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WEEKXY MARKET REVIEW AND F^^i^M CfUTLOOK 



By G. L. Jordan 

 Professor, Agricultui'al Economics 

 University of Illinois 

 i College of Agriculture 



(Prepared December 50) 



(Highlights of the Weekly Market Review and Farm Outlook are "broadcast each Friday 

 from 12:U8 to 12:55 p.m., as part of the Illinois Farm Hour, Station WILL, 58O 

 kilocycles.) 



Commodity Prices at Chicago 



Cash 



Wednesday 

 December 29. 19^ 



_^ (close) 

 Week ap:o Wednesday 



futures 



Week afio 



Wheat (No. 2 hard rod winte^O 

 Corn (No. 3 yellow) 

 Oats (No. 2 white) 

 Butter (92 scjore) 

 Eggs (current receipts) 

 Hogs (top price paid) 

 Cattle (top price paid) 

 Hog -corn ratio, Chicago, 

 Decemter 25 



$ 



.Ul* 



.55-. 33 1/2 



13.75 



17.00 



ll.il 



$ -- $ 1.67 lA $ 1.65 7/8 



.85 lA .77 1/2 ,79 



.111* 



.33 1/2 

 13.75 

 17.00 



11.5 



m 



^Ceiling prices 

 ♦^Trading in corn futures is not permitted 



Hogg . The hog marketing situation shows some chance of clearing up, although 

 this may be only a temporary situation. Whenever farmers hold hack their hogs so that , 

 there is no carryover on the markets, the prices of light-weight hogs improves suh- i! 

 stantially. It is probahle that the worst of tho market glut is over. Farmers who have 

 held their hors this long are not likely to he frightened into a sacrifice sale, par- 

 ticularly since the support weight was raised to 500 pounds. This increase from 275 

 to 300 pounds is only temporary to take care of an emergency situation. The government 

 has no desire to encourage farmers to feed their hogs to 3OO pounds. We do not have 

 the feed to Justify that practice. Hogs weighing above 275 pounds should be marketed 

 as promptly as marketing facilities pemiit. As indicated in another section of this 

 report, prospects for ceiling rather than support prices in March and April suggest 

 that pigs and light weights should not be dumped indiscriminately on the market. 



In the December pig crop report, the U. S. Department of Agriculture fore- 

 cast a decline of I6 percent in number of sows to farrow this coming spring compared 

 with the record 19^3 number. According to investigation by Professor R. C. Ashby, of 

 this institution, many Illinois farmers are contemplating a much greater decrease in 

 spring farrows. Professor W. E. Carroll, Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry, 

 suggests two suitable ways of brii^lng about the desired reduction In hog production: 

 (1) For men whose conditions were not well adapted for entering swine production to 

 abandon their effort; and (2) Some reduction on regular swine farms where the enter- 

 prise was expanded beyond the feed production of the farm or available labor, or where 

 numbers have overcrowded either pastures or equipment assigned to the enterprise. He 



