Milford chronicle., 1956-09-14
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
Reports On Current Trends In !.
Agriculture 4 4

half. The commercial apple crop
will be smaller than a year ago
and below the ten-year average,
Losses in peaches generally were
less extensive, with some orchards
in Delaware and parts of southern
New Jerey escaping altogether =
On the brighter side, both apples
and peaches are sizing rapidly due
partly to a lighter set of fruit.
Moreover. quality is high. all fruit
seems to be coloring well, and local
market prospects are said to be
favorable. In packaged fruits es-
pecially. size, quality, and color
have a lot to do with establishing
prices. So. despite these smaller
crops. fruit growers generally re-
main optimistic. Producers whose
apples go mainly to professors also
have reason for encouragement,
because the carryover of sauce.
butter and other products is ex-
nactad TO be small again this year.
Poultrymen are plagued by over.
production Ai A sH
Poultry and egg markets have
been oversupplied for some months.
chiefly because of expansion in
duced by good year in 1855. In
Delaware-our broiler state-suc-
cessive heavy marketings pushed
prices below 10 cents a pound from
a 81 cent level reached last year.
And much the same thing has
| happened elsewhere in this district,
where broilers are being produced
in an ever-increasing volume.
Prices of eggs also have skiddedr--
some say for want of organized
there are just too many eggs -
Down in Sussex County, Della
ware, where feed companies own
most of the birds and supply all
of the feed, farmers are guaran-
teed base price Plus half the
profits for the fiocks they house
and care for. But at this years
market prices the profits have
hovered near the vanishing point
and even now are mighty slim at
best. Last year, poultry and eggs
saved the day" for many a farmer
whose crops turned out near-fail-
ures in the freakish weather. This
year, it's the crops that are counted
ION to Offset poor season in poultry,
o. eggs. or both.
IT'S a better year for dairymen
Milk production in all parts et
our district has continued near
record levels this summer. And,
fortunately for the dairy farmer,
volume has been maintained with.
out the expense of feeding the large
quantities of winter rations that
were so necessary when pastures
failed last year, The market for
fluid milk is said to be generally
satisfactory and surplus seems I'd
be less OF problem than at this
time last year. AS things are shap4
ing up, the all-important milk
check should go a little furthef
this year. For one thing, the feed
bill will be smaller because past
lures have help up all season, thus
conserving the supply OF winter
rations; also. corn for silage looks
like an excellent crop. The slow.
costly process of building up dairy
herds seems to be continuing and
more dairy farmers are installing
coldwall tanks and other handling
equipment with which to increase
operating efficiency.
Farm cash income has declined a
little further
Receipts from crops and live
stock marketed by Third District
farmers were about 2 per cent
smaller in the first six months this
year than last. However, this was
to be expected while prices re-
mained under severe pressure In
local markets. But since nsid-year,
some prices have stabilized and a
few have risen above year-ago
levels. This suggests that second-
half returns to farmers in this
area may result in more favorable
comparisons with 1855. Such pros
pect is frightened considerably by
the aboye-average yields and in1
creased quality of so many early
and mid-season crops important to
the agricultural economy of this
district.