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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE             WISCONSIN DEPART,
Bureau of Agricultural Economics                  Division of Ag
Federal-State Crop Reporting Service
Walter H. Ebling,           C. D. Caparoon,            Emery C. Wilcox,
Aavieultural Statistledans
S7~', j  e'  . ;  i ',  XS ~
WISCONSIN
CROP AND LIVESTOCK REPORTER
KENT OF AGRICULTURE
ricultural Statistics
Cecil W. 1Estes
Vol. XXIX, No. 5              State Capitol, Madison, Wisconsin         
           May 1950
IN THIS ISSUE
May Crop Report
Crop prospects for Wisconsin
as well as the country as a
whole are below a year ago.
Spring sown grains were planted
unusually late, and the condition
of hay and pastures is below a
year ago and under average.
Winter wheat and rye yield
prospects are under those of
May last year.
Milk Production
April milk production on Wis-
consin farms was 2 percent
above April 1949 and a record
for the month. For the United
States, milk production during
April was 3 percent more than
a year earlier and a near-record.
The seasonal increase in produc-
tion from April to May was the
smallest percent increase for a
period of more than 20 years.
Egg Production
Wisconsin farm flocks pro-
duced about the same number
of eggs in April this year as
they did a year ago. Egg pro-
duction remained at last year's
level although the number of
layers was larger this year.
Egg production per bird showed
some decline compared with a
year ago. For the nation, egg
production was above April last
year by more than 4 percent.
Hatchery production in Wiscon-
sin and the nation is below last
year.
Prices Farmers Receive
and Pay
Prices received by Wisconsin
farmers on April 15 averaged
4 percent below a year earlier.
Prices paid by farmers in-
creased recently, resulting in a
further decline in the purchas-
ing power of the farm dollar.
Current Trends
Cattle and calf slaughter dur-
ing April was below a year
earlier but sheep and lamb and
hog slaughter was higher than
April 1949. Non-agricultural in-
come continues upward as agri-
cultural income declines. Stocks
of dried, condensed, and evap-
orated milk are much smaller
than a year ago. Cold-storage
holdings of butter and cheese
are above a year ago.
Special News Items (Page 4)
Maple Products Output
Hay Values Change
CROP PROSPECTS in Wisconsin
are marked by considerable uncer-
tainty this year. Spring grains have
been planted unusually late and pas-
ture and tame hay conditions are well
below last year and under average.
April in Wisconsin was cool and
wet. While the average planting dates
for small grains usually occur during
the first half of April, this year less
than a third of the spring-sown grains
were in by the first of May. In the
northern part of the state, May 1 re-
ports showed that the most fortunate
farmers had been able to get only 10
percent of their spring grain planted.
With the slowness of vegetative
growth, many crop reporters were un-
decided as late as May 1 what damage
to hay acreages had been done by
vinterkilling. Wisconsin's condition of
tame hay on May 1 was reported as
only 76 percent of normal. This con-
dition is well below the 84 percent on
May 1 last year and the 10-year aver-
age of 87 percent of normal.
Pasture conditions in the state are
also poor. On May 1 pastures were
only 73 percent of normal compared
with 82 percent a year ago and the
average of 84 percent. Even by mid-
May most farmers were hesitant to
pasture their cattle because grass
growth was so late.
Conditions of Tame Hay and Pasture
May 1, 1950, 1949, and 10-Year
Average
(Percent of Normal)
Wisconsin
Crop        p    _      y   yr.
1950   1949   1939-
48
Tame hay    .   76      84     87
Pasture.        73      82     84
Cf onidition of all bai
United States
l0-yr.
aO-,.
1950   1949   1939-
48
79 '   87'    84
74     85     81
Oats Get Late Start
In acreage oats is Wisconsin's lead-
ing grain crop. This year farmers had
expected to increase the oat acreage
somewhat to offset the reduction in
the corn acreage in the commercial
counties. These planting intentions
may have been altered by the slow-
ness of the planting season. Later
estimates probably will show a
smaller oat acreage than was ex-
pected earlier. The crop that is in had
made little progress by mid-May.
Progress of other spring-sown grains
is comparable with that of oats.
Winter wheat and rye have also
made little progress with the May 1
yield prospects below a year ago.
Production of both crops is expected
to be below a year ago in Wisconsin.
For the nation winter wheat prospects
Weather Summary, April 1950
Station
Duluth
Spooner .
Park Falls
Rhinelandei
Wausau
Marinette
Escanaba.
Minneapolii
Eau Claire
La Crosse_
Hancock-
Oshkosh
Green Bay
Manitowoc
Dubuque
Madison
Beloit
Milwaukee
Average Foe
18 Stationm
Temperature
Degrees Fahrenheit
I
I2
I
a
8
8
2
14
10
9
17
18
21
14
is
13
18
21
20
19
19
13.9
-I--
a0
E
58
64
60
63
66
65
61
69
70
69
70
65
66
77
71
76
71
67.2
I
31.2
34.0
30.1
30.5
33.4
35.2
32.1
36.9
37.
40.4
32.21
37.1
35.
37.
41.1
39.4
42.1
39.1
36.
E
37.0
42.9
40.7
40.8
43.8
43.3
37.9
46.4
46.2
47.2
44.7
45.0
43.2
42.3
48.6
45.4
47.8
42.2
43.6
Preipitation
Inches
E
3.03 2.06 +1.99
3.05 1.79 +3.18
3.09 2.65 +2.08
2.622.24 +3.98
3.67 2.49 +3.85
3.23 2.57 +0.54
2.32 2.23 +2.58
2.19 2.23 +0.88
3.06 2.50 +1.22
4.04 2.42 +2.64
3.14 2.63 + 1.26
2.73 2.73 +1.05
3.39 2.65 +2.18
3.16 2.63 +1.08
4.31 2.85 +1.52
2.61 2.77 +1.54
5.07 2.72 4-2.03
3.58 2.68 +0.93
3.24 2.49 j 1.92
on May 1 were below earlier estimates
this year. The crop is estimated to be
689,595,000 bushels this year com-
pared with 901,668,000 bushels har-
vested last year.
Along with the lower condition of
the tame hay crop, Wisconsin farmers
are finding rapidly depleting stocks of
hay. On May 1 stocks of hay were
larger than a year ago, but slightly
below average. Since that date an Un-
usual amount of barn feeding has
been required because of the late pas-
tures. Stocks of hay on farms in the
United States are smaller than last
year and below the 10-year average
holdings.
Spring Grain Sown by May 1, 1950
and 1949 Compared with Usual
Sown by  Soon by  Usually
District   May 1.  May 1, sown by
1950   1949   May I
Percent  Percent  Percent
Northwest         2      70     75
North             6      71     72
Northeast         6      80     98
West -           40      94     92
Central          37      90     90
East-            23      77     91
Southwest        58      96     95
South            40      98     95
Southeast        36      97     94
State            31      87      89
4-year average.
.
E