No. 485 November 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
Prospective yields as of November 1 in Indiana were at record high levels for corn,
soybeans, sorghum grain, potatoes, tobacco, and all hay. The ample soil moisture
supplies available to plants during most of the 1965 growing season largely accounted
for the bright prospects this year and contrast with the drought conditions of 1964.
The 1965 corn crop, estimated at 463,872,000 bushels, will be the largest of record,
exceeding last year's crop by 37 percent and previous record high set in 1963 by
16 percent. The record corn yield of 96.0 bushels per acre is the nation's high and
is 24 bushels above the disappointing 1964 yield. The previous record was in 1963
when an 87 bushel yield was realized. In addition to the favorable moisture situation
in 1965, the increase in fertilizer use, heavier plant populations, and improved varieties
were all factors contributing to the record yield. Only one-third of the corn crop
was harvested by November 1.
Soybean production which is estimated at 86,594,000 bushels on November 1, is also
a record and is 30 percent more than last year. The 1965 production tops the previous
record of 1962 by 14 percent. The estimated yield of 29.0 bushels per acre sets a new
record for Indiana and ties Illinois for the high for the nation this year. September
and October showers slowed harvest and combining was only 80 percent complete on
November 1.
Sorghum grain production is estimated at 560,000 bushels and is up 40 percent from
last year. The prospective yield, at 70.0 bushels per acre, is a record high and exceeds
the previous record set in 1963 by 2 bushels.
The seeding of winter wheat which lagged behind average during much of September,
made exceedingly slow progress during the second and third weeks of October. Drying
of soils the last week of October permitted catching up on lost time and by November
1 seeding was 85 percent complete.  About 55 percent of the acreage was up to stands.
Pasture condition was at a record high for November 1 due largely to the adequate
soil moisture situation.
Tobacco production is estimated at 15,745,000 pounds, a 10 percent increase over last
year. Tobacco stripping activities were getting underway in some southern counties
the last week of October.
Indiana's potato production is forecast at 1,830,000 cwt. This is 15 percent above
last year and 12 percent above average. Both late summer and fall potato yields are
at a record level this year.
Apple production, at 1,850,000 bushels on November 1, is down 20 percent from last
year, but is 7 percent above average.
Indiana October milk production, at 268 million pounds, is 1 percent below October
1964 but is 2 percent above average. October egg production totaled 170 million eggs,
the same as a year earlier. The rate of lay, at 1,724 eggs per hundred layers exceeded
the rate of a year earlier by 4 percent. The number of layers, at 9,842,000 birds was 4
percent less than October 1964.
UNITED STATES
October brought Indian Summer weather to much of the Nation. Temperatures
averaged above normal west of a line running from Minnesota to western Texas.
Although temperatures were below normal in the eastern part of the Nation, generally
dry late October weather provided good conditions for fall farm activities. October
rainfall was generally below average except for some Central and Southern Plains
areas, most of the areas from the Eastern Great Lakes to Northern New England,
some spots in the Southern Appalachian Mountain area, and Southern Florida.   Much