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MACHINERY
reody to work is ready to earn
Putting your machinery in conditon for spring now ,
gives you the jump on the busy season ahead . . .
Lost time in the spring usually means lost money ...
Keeping your tractor, cultivator, planter and other
farm implements in good condition, ready for work,
saves you money, too! Neglected equipment leads
to big repair bills.
Ask your Oval-E Farm Service Man for your
FREE tractor lubrication charts and the big, new
Oval-E FARM BOOK. They'll help you get your
tractor and implements ready now for spring.
these are GUARDS against winter wear
for your tractor in storage
• • •
% CRANKCASE — Drain and
refill with Oval-E HD Motor Oil.
Run engine few seconds; then
remove spark plugs and put
14 pint Oval-E HD Motor Oil in
each cylinder. Turn engine over
few times, replace plugs.
GENERAL — Drain fuel tank.
Cover exhaust pipe and breather
pipe with tightened cloth bags to
keep moisture out.
# RADIATOR and ENGINE
BLOCK —Drain both and flush
with fresh water. Leave petcocks
open while storing.
«LUBRICATION — Fill aft
bearings with fresh Oval-E Lubri
cants. Make sure transmission
and gear housings contain
enough oil to protect all parts
from corrosion.
«TIRES —Inflate rear tires to 40
lbs. air pressure, front tires to 25
lbs. air pressure.
for all equipment
« Check for missing or faulty parts.
Order replacements and make
repairs moml
« Apply paint where necessary.
Cover scoured or polished parts
with Oval-E Motor Oil or Grease;
see that all bearings, spindles,
axles and gears are lubricated
with Oval-E products to shut
out moisture.
4 Shelter or cover machinery when
possible.
Your Oval-E Farm Service
Man is ready with friendly
help. Consult him FIRST 1
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OIL COMPANY
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Denver • Billings
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Market Outlook
By GILBERT GUS LER
THE GENERAL BUSINESS out
look appears broadly favorable for
the next few months. Settlement of
the steel and coal strikes, which is
expected soon, probably will be fol
lowed by a sharp upturn in economic
activity as industries rush to make
up for lost time.
The U. S. department of agri
culture predicts that farm prices
and farm income from sales will be
about 10 percent lower in 1950. Sales
are expected to drop more than
costs so that net farm income may
be down as much as 15 percent. This
will bring net income down to about
$12 billions compared with $14 bil
lions this year, $17.8 billions in 1947,
the peak year, and only $4.5 billions
in 1939.
CATTLE —A substantial price de
cline for the better grades is prob
able in the next two or three months.
Long-fed cattle may remain scarce
but supplies of reasonably well
finished cattle will increase ma
terially by midwinter.
Numbers of Cattle moved into the
combelt in the last few months were
the largest on record. While many
were put on pasture or rough feed
in late summer and early fall, in
stead of into the feedlot, an increas
ing proportion will be ready for
slaughter in 60 to 90 days.
The unusually attractive feeding
margin and heavy corn supply will
stimulate crowding cattle for early
sale. Prices for the lower grades of
slaughter cattle probably will round
their low points for the fall in the
next few weeks if they have not
already done so.
Stocker and feeder cattle prices
probably will be steady to some
what lower in the next two or three
months, because of declining prices
for fed cattle. While the current
margin of fat cattle over feeder
costs is unusually wide, the declin
ing trend of prices for finished cat
tle probably will lead to rapidly
shrinking finishers' margins during
the winter.
HOGS —Prices probably will drop
to a winter low point before the end
of December, then follow a steady
to moderately higher course. Re
ceipts will increase further next
month, but lower retail prices are
leading to a broad movement of
pork into consumption. Probably
relatively little, if any, government
buying will be needed to support
prices.
With the price decline likely to
flatten out soon, holding back hogs
for somewhat heavier weights prob
ably will be profitable in the next
three months.
LAMBS —Prices may be draggy
Trend of Markets and Parity
Latest average prices at Chicago, except wool at Boston, wheat and flaxseed at
Minneapolis, hay at Kansas City, and comparisons of United States average prices re
ceived by farmers on Oct. 15 with parity prices:
Average Parity Percent
Farm
Price
$17.60
19.50
21.50
(M
Farm
Price
$17.40
13.00
14.10
Last
Week
Hogs, barrows & gilts, av., cwt. . $17.80
Steers, good native, cwt.
Lambs, average, cwt. ...
Wool, gr„ bright, Vi-bl., comb., lb.
Wheat. No. 1 dark northern, bu. 2.18
Corn, No. 3 yellow, bu. 1.11
Oats, No. 2 heavy white, bu.
Rye, No. 2. bu.
Barley, nominal range, bu. .
Flaxseed. No. 1, bu.
Hay, U. S. 1, alfalfa, ton ...
Eggs, standards, doz.
Hens, live, lb .
Butter, 92 score, lb.
Cheese, single daisies, lb. ...
Potatoes, Rus., U. S. 1, wshd., cwt. 4.55
Month
Ago
$18.18
28.55
23.75
.61 Mi
2.18%
Year
Ago
$24.25
32.00
26.15
.58 Vi
Parity
101
.. 29.00
.. 23,25
.6114
isa
105
439
463
89
2.12
1 '8
1.89
71
1.54
1.38 Vi
1.09
1.33
65
.958
623
.69 >4
76
8!
74
I 7.1
1.85 Vi
1.37 Vi
1 28
1.38 Vi
I 50
72
1.49
07
1 M
; 36
8p
4.06
3.72 Vi
26.25
3.44
.... 3.90
... . 26.25
6.00
21.50
27.50
.516
.514
46
.49
50
; 5
,274
■ 32 Vi
.62 Vi
.381/4
.232
34
25
9'
631
.61%
.35%
621
.62
.35 Vi
1.76
Note—Market prices are for specified classes and «rades, while farm »rice« are aver
age for all classes and grades.
74
1,30
3 95
3.75
for the next month or six weeks,
due to a liberal early fed crop and
weakness in cattle and hog prices,
although, currently, lamb prices are
far below their .usual relationship
to fed cattle prices. Some price im
provement is probable by mid
winter. The late fed crop probably
will be very light because of the
small supply of feeder lambs. Prices
Markets at a Glance
Demand—Business activity probably will be
at relatively high level in next few months.
Cattle—Substantial price decline on better
grades is probable by midwinter.
Hogs—Probable passing of winter low point
by the end of December warrants carrying
to heavier weights.
Lambs—Price improvement may be small
until after December.
Wool—Short supply is supporting prices but
imports will prevent extreme scarcity. -
Wheat—Continued small exports are caus
ing prices to drag.
Feed grains—Increasing livestock needs and
placing corn under government loan will
tighten up markets.
Flaxseed—Light offerings probably will aid
small price rise.
Seeds—Small advance from late fall to early
spring is probable.
Feedstuffs—Heavy winter livestock require
qulrements will tend to strengthen prices.
Hay—Farm prices advanced from Novem
ber to February in 14 of last 16 years.
Dairy products—Mainly steady to slightly
lower prices probably are ahead.
Eggs—Government support price probably
will be lowered 15 percent or more in 1950.
Chickens—Stable prices are probable in near
future followed by smaller winter rise than
usual.
Turkeys — Thanksgiving demand will be
broad but Christmas supply will remain large.
Potatoes—Winter price rise may not fully
cover storing costs.
for breeding stock probably will be
steady to higher during the winter.
WOOL —Short domestic supplies
probably will support prices for
most classes, but may not bring
much advance. Foreign markets
have continued to advance and have
narrowed their discount below do
mestic prices brought about by cur
rency devaluation, but continued
American buying in Australia in
dicates that these wools are attrac
tive for import.
WHEAT
Wheat markets prob
ably will continue to drag until ex
port sales increase substantially.
Purchases have continued extremely
disappointing since approval of ex
port subsidy appropriations. In the
first third of the crop year, only
55,000,000 bushls have been bought
by the Commodity Credit Corp. or
approved for export under the in
ternational wheat agreement.
Actual exports of wheat, includ
ing flour, in the first three months
of the crop year were only 93,000,
000 bushels against 154,000,000 last
year and a substantial part of these
exports consisted of CCC 1948 loan
stocks.
However, market offerings are
light, as 249,000,000 bushels from
the 1949 crop had been placed under
government loan or purchase agree
ment up to Sept. 30.
The new winter wheat crop pros
pect is favorable except for drouth