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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 6,1978
Farm prices
buoy near top
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Prices received by farmers
continued up last month,
according to a recently
released report from USDA.
The Index of Prices
Received by Farmers ad
vanced eight points (four per
cent) during April, giving
the Index its highest rating
since February of 1974. It is
also the third highest rating
in history. The record high of
221 from August of 1973
compares with 209 for Feb.
1974 and 203 for last month.
The USDA statistics also
howed that the Index was
nine per cent above stan
dings a year ago.
Mainly responsible for the
increase were higher prices
for cattle, soybeans, com,
broilers, wheat, tomatoes
and lettuce. Lower prices for
hogs, oranges, and eggs
were partially offsetting.
Prices for all beef cattle
moved up $3.50 per cwt. to
$47.30, the second highest in
history. The record high of
$51.70 was set in August 1973.
Soybeans moved up 54 per
bushel to $6.74; com was up
11 cents per bushel to $2.26;
wheat moved up from $2.67
per bushel in March to $2.83.
Broilers moved up 3.3 per
pound to 28.1 cents.
Tomatoes averaged $21.80
per hundredweight in
March, but moved up to
$33.70 in April. Lettuce
moved up from $9.92 per
hundredweight in March to
$14.00 in April.
Hogs declined from $46.80
in March to $44.80. Oranges
were down from $4.49 per
box to $4.04. Eggs declined
from 55.4 cents per dozen to
52.2 cents.
Meanwhile, the Index of
Prices Paid by Farmers
moved up two points (one
per cent) to 216. It was 12
points (six per cent) above a
year ago. The Ratio of
Prices Received to Prices
Paid increased three points
to 96. It had stood at 94 a year
ago.
Under the old 1910-14
formula, Prices Received
moved up 20 points to 521;
Prices Paid moved up nine
points to 736 and the Parity
Ratio moved up two points to
71. That’s the highest since
September 1976. A year ago
it was 69.
Meanwhile, net farm in
come for 1978 is now forecast
at $24.0 billion. That’s up $3
billion fomr the 1977 total.
Reasons for the increase are
sharply higher livestock
receipts and continued
strong exports, say USDA
economists.
Volume of U.S. farm ex
ports during the first five
months of fiscal 1978 is down
only one per cent from a
year earlier. But, the value
of those exports is down
three per cent, according to
data compiled by USDA’s
Economics, Statistics &
Cooperatives Service.
Though the volume of U.S.
agricultural exports during
October • February totaled
46.6 million metric tons,
down only slightly from the
47.2 million ton total of a
year earlier, the value of
those exports was down from
|10.4 billion a year ago, to
$10.2 billion during the
current fiscal year.
19