No. 216 September 1, 1943
INDIANA
CROPS AND LIVESTOCK
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
COOPERATING WITH  
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATlSTICS
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
INDIANA
Indiana has prospects of a corn yield of 48.0 bushels per acre as of Sep_tember 1. The
gain of four bushels in August is due to ample moisture in the northern part of the state
where the higher than average temperatures caused gains more than offsetting the damage
in the southern districts where moisture was deficient. Production is now forecast at
209,136,000 bushels which is 97 percent of last year and 30 percent more than the 1932-41
average.
The yield of oats is now placed at 23.0 bushels per acre. The loss of 1.5 bushels in
August is mostly due to lower yields reported where little threshing had been done a
month ago. The estimated production of 33,396,000 bushels is 63 percent of last year and
84 percent of the 1932-41 average.
No change is reported in barley yield the past month. Production of 1,620,000 bushels
is 72 percent of last year mainly because of smaller acreage.
The first forecast of soybean yield is 19.0 bushels with production of 27,702,000 bushels
from an expected acreage for beans of 1,458,000 acres. The acreage is larger than last
year but late planting is expected to result in lower yields even though the season has
been rather favorable.
Potatoes are unchanged from last month since the principal acreage is in the northern
districts where growing conditions have been good. Production is forecast as 5,100,000
bushels, only 79 percent of last year and 93 percent of average. Sweet potatoes show
heavy drouth damage with a loss in prospects of 40,000 bushels bringing the total down
to 180,000 bushels.
No change occurred in hay prospects. Yields are reported about as expected earlier
in the season. Production of 2,564,000 tons of tame hay is indicated which is 91 percent
of last year but 109 percent of 1932-41 average. Pasture condition declined in August
but at 78 percent of normal is still 14 points higher than average for September 1.
Tree fruits show no change in the month. Some declines in prospects in the south are
offset by gains elsewhere. Pears are a very poor crop but peaches and commercial apples
are about two-thirds of average. Grapes declined slightly because of drouth in the southwest part of the state.
Tobacco showed little change in prospects the past month. Due to a larger acreage
production is expected to be 12 percent above average.
Crop reporters were milking, on September 1, only 73.7 percent of their milk cows,
the smallest percentage since 1926. In spite of good feed conditions this brought milk
production per cow in herd to 15.8 pounds. This is still nearly one pound above average
though .4 pound lower than last year. Production per farm reporting milk cows was
115 pounds, the highest on record for this date and three pounds above last year.
Farm flocks with laying hens up to 295 birds report an average of 84 birds each, with
41 eggs per 100 layers. Numbers declined more than usual in the month indicating heavy
marketing. The estimated number of layers in August was 10,092,000 or 7 percent more
than last year. Egg production in August totaled 135 million eggs or 11 million more
than last year. The production of January to August was larger by 213 million eggs
or 16 percent than in 1942.
UNITED STATES
Crop prospects in the United States declined less than 1 percent during August. Indications on September 1 were that crop production would be 7 percent less than last
year but still 4 percent higher than in any previous season.
The outlook still is for near-record crop yields on the largest acreage in 10 years.
The corn crop is now forecast at 2,985,000,000 bushels. This would be nearly 6 percent
below the record production of last season but would be the second largest corn crop