No. 480 June  1, 1965
INDIANA CROPS AND LIVESTOCK
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
STATISTICAL REPORTING SERVICE
COOPERATING WITH
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
WEST  LAFAYETTE,  INDIANA
INDIANA
The 1965 Indiana wheat crop, estimated at 41,440,000 bushels, made excellent growth
during the warm month of May. Temperatures during May averaged 7 to 8 degrees
above normal.
Subsoil moisture remained adequate through the entire month of May, but top soil
moisture varied from adequate to surplus during the early part of the month to a
low point the third week, when deficiencies were noted over much of the state. Thun-
dershowers the fourth  week  of  May  rlieved  the  moisture   shortages   in  nearly  all
areas.
Haying operations have held on par with the unusually rapid progress of a year
earlier. By the end of May, over 25 percent of the first cutting of alfalfa had been
completed. The 5-year average is 15 percent for this date. The first cutting of
clover has started out behind a year earlier, but is about the same as average with
10 percent cut.
This year's peach crop of 250,000 bushels is 40 percent below last year's production.   The crop was hurt by warm days in January followed by sub-zero weather.
Egg production in May totaled 195 million eggs. This is 1 percent below the May
1964 production. The average number of layers during May at 9,847,000 was about the
same as May last year. The rate of lay per 100 layers was 1,978 compared with
1,984 eggs a year earlier. Milk production for May totaled 305 million pounds or
5 percent below May 1964.
UNITED STATES
Production of winter wheat is forecast at 1,017 million bushels, 1 percent less
than 1964 but 5 percent above average. The June 1 forecast is 39 million bushels
above the May 1 estimate. Weather during May was favorable for wheat development in nearly all producing areas. Yield per harvested acre is now indicated at 27.2
bushels, equal to last year and 1.6 bushels above average. In the past 10 years,
the average change in the United States production estimate from June 1 to harvest
has been 55 million bushels, ranging between 23 million bushels and 105 million
bushels.
Timely May rains throughout the Plains States boosted yield prospects sharply in
this area. The rains came during a critical period of development and provided nearly
ideal conditions for filling of heads. Yield prospects on non-irrigated acreage in the
Western Plains, which survived the prolonged drought, also improved sharply. Maturity of the Plains crops was about average with harvest extended into central Oklahoma by June 1. Combining was expected to start in south central Kansas about
June 10.
Warm May weather stimulated growth of the Corn Belt wheat and by June 1 most
of the crop was headed. Fields with thin stands have overcome part of the early
poor prospects by extensive tillering. However, weeds are a problem in thinly populated wheat fields.
In the Northeast, the crop responded well to the warm, dry May weather, overcoming
the slow early development. Late May rains further improved prospects. In the
Southeast, prospects declined slightly as a result of a hot, dry May but above average
yields are still expected. Harvest was well along in the Gulf Coast States and had
extended into South Carolina.