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The Rural Voice, 1983-11, Page 4THE GREY -BRUCE CANADA FARM LABOUR POOL has qualified persons to help you with your harvest labour needs. Looking for a relief milker? We have a list of experienced help you. WALKERTON OWEN SOUND Canada ,IP Farm Labour Pool milkers to 881-3671 371-9522 0 H Q i W J W rc Z } W J W m 4 We have all the requirements for Handling Drying & Storing your CORN Location: Junction Hwy. 21 & Hwy. 86 R.R. 3, Goderich, Ontario 519.395-3300 Division of PARRISH & HEIMBECKER LTD. FARM MARKET PERSPECTIVE Prepared by John DePutter on Oct. 12/83. CATTLE: MOST ANALYSTS STILL BULLISH. Karen Curry, Analyst for Heinold Commodities, is predicting a spring peak of $70 for U.S. choice steers; $75 possibly. Joe Kropf of LBAS, a Kansas advisory service, is a little less optimistic, but still figures on the high $60's in the se- cond quarter of '84. Dr. Ed Yewbachek of Texas A&M University sees moderate supplies ahead, with prices in the mid to upper $60's for most of 1984. These forecasts com- pare with current prices around $60-61. If true, they mean higher On- tario prices ahead. USDA QUARTERLY PIG REPORT: NO SURPRISES. Total hogs and pigs on U.S. farms on Sept. 1st were up 10 per cent from last year, at 45,880,000 head, said USDA in a Sept. 20 report. It pegged market hogs up eleven per cent and breeding inventory up five per cent. June to August farrowings in the ten major states surveyed were up nine per cent. Farmers said they intended to farrow four per cent more during Sept. to Nov. than the same period a year ago. They expected to reduce farrowings for the upcoming Dec. to Feb./84 period by one per cent. In all, the report indicated that huge liquidation was not taking place during summer, but moderate cutbacks were. Even though the breeding herd is up from last year, it's very low by historical standards. The 31/2 year cycle bottom is probably being put in. USDA CONFIRMS CROP DAMAGE. When U.S. farmers took combines to fields this fall, they found yields even worse than ex- pected. One Illinois grower said he had to drive his 8 -row about 11 miles to get one hopper load of beans. USDA confirmed the damage in a report October 12. Officials estimated corn yields at 82.9 bu/acre, for a crop of 4.26 billion bushels; beans at an average of 24.7 bu/acre for total production of 1.517. These estimates were down from previous guesses and way below last year. THAT DOESN'T MEAN BE A RAGING BULL. Corn and soya futures still haven't taken out PG. 2 THE RURAL VOICE, NOVEMBER 1983 September highs, and charts portray a bearish tinge. It's hoped most farmers used the August -September and early October period to price at least a portion of production. As one analyst said, "if farmers do not freely make market decisions when prices are good, they will be forced to make market decisions when prices are poor." NO U.S. FEEDGRAIN PROGRAM FOR '84: U.S. Agriculture Secretary John Block has announced that there'll be no PIK next year; only a meagre 10 per cent acreage set-aside. Experts say farmers will have no in- centive to reduce production. They just might plant corn from fence row to fence row. As for wheat, there is a reduction deal but it's unclear as to market impact yet. IN CANADIAN PRODUCTION NEWS, the Ontario corn crop should be higher than previously thought, at 168 million bu., according to the Min. of Ag. & Food. Canadian wheat is pegged at 26,582,000 metric tons by Statscan; down marginally from last year; Canadian barley production should be 10,512,000...down from over 14 million. Rapeseed is up to 2,676,000. A Cargill analyst, Paul Erickson, said in early October that farmers can expect strong oilseed and barley prices until early next year. At that time, he's afraid of big oilseed production news from Brazil and a boost in grain growth in Argentina and Australia. U.S. SENATORS PASSED CON- TROVERSIAL DAIRY LEGISLA- TION IN OCTOBER. It involves paying farmers to reduce milk marketings by 10 per cent over 15 months. Impact: U.S. dairy over- supplies will be gradually reduced, a positive thing for world dairy markets. Impact for beef market: Somewhere from 500,000 to a million or more dairy cows could be culled, adding to beef supplies. Longterm: With the beef cow herd in North America already low relative to the consuming population, and the dairy cow factory about to be cut, we could be short on cows by early '85. FERTILIZER COSTS WILL PRO- BABLY INCREASE BY 10-15 PER CENT IN 1984. That was the opinion of Keith McCleary, of United Co- operatives of Ontario in a recent speech on input costs. A recent newsletter from the Cargill company also termed the price outlook "bullish".