TDA Market Recap, June 15, 2015

For the week ending June 13, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $10 lower to $8 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were mostly steady to $2 lower, with instances of $3 to $4 lower. Wholesale beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $1.07 to close at $245.72 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $2.85 to close at $240.42 per cwt. Net export sales for May 29-June 4 were up 40 percent from the previous week. Export shipments were up 15 percent from the previous week, and shipments primarily went to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
Cotton cash prices were 0.75 cents lower the previous week and closed at 62.38 cents per pound. July futures prices settled at 64.07 cents per pound, 0.06 cents higher than last week. For the reporting period of June 1-7, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that row crops across the state continued to progress as planting resumed in many areas. Seventy-five percent of cotton acreage has been planted, up 29 percentage points from the previous week but down seven percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales were down 59 percent from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were up 41 percent from the previous week but down 21 percent from the average.
Wheat cash prices lost $0.09 to settle at $4.81 per bushel. Futures prices also lost $0.09 to settle at $5.26 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 100 percent of the Texas wheat crop is in the heading stage, with 50 percent of the acreage in good-to-excellent condition. Eighty-two percent of the Texas Winter Wheat crop remains in fair-to-excellent condition. Net export sales for wheat were 376,700 MT. Shipments were 25 percent lower than the previous year’s total.
Texas corn prices were lower, with cash prices down to $3.76 per bushel and futures prices down to $3.53 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 88 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, which is 10 higher than this same point last year. Ninety-three percent of Texas corn acreage had been planted, which is up 10 percentage points from last week but down seven percent from the same period last year. Corn export sales were up seven percent from the previous week but down 14 percent from the four-week average. Export shipments were 14 percent lower than the previous week and 22 percent lower than the average.
According to USDA NASS, areas of the Northern High Plains, the Trans-Pecos, the Upper Coast and South Texas experienced upwards of three inches of rainfall, while the rest of the state received little to no measurable precipitation. Last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed an improvement in drought conditions for the state, with only about eight percent of Texas still experiencing some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved 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.

MBF = thousand board feet.
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.”
For additional information, contact TDA at 800-835-5832 or visit www.TexasAgriculture.gov.