Texas Agriculture Market Recap June 29, 2015

AUSTIN – (June 29, 2015) For the week ending June 27, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $6 lower to $5 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were steady, with some weakness noted later in the week. Wholesale beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $1.80 to close at $253.12 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $1.92 to close at $248.15 per cwt. Net export sales for June 12-18 were up 40 percent from the previous week. Export shipments were down three percent from the previous week, and shipments primarily went to Japan, Canada and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were 1.50 cents higher than the previous week and closed at 63.38 cents per pound. July futures prices settled at 67.16 cents per pound, 3.84 cents higher than last week. For the reporting period of June 15-21, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that row crops across the state continued to progress as planting continued. Ninety-one percent of cotton acreage has been planted, up three percentage points from the previous week but down five percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales were up 15 percent from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were down 10 percent from the previous week and 35 percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices gained $0.54 to settle at $5.12 per bushel. Futures prices gained $0.56 to settle at $5.59 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 64 percent of the Texas wheat crop has been harvested, with 47 percent of the acreage in good-to-excellent condition. Eighty percent of the Texas Winter Wheat crop remains in fair-to-excellent condition. Net export sales for wheat were 434,300 metric tons (MT). The primary destinations were Japan, Mexico and Taiwan.

Texas corn prices were steady to higher, with cash prices up to $4.14 per bushel and futures prices up to $3.85 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 95 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, which is five percentage points below this same point last year. Ninety-nine percent of Texas corn acreage has been planted, which is up one percentage point from last week but down one percent from the same period last year. Corn export sales were down 21 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the four-week average. Export shipments were eight percent higher than the previous week and 16 percent higher than the average.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a slight improvement in drought conditions for the state, with only 4.63 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, down 2.17 percentage points from last week. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, down nearly 25 percent from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions worsened slightly, with approximately 40 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.