No. 417 May 1,1960
INDIANA CROPS AND LIVESTOCK
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
AGRICULTURAL ESTIMATES DIVISION
COOPERATING WITH
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
INDIANA
A winter wheat crop of 42,176,000 bushels is in prospect based upon the condition of
:he crop May 1. If this production materializes, it would be 30 percent larger than last
year's 32,630,000 bushels and 17 percent above the 10-year (1949-58) average of
36,113,000 bushels. The 1960 yield is forecast at 32.0 bushels per acre, as compared with
the 1959 yield of 26.0 bushels and the 10-year average of 25.9 bushels. This yield would
equal the previous record yield for Indiana set in 1958 and reflects the unusually bright
outlook for the wheat crop on May 1. The crop was well protected by snow cover during
the severe cold weather in March of this year and the appearance of the crop on May 1
was quite uniformly good over the state. The crop is expected to be harvested from
1,318,000 acres. This is 5 percent greater than the 1,255,000 acres harvested in 1959
and is 7 percent below the 10-year average of 1,412,000 acres. Winter acreage losses
from flooding as well as from freezing and thawing were unusually light.
Hay Stocks on farms May 1 are estimated at 334,000 tons. This is 33 percent below
the 495,000 tons on farms a year ago and is 14 percent below the 10-year average. Disappearance since January 1 totaled 1,267,000 tons and was less than the 1,342,000 tons
for the same period last year. There were more hay consuming animal units on farms
January 1 this year than a year earlier but hay requirements were not unusually heavy
except during the unusually severe weather which began in late February and continued
throughout March and prevented livestock from grazing in stalk fields and winter
pastures. The condition of legumes and grasses for hay on May 1 was reported at 90
percent of normal as compared with 88 percent this time last year. Pasture condition
May 1 was reported at 89 percent this year and 88 percent a year earlier. Pasture
development during early April was limited by cool weather and at the close of the
month the rate of growth was being slowed in some localities by rainfall deficiencies.
Rye condition was reported at 95 percent as compared with 88 percent last year and
the 10-year average of 90 percent.
Egg production in April totaled 210 million eggs and was 5 percent smaller than the
222 million production for April 1959. The rate of lay for April at 1,896 eggs per 100
layers was 3 percent smaller than the 1,956 eggs per 100 layers a year earlier while the
number of layers estimated at 11,054,000 was 3 percent smaller than the 11,326,000 layers
(luring April 1959.
Milk production in April totaled 289 million pounds. This is nearly 2 percent larger
than the 284 million pounds in March but is 1 percent smaller than the 292 million
pounds produced during April 1959.
UNITED STATES
Fieldwork progress remains well behind usual in the North Central States, but April
weather allowed southern farmers to overcome some of the early lag in farming operations. Spring vegetable and melon production is expected to be below last year. Prospects
for southern peaches are bright but some western fruit areas suffered varying amounts
of damage by freezes during the last half of April. Pastures and hay crops overcame
some of their early season backwardness in northern and eastern areas, but growth is
still short in the Northern Great Plains.
Winter wheat prospects edged upward during April with the fourth largest crop of
record now indicated. Per acre yield is expected to be well above average and second
only to the exceptionally favorable outturn in 1958. Abandonment and diversion to uses
other than grain have been relatively light, only about half as large as usual.
Another good year is indicated for the 9 principal Southern peach States with produc-
w 4 percent above 1959. Condition of California Clingstone and Freestone peaches.
*nile below a year ago, is well above average.
Spring vegetable and melon production is expected to fall 5 percent below both last
year and average. Cool weather in the West during the last half of April slowed growth,
a"d California harvest was interrupted by rains about the end of the month.