Texas Agriculture Market Recap July 6, 2015

AUSTIN – (July 6, 2015) For the week ending July 4, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $10 lower to $2 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were mostly $4 to $8 lower. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $3 to close at $250.12 per cwt and Select Grade losing $0.10 to close at $248.05 per cwt. Net export sales for June 19-25 were up 90 percent from the previous week. Export shipments were up noticeably from the previous week and 90 percent from the prior four-week average. Shipments primarily went to Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were 0.50 cents lower than the previous week and closed at 62.88 cents per pound. July futures prices settled at 66.36 cents per pound, which is 0.80 cents lower than last week. For the reporting period of June 22-28, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that row crops across the state continued to progress. Ninety-seven percent of cotton acreage has been planted, which is up six percentage points from the previous week but down two percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales were up 33 percent from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were up 23 percent from the previous week but down nine percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices gained $0.26 to settle at $5.12 per bushel. Futures prices gained $0.17 to settle at $5.76 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 70 percent of the Texas wheat crop has been harvested; that’s up six percentage points from last year. Net export sales for wheat were 363,900 metric tons (MT), with increases reported for Japan, the Philippines and Nigeria.

Texas corn prices were steady to higher, with cash prices up to $4.43 per bushel and futures prices up to $4.20 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 99 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, which is one percent below this same point last year. One hundred percent of Texas corn acreage has been planted. Corn export sales were up 20 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior four-week average. Export shipments were nine percent lower than the previous week but four percent higher than the average.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed no change in drought conditions for the state, with 4.63 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, which is down approximately 25 percentage points from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly, with just over 38 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.