Texas Agriculture Market Recap April 27, 2015

AUSTIN – (April 27, 2015) For the week ending April 25, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices steady, with several instances of prices falling below previous sales’ tests. Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were $1 to $6 lower. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade falling $0.80 to close at $256.99 per cwt and Select Grade falling $3.35 to $247.62 per cwt. Net export sales for April 10-16 were up 79 percent from the previous week. Export shipments were down nine percent from the previous week.

Cotton cash prices were 1 cent higher than the previous week, closing at 64.13 cents per pound. May futures prices rose 3.21 cents last week to settle at 66.50 cents per pound. The USDA NASS Texas field office noted for the reporting period of April 13-19 that field preparations for cotton were slowed due to rainfall in the South East and Upper Coast. Seven percent of cotton acreage has been planted. Net export cotton sales were noticeably higher than the previous week’s sales. Shipments were up 61 percent from the previous week and four percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices lost six cents to close at $4.66 per bushel. Additionally, futures fell seven cents to settle at $5.02 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 50 percent of Texas wheat was in the heading stage. Eighty-six percent of the Texas Winter Wheat crop remains in fair-to-excellent condition. Fifty-one percent of the wheat crop is in excellent or good condition. Net export sales for wheat were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior four-week average. Shipments were 45 percent higher than the previous week and 40 percent higher than the average.

Texas corn prices were lower with cash prices down 15 cents to $3.88 per bushel and futures prices also down 15 cents to $3.65 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 37 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, down from 48 percent at this point last year. Fifty-one percent of Texas corn acreage has been planted, up five percentage points from the previous week but down nine percentage points from the same period last year. Corn export sales were up 48 percent from the prior week and 68 percent from the four-week average. Export shipments were 20 percent higher than last week and 10 percent higher than the average.

Most of the state received precipitation last week, with regions reporting anywhere from 0.01 inches to up to 15 inches. Last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a slight improvement in drought conditions for the state, with just over 44.5 percent of Texas in some stage of drought intensity, down 2.6 percentage points from last week. Additionally, almost 22 percent of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved, with nearly 53.4 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down about 5.4 percentage points from the previous week.

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.