For the week ending Aug. 15, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $5 lower to $7 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were fully steady. Wholesale beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $8.38 to close at $244.72 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $5.30 to close at $235.44 per cwt. Net export sales totaling 12,300 metric tons (MT) for July 31 – Aug. 6 were up noticeably from the previous week. Export shipments of 10,400 MT were down one percent from the previous week. Shipments primarily went to Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
Cotton cash prices were 3.50 cents higher than the previous week and closed at 61.38 cents per pound. October futures prices settled at 67.16 cents per pound, 4.39 cents higher than last week. For the reporting period of Aug. 3 – Aug. 9, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that 94 percent of cotton acreage is in the squaring stage, up five percentage points from the previous week but down three percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales totaled 96,900 bales. The primary destinations were Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey.
Wheat cash prices lost $0.05 and futures prices lost $0.03 to settle at $4.32 per bushel and $4.90 per bushel, respectively. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 100 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 421,600 MT, with increased purchases reported for the Philippines, Mexico and China.
Texas corn prices were lower, with cash prices down to $3.90 per bushel and futures prices down to $3.64 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 97 percent of the Texas corn crop is in the silking stage, with 57 percent of corn acreage in good to excellent condition. Corn export sales were down noticeably from the previous week and the prior four-week average. Export shipments were 16 percent lower than the previous week and 23 percent lower from the previous four-week average.
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a worsening of drought conditions for the state, with 39 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions also worsened, with more than 43 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.