No. 273 June 1,  1948
INDIANA CROPS AND LIVESTOCK
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
COOPERATING WITH
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
INDIANA
An indicated yield of 22.5 bushels for winter wheat makes the production forecast
39,600,000 bushels the same as a month ago. The high yield and the larger acreage makes
production prospects nearly 11 percent greater than last year, and 34 percent greater than
the 1937-1946 average. The condition is uniformly high throughout the state. Harvest in
the extreme southwest is expected in late June.
Oats condition is much better than last year and the forecast of production is 53,352,000
bushels. This is 55 percent larger than last year, and 22 percent larger than the ten year
average. The lowest condition is in the southeast district where the acreage is small.
Barley is exceptionally high in condition but the downward trend in acreage makes the
forecast only 450,090 bushels or 38 percent of average.
Rye prospects are for better than average yield per acre, though the 980,000 bushels
forecast is on 70 percent of average production.
Planting conditions for corn have been more favorable than for several years. There
would seem to be no reason for fear of maturity this fall for either corn or soybeans since
seeding was well toward completion by June 1.
Hay and pasture conditions were well above average, and very little different from last
year.
Fruit tree bloom was light in many cases and adverse weather at blooming time in the
northern part of the state further limited the set of fruit. The June 1 prospect for peaches
is 549,000 bushels compared with 725,000 last year. The pear crop of 144,000 bushels is
seven percent smaller than last year. The condition of commercial apples is 51 compared
with 78 a year ago.
Milk production in May was 361 million pounds, or four million less than in May, 1947,
but 21 million more than the average May production 1937-1946. Production per cow was
at a level only slightly below last year, when more grain was being fed. January to May
production was 1,421 million pounds this year, and 1,457 million pounds last year.
Egg production per 100 layers equaled the record of 1,941 eggs set in May last year.
The average number of layers was 12,182,000 or one percent below last year. The 236
million eggs produced was also one percent lower. January to May production totaled
1,091 million eggs this year and 1,066 million last year.
UNITED STATES
A crop season at least as productive as the average of the past 10 years, the best decade
in our history, was in prospect on June 1. Spring work and planting of spring crops had
made about usual progress, except in the West, and harvest of fall-sown grains was underway in the South. The conditions in the mid-part of May which were favorable for field
work, were on the other hand unfavorable for progress of crops in several important areas.
However, rains in late May and early June, brought relief in most instances.
Winter wheat suffered most deterioration in parts of the Great Plains, but improved
elsewhere, so that prospective production was increased during May to 877 million bushels.
With a 315 million bushel spring wheat crop prospective, all wheat production is 1,192
million bushels,—the second largest crop of record.
Corn planting was nearly completed in most areas by June 1, which is slightly ahead of
usual progress. Good progress was also being made with cotton, soybeans and sorghums.
The bulk of the spring wheat and oats was seeded on time under satisfactory conditions.
But seeding of spring grains was delayed beyond desirable dates in some areas, such as
northern North Dakota and the Pacific Northwest where some seeding was continuing in
early June. As the season became too late for seeding wheat or oats, the intended acreage
was sown to barley, flax, or to later row crops. These shifts from intentions may have
resulted in less than the prospective acreages estimated in March for spring wheat and
oats, and larger acreages of barley, corn and sorghums. The extent of such changes will
not be definitely known, however, until the July report.