AUSTIN – (July 13, 2015) For the week ending July 11, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $9 lower to $7 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were mostly steady with some firmness evident. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $13.14 to close at $236.98 per cwt and Select Grade losing $14.06 to close at $233.99 per cwt. Net export sales for June 26 – July 2 were up noticeably from the previous week. Export shipments of 11,200 metric tons (MT) were up four percent from the previous week. Shipments primarily went to Japan, Canada and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were 2.00 cents lower than the previous week and closed at 60.88 cents per pound. July futures prices settled at 65.51 cents per pound, 0.85 cents lower than last week. For the reporting period of June 29 – July 5, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that cotton planting was nearly complete. Ninety-nine percent of cotton acreage has been planted, up two percentage points from the previous week but down one percentage point from last year. Net export cotton sales were down 62 percent from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were down eight percent from the previous week and 10 percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices lost $0.20 to settle at $5.18 per bushel. Futures prices lost $0.18 to settle at $5.58 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 87 percent of the Texas wheat crop has been harvested, with 47 percent of wheat acreage in good to excellent condition. Net export sales for wheat were 345,900 MT, with increases reported for Indonesia, Mexico and Sri Lanka.

Texas corn prices were higher, with cash prices up to $4.56 per bushel and futures prices up to $4.27 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 100 percent of the planted Texas corn crop has emerged, with 63 percent of corn acreage in good to excellent condition. Corn export sales were down 10 percent from the previous week and three percent from the prior four-week average. Export shipments were six percent lower than the previous week and four percent lower 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 just over 25 percentage points from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly, with 36.55 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down nearly two percent from last 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.