percent; winter wheat, 51.544.000 acres, 1,651,209,000 bushels, up 19 percent; all wheat, 69,656,000 acres, 2.133.803.000 bushels, up 19 percent; oats, 13,650,000 acres, 656,862,000 bushels, up seven percent; barley, 8.711.000 acres, 382,960,000 bushels, up 26 percent; and rye, 814,000 acres, 17,875,000 bushels, down seven percent. 19
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