For the week ending Sept. 11, feeder cattle prices at Texas auctions were mostly steady to $5 lower per hundredweight, but remain well above where they were this time last year. Concerns about future feed grain prices added to seasonal declines. Fed cattle were higher in spite of lower wholesale beef prices. Cotton and corn cash prices were unchanged, but ended the week on a higher note after USDA raised export projections for both crops and reduced its corn production forecast. Wheat prices were higher for the week amid ongoing concerns about European production, but were lower on Friday after USDA reported ample global supplies. As for futures markets, wheat, corn and lumber were higher while feeder cattle, fed cattle and cotton were lower. Tropical Storm Hermine brought heavy rainfall to the region from Brownsville to Houston and over to the state border north of Dallas-Fort Worth. The heaviest amounts fell along the Interstate 35 corridor from San Antonio north to the border and into South-Central Texas. Topsoil moisture was adequate to surplus in the areas that received the heaviest rains and adequate to short elsewhere. Cotton harvest progressed at a slower-than-normal pace and was 10 percent complete. Bolls were opening on 41 percent of the acreage, well ahead of normal. The corn crop was 50 percent harvested, behind the normal 66 percent by this date, and 73 percent of the crop was rated mature. Grain sorghum harvest was 45 percent complete and rice harvest was nearing completion. Wheat seeding was 9 percent complete and some acreage has emerged. Peanuts were rated in mostly good to excellent condition, while cotton, corn, rice, grain sorghum, soybeans and pastures were mostly good to fair.
Click on chart to enlarge:
All cash prices above are market averages for locations covered by the TDA Market News program and do not reflect any particular sale at any specific location. Feeder cattle prices are for 500-600 pound medium and large No.1 steers. Futures prices are quoted for the nearest month contract on the last trading day of the week. For additional information, contact TDA Market News at (800) 252-3407 or visit our website, www.tdamarketnews.com.
