Texas Agriculture Market Recap May 18, 2015

AUSTIN – (May 18, 2015) For the week ending May 16, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $6 lower to $10 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were steady to $2 higher. Wholesale beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $3.81 to close at $261.93 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $4.28 to close at $251.10 per cwt. Net export sales for May 1-7 were down 42 percent from the previous week. Export shipments were down one percent from the previous week, and shipments primarily went to Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were 1.00 cent higher than the previous week and closed at 64.13 cents per pound. July futures prices settled at 66.84 cents per pound, 0.68 cents higher when compared to last week’s closing May futures. For the reporting period of May 4-10, the USDA NASS Texas field office published that cotton planting remained active in areas of the Upper Coast, Lower Valley and South Texas. Net export cotton sales were up noticeably from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were down 43 percent from the previous week and 24 percent from the average.

Wheat cash and futures prices gained $0.32 and $0.31, respectively, and closed at $4.97 per bushel and $5.42 per bushel, respectively. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 89 percent of the Texas wheat crop is in the heading stage, with 57 percent of the acreage in good-to-excellent condition. Eighty-six percent of the Texas Winter Wheat crop remains in fair-to-excellent condition. Net export sales for wheat were up noticeably from the previous week and the prior four-week average. Shipments were four percent higher than the previous week, but 35 percent lower than the average.

Texas corn prices were slightly higher with cash prices up to $3.91 per bushel and futures prices up to $3.66 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 64 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, which is on par with the same point last year. Seventy-one percent of Texas corn acreage has been planted, up one percentage point from last week, but down eight percentage points from the same period last year. Corn export sales were down 56 percent from the previous week and 53 percent from the four-week average. Export shipments were two percent lower than last week but up three percent from than the average.

According to USDA NASS, many areas of the state received measurable rainfall last week from trace amounts to upwards of 10 inches. Last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a significant improvement in drought conditions for the state, with just over 35 percent of Texas still experiencing some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, 7.7 percent of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly with nearly 56 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.

Additional information on agricultural weather, crop progress and agricultural markets can be found on the TDA Market News page. 

All cash prices above are market averages for locations covered by the USDA Market News program and do not reflect any particular sale at any specific location. Feeder cattle prices are for Texas direct sales of 650-850 pound medium and large No.1 steers for current delivery. Futures prices are quoted for the nearest month contract on the last trading day of the week. Timber prices are from the Texas A&M Forest Service, bimonthly “Texas Timber Price Trends.” MBF = thousand board feet. For additional information, contact TDA at (800) 835-5832 or visit our website, www.TexasAgriculture.gov.