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Lamb feeding situation . The early October report indicates that the nxxmber 

 of lambs and sheep to be fed for the coming winter and spring market will be less than 

 the number fed a yeetr earlier. Feeding is expected to be on a larger scale in the 

 eastern com belt but will be reduced in the western com belt and in the western 

 states. The development of wheat pastures in western Kansas will influence the number 

 of lambs fed in the western com belt. Up to October 1 the development of wheat pas- 

 tures in the Southern Plains Region was much behind a year earlier, and prospects were 

 that such pastures for winter grazing would be decidedly inferior to the unusually 

 good paeturee of a year earlier. 



Cold storage holdings October 1 . Meat stocks in cold storage warehouses and 

 meat packing plants were materially smaller October 1 than a month earlier, according 

 to the U.S.D.A. Caapare^. to October 1, 19^> beef holdings were up 60 million poipds, 

 but pork holdings were down lU6 million pounds and lard holdings were only 59 million 

 pounds compared to 168 million pounds last year. Present holdings represent only 

 about one-third of the October 1 five-ye€ur average (19**0-M4^) holdings of lard. Hold- 

 ings of frozen poultry were down 31 million pounds. Turkeys are normally withdrawn 

 from storage during September but this year showed a heavy inmovement. 



Sugar t honey and potatoes . We are accustomed to considering honey as a 

 substitute for sugar, but it is unusual to put potatoes in the same category. This 

 year, however, it is expected that surplus potatoes may be used for the manufacture of 

 glucose sugar In addition to being used for butyl alcohol, motor fuel and anti-free ze 

 solutions. If surplus potatoes are used for the production of glucose, this might 

 help to relieve the sugar shortage a little. About 15 pounds of glucose syrup, equiva- 

 lent to seven or eight pounds of ^ugar, can be produced from 100 pounds of i>otatoes. 

 This does not mean, of course, that potatoes can compete on a price basis with in^orted 

 sugar. It is a salvage proposition. 



The honey crop this year is estimated at about 226 million pounds. This is 

 20 percent above last year's production. Production per colony is the highest since 

 1921. The demand ffom consumers and local retailers has been rerj heavy, forcing com- 

 mercial users to scour the country for badly needed supplies. 



The feirm labor situation . Farm employment on October 1 was 7 percent lower 

 than a year ago. Most of this reduction was due to the decline of about 9 percent in 

 the South, caused by a decrease of about 2 l/2 million bales in the quantity of cot- 

 ton to be picked. Wage rates were ^k^ percent of the 1910-l*f average on October 1, 

 compared with the record 351 percent on July 1. This decline was also caused by devel- 

 opnents in the southern states, where a heavy percentage of the hired workers are 

 employed in the fall and wage rates are lower than in other parts of the country. In 

 other sections of the country, wage rates were generally the same as or higher than on 

 July 1. 



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