TDA Market Recap, Nov. 27, 2017

For the shortened holiday week ending Nov. 25, 2017, Texas feeder cattle auctions reported mixed prices from steady to $2 lower and steady to $2 higher. Texas Weekly Direct reported prices $1 to $5 lower. Wholesale Beef values were uneven at the end of the week, with Choice Grade gaining $4.81 to close at $210.99 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade losing 20 cents to end at $187.85 per cwt. Fed cattle cash prices were near unchanged as trade and demand were moderate in the Texas Panhandle.
Cattle producers continued using supplemental feed in the Cross Timbers, the Blacklands, East Texas, South Central Texas and South Texas. Pasture and range conditions were rated at 69 percent fair-to-good, a 4-point decline from the previous week.
Cotton prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 0.88 to close at 70.25 cents per pound and December futures gaining 0.86 cents to end at 72.23 cents per bushel. Cotton harvest continued in the Plains, the Blacklands, East Texas, the Trans-Pecos and the Edwards Plateau. Sorghum and sunflower harvest was nearing completion in the Southern High Plains.
Wheat prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 2 cents to close at $3.66 per bushel and December futures losing a penny to close at $4.15 per bushel. Winter Wheat seeding was ongoing in the Northern High Plains. Producers in the Coastal Bend were in need of precipitation to continue seeding operations. Winter Wheat in areas of the Southern Low Plains was in fair to poor conditions due to lack of moisture. Producer in the South Texas were irrigating Winter Wheat fields.
Corn prices were uneven at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 6 cents to close at $3.56 per bushel and December futures losing 3 cents to close at $3.42 per bushel.
Grain sorghum cash prices were higher at the close of last week, gaining 9 cents to end at $5.60 per cwt.
Milk prices were lower at the close of last week, with November Class III milk futures losing 3 cents to end the week at $16.80 per cwt.
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed slightly moderate drought conditions for the state, with 59.98 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 14.32 percentage points from last week. Dry conditions persisted across many areas of the state, while temperatures were cooler than the previous week. The only significant rain was recorded in the Upper Coast, where precipitation ranged between trace amounts and 1.5 inches. On the national level, drought conditions improved, with 36.82 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down 1.79 percentage points from last week.

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.