Futures Mark
;D UVACEK
ick Marketing
Specialist
Agricultural
;nsion Service
jture Market is
cash prices must
Sound familiar? It
typical statement
worse, a typical
in the cattle
;e market Is a
separate “paper”
»n of the com
ket which is now
cattle industry
lous road. The
if a futures
LANCASTER CO.
ffiIMELLI’S FARM SERVICE L& S LIFT TRUCK SERVICES INC.
Quarryville, Pa. 17566
Phone (717) 7*6-7318
market is that the futures
trading prices will follow the
live market changes and
that, at time of delivery, ihe
two prices will be essentially
the same. (The difference
representing .delivery cost.)
Unfortunately, many
cattlemen misunderstand
the future market quotation.
They assume it is a forecast
of the future. In fact, some
anaylsts even publicly state
that it is. They say, after all,
it is a consensus of the best
opinions of traders and,
therefore, represents a
consensus forecast. The
fallacy here, however, is that
• FARMING • GRAIN HANDLING
• CONSTRUCTION • RENTAL YARDS
• LANDSCAPING •WAREHOUSES
• FERTILIZERPLANTS •STOCKYARDS
SALES & SERVICE
misunderstood
the seller of that last con
tract is betting the price will
be lower and the buyer is
betting it will be higher.
They both agree on only one
thing - the traded price level
will not be the price level in
the future. Thus, the futures
market price quotations are
non-forecasts - or a - con
sensus of what the price will
not be.
Many feedlots and cattle
producers watch the future
market price more than the
cash market. This may
occur because the futures’
price quotations are very
widely publicized and,
therefore, are easily found.
The sad part of this story is
.that some cattlemen ac
tually let the'futures market
price influence them
strongly in their dairy
Porkecue contest set
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Seventh Annual Maryland
Porhecue Cook-Off is now open to all lovers of backyard
pork barbecuing. The contest itself will be held on Friday,
September 2nd in conjunction with the Maryland State
Fair at Timonium.
The Porkecue Cook-Off is held annually to demonstrate
new uses of pork produced by Maryland farmers each
year. Participation awards will be given to all the
finalists. Cash prizes varying from $lOO to $3O will be
presented to the top six recipes along with a champion
dieting award. <
This year’s contest is open to all residents of Maryland
and the District of Columbia and is sponsored by the
Maryland Pork Producers Association in cooperation with
the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
To enter the contest, submit a favorite pork barbecue
recipe by July 29th. Entries are to be mailed to: MPPA, in
care of Leo Kahl, Box 142, Perry Hall, Maryland, 21128.
Entries should include the name of the dish, a list of
ingredients with the amount of each to be used,
preparation instructions and the length of time needed for
preparation (not to exceed one hour), name, address and
telephone number. It is important to consider in the
cooking plans for the contest that gas outdoor grills will be
used.
Ten finalists will be chosen from the entries submitted.
They will be notified by August sth.
Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese Zodiac con
tains 12 animals, and each
comes around five times in a
60 year cycle. 1977 is the
Year of the Snake.
★ MONEY SAVER
YORK CO.
RDIRte. 74 South
Red Lion, Pa.
717-244-8592
management and decisions.
Now, if they did, and then
hedged on the futures
market, that would make
sense.' Unfortunately,
however, this is not usually
the case. In fact, the, typical
reaction is to let the futures
quotation dictate the cash
market position. It’s another
case of the tail wagging the
dog.
Let me urge you to please
recognize that supply and
demand are the only true
factors of price. These two
factors should he the major
influence in your pricing
decisions during a particular
time period. Don’t let
someone interject this third
dimension - someone’s guess
about the future - into your
current marketing decisions.
Pleading Ignorance
A man charged with theft
showed up in court without
cm attorney. “Do you want
me to assign you an attor
ney?” the judge asked.
“No,” replied the defendant.
“If it’s alright with you, I’d
like to throw myself upon the
ignorance of the court."
Lancaster Farming. Saturday, July 2.1977—27
Irrigation can affect soybeans
Should farmers irrigate
soybean? Indications are
that, under the right con
ditions, irrigation can
substantially increase
soybean seed yields.
According to extension
agronomists at the
University of Delaware,
irrigation prior to blooming
has little effect on yield, but
irrigation in drought periods
during flowering and pod fill
can increase yields sub
stantially.
If a farmer has equipment
and irrigation water
available, irrigation
definitely should be con
sidered for soybeans.
However, even with extreme
drought, early irrigation
before flowering will seldom
increase yields and late
irrigation may have little
effect on full season
varieties.
Reports. of irrigation
research have been,under
way for the past eight years
at the Virginia Truck and
Ornamentals Research
Sale averages are up
for reg. Brown Swiss
BELOIT, Wi».-In 1977 the
average selling price of
registered Brown Swiss
reached another new high.
Not only did the overall
average go over the $llOO
mark, an increase was also
seen in each of the age
categories. These selling
averages are figured from
the auction sales reported in
the Brown Swiss Bulletin,
the breed’s official
publication.
This year 1258 registered
Swiss sold for the overall
average of $1107.77 com
pared to $1023.64'a year ago
and $451.78 10 years ago. In
10 years the average selling
price of a registered Brown
Swiss at public auction has
almost tripled.
In the different categories,
528 cows averaged $1337.23
($1226.55 in 1976, 362 bred
heifers averaged $1022.42
($993.26 in 1976), 342 open
Station at Painter, Va.
Though tests there included
standard soybean varieties
normally grown in that
experiment station area,
strains and varieties used
did cover a wide range of
maturities.
Water was applied by
overhead sprinklers at the
rate of one inch per ap
plication when available soil
moisture dropped below 50
per cent of field capadty in
the upper eight inches of soil.
Soil moisture was deter
mined by use of gypsum
blocks placed about six-to
eight inches below the soil
surface. Readings were
made at two-to-three day
intervals throughout the
growing season.
The decision to irrigate
must be made by the in
dividual farmer, based on
cost of irrigation and ex
pected returns. Factors that
also should receive special
consideration include soil
type and equipment.
heifers averaged $677.77
($674.20 in 1976) and 28 bulls
averaged $3291.50 ($1412.87
in 1976).
High selling Brown Swiss
during the 1976-77 fiscal year
was RES King Royal 171310,
a bull purchased by a syn
dicate for $30,000. Top View
Star S 587587 was the top
selling female at $lO,OOO. She
also was purchased by a
syndicate. Both animals sold
in the 2nd St. John In
vitational Sale on March 5,
1977 in Glendale, Ariz. The
St. John Sale had the highest
average of the year when 49
head averaged $3272.44.
“King Royal” is the third
highest selling Brown Swiss
bull ever to sell at auction.
“Star S” was the eighth
highest cow and the St. John
Invitational was the second
highest sale average in the
history of the Brown Swiss
breed.