UNITED STAY T OF AGRICULTURE 
BURE P AGRICULT MICS 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 
May 1950 
FAJM PRODUCTION, FAIM DISPOSITION, AND VALOE 
FIELD AND S2ED CHOPS, 1948 AND 1949 
Estimated farm disposition of grains, hay, seeds, potatoes and a fev; other 
commodities are presented in this report. It is one of a scries dealing with form 
disposition of crops, livontock and livestock prodticts* First of these was the 
report for fruits and troc nuts published in January 1950, Estimates for cotton and 
cottonseed nppoar with the Cotton Report of May 5$ those for tobacco, sugar beets 
and sugar eane for sugar appear in the issue of Crop Production dated May 10, 1950* 
A report covering farm disposition of turkeys was issued in March, those for chicker.; 
and eggs, milk, and neat animals were issued in April, 
This report shows estimated sales from 1948 and 1949 crops and portions of 
production used or to be used for designated purposes on farms where grown* Total 
estimated production is the sane as previously published in the December 1949 Annual 
uxry of Crop Production. Quantities shown as fed to livestock and poultry 
represent that part of each crop which was fed only on the farms that produced the 
crop in a given year. These quantities do not represent total quantities of the 
commodities ultimately used for livestock feeding. Quantities of principal feed 
crops sold and used in farm households, if any, are estimated directly. Therefore, 
the quantity estimated for feed and seed is the residual (production less household 
use and sales) j grain purchased for feed and seed does not enter into these es- 
timates. Some of the products shown as "sold" from farms are used for feed or seed 
on other farms in the some or other States. For certain crops total seed require- 
ments are shown, and for some a further breakdown is made between purchased and 
heme-grown seed, 
Basic data for these estimates of farm disposition arc collected from many 
sources. Most items of farm use are estimated from an analysis of individual farm 
data on individual crops, as reported in responses to special disposition inquiries;. 
In these inquiries farmers are asked to report their production of each commodity 
and the quantities used on their farms for each purpose. Sales of some commodities 
are estimated directly from survey data, in which farmers report production and 
sales. For certain commodities of which there is virtually no farm use, the entire 
production is shown as sales. Whenever possible, sales have been checked by en- 
ur.erations, such as reports of processors, or by records of handlings and shipments 
by rail, boats and trucks. 
Season average prices are, in most cases, the estimated mid-month prices recei- 
ved by farmers, weighted by estimated quantities sold in each month of the crop 
marketing season. The marketing season is shown below the table for each crop. 
Season average prices for popcorn, broamcom, sugarcane for sirup, maple products, 
hops, and nost of grass and covercrop seeds are based primarily upon special survey 
data. For sugarcane sirup (except Louisiana) and sorghum sirup, season average 
prices are those reported on December 1 of each year. Price estimating procedure 
makes allov;anco for loans unredeemed at the end of the crop season and for quantitic 
bought by the Government under purchase agreements when such transactions are of 
significant volume. Footnotes designate the years affected for each commodity. 
These season average prices for quantities sold are used to evaluate quantities 
sold and used on farms. Value of sales is thus the unit price applied to quantity 
sold during the marketing year. In like manner the value of production and value 
of home consumption are computed by applying the season average price to the quontit- 
produced or used. Therefore, these value estimates should not be confused with 
cash receipts, which relate to the calendar year, irrespective of the year of 
production. 
