Clinch Valley News

Farm
News
PRICE
OUTLOOK

(This is the way prospects for
Virginia farm prices looked to
the Virginia Department of Agri-
culture on Friday. The Depart-
ment offers it to farmers with the
warning that no one can predict
prices and be right all the time)

CATTLE
Now's the time to take advant-
age of a good price situation and
cull your herd. Look them over
and sell off cows without calves.
older cows and low grade ani-
mals. You stand to come out bet-
ter by holding onto only the bet-
ter quality cattle.

Even though 13 major states on
April 1 were at an all time rec-
ord high with the numbers of
cattle on feed, total slaughter
for the first four months of 1959
was 11 per cent below the same
period a year ago.

This points out that farmers
are holding more cattle on farms
and that the build up on farms
is advancing more rapidly than
cattle experts predicted.
In Virginia this week, good and
choice steers ranged from $26.50
to $28.00. Chicago prices for the
same grades run from $26.50 to
$29.50.
year.
LAMBS
We're probably at the top of
lamb prices now and any changes
will be in the form of a seasonal
downward trend.
Receipts increased substantially
this week over last, The first week
of increased marketing in Spring
lambs this year. Prices compared
to last year are running $1.50 to
$2.00 over the same period a
year ago.
The slaughter picture for the
last five weeks has been dropping
off with last week's slaughter off
seven per cent from the previous
week. Compared with the same
week a year ago. slaughter was
down four percent.
Prices of lambs fluctuated
slightly this week in Virginia
Prime lambs ranged from $26.00
to $27.00, with the choice bringing
mostly $25.
If you have lambs ready to sell
keep this in mindbuck lambs
are usually discounted at the rate
of $1.00 per hundred pounds.
EGGS
Look for a little strength in egg
prices in the next couple of
weeks. Production is turning
down seasonally and the move
ment into storage in April was
greater than usual.
In Richmond the grade A large
were 25 to 27 cents a dozen. The
Shenandoah Valley prices on the
A large were ranging from 26 to
29 cents and New York was run-
ning slightly higher at 31 to 34
cents.
Mediums over Virginia were
ranging from 21 to 24 cents and
New York mediums were bringing
26 to 27 cents a dozen.