Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 11/9/15

Posted 9 years 20 days ago by

Feeder cattle prices steady to $2 lower; futures lower.

Fed cattle cash trade was inactive; formula trades lower; futures lower; beef prices mixed.

Cotton futures higher.

Grains and soybeans mixed.

Crude oil lower; natural gas lower.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $2 lower per hundredweight. Feeder cattle futures were lower today, closing at $177.12 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. Wholesale boxed beef values were mixed, with Choice grade gaining $0.79 to settle at $215.66 per cwt and Select grade dropping $0.56 to settle at $206.69 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest to date this week totaled 111,000 head, on par with last week and up 3,000 from a year ago. Fed cattle futures settled $3.00 lower at $131.92 per cwt.

Cotton cash prices were steady closing at 60.38 cents per pound, futures prices gained 0.24 cents to settle at 61.90 cents per pound.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower, with corn cash prices losing $0.11 and futures prices losing $0.06 to settle at $3.77 and $3.67 per bushel, respectively. Grain sorghum cash prices closed $0.16 lower at $5.75 per cwt.

Soybean futures prices were $0.03 higher, closing at $8.74 per bushel. Soybean Meal futures were $0.70 lower, closing at $295.00 per ton

Wheat cash prices settled $0.25 lower at $3.93 per bushel and futures prices closed $0.16 lower, to settle at $4.74 per bushel.

Stock markets closed lower today, as it looks increasingly likely that the U.S Federal Reserve will raise rates sometime this year. Crude oil prices lost $0.42 to close at $43.87 per barrel.

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Daily Market Summary Data 11/9/15

From Agri-Pulse:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2015 - USDA plans to invest $8 million in fiscal year 2016 in projects that will help farmers and ranchers served by the drought-depleted Ogallala Aquifer conserve billions of gallons of water annually while strengthening agricultural operations.

The plan involves USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) adding two new focus areas to the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative while continuing support for seven ongoing focus areas. These targeted local efforts include improving the efficiency of irrigation systems; building soil health by using cover crops and no-till practices that allow the soil to hold water longer and buffer roots from higher temperatures; and implementing prescribed grazing to relieve pressure on stressed vegetation.

The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the U.S. and includes nearly all of Nebraska and large sections of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It is the primary water source for the High Plains region. Covering nearly 174,000 square miles, it supports the production of nearly one-fifth of the wheat, corn, cotton and cattle produced in the U.S. and supplies 30 percent of all water used for irrigation in the U.S.

Water levels in the region are dropping at an unsustainable rate, making targeted conservation even more important. From 2011 to 2013, the aquifer's overall water level dropped by 36.0 million acre-feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The new focus areas are:

-Middle Republican Natural Resource District in Nebraska: The project addresses groundwater quantity and quality concerns. The focus will be in areas where groundwater pumping contributes to high levels of stream flow depletion. USDA says priority will be given to areas where groundwater pumping contributes to more than 48 percent of the overall aquifer depletion rate. The project will enable participants to voluntarily implement practices to conserve irrigation water and improve groundwater quality.

-Oklahoma Ogallala Aquifer Initiative: This project will help landowners implement conservation practices that decrease water use. It includes an educational component that will educate citizens about water conservation and conservation systems. These systems include converting from irrigated to dryland farming and conservation practices that improve irrigation water management; crop residue and tillage management; nutrient and pesticide management, and grazing systems; and playa wetland restorations. The targeted area includes places where great amounts of water are consumed. Focal areas will be heavily-populated municipalities in the aquifer region.