Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 06/08/16

Posted 8 years 172 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $8 higher; Futures higher.

Fed cattle cash trade inactive; Formula trades higher; Futures higher; Beef prices mixed.

Cotton futures lower.

Grains and Soybeans higher.

Milk futures higher.

Crude oil higher; Natural gas lower.

Stock markets higher.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $8 higher. Feeder cattle futures were $1.92 higher, closing at $147.37 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. Whole sale boxed beef values were mixed with choice grade gaining $0.83 to close at $225.10 per cwt and select grade losing $0.61 to close at $200.55 per cwt. Fed cattle futures were $1.80 higher, closing at $123.02 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 335,000 head up 108,000 from last week’s total and 23,000 from last year’s total.

Cotton prices were mixed with cash prices remaining at 62.62 cents per pound and July futures losing 0.07 cents to close at 65.78 cents per pound.

Corn prices were higher with cash and futures prices both gaining $0.03 to close at $4.26 and $4.31 per bushel, respectively. Grain Sorghum cash prices were higher gaining $0.05 to close at $6.54 per cwt.

Wheat prices were higher with cash and July futures both gaining $0.08 to close at $4.10 and $4.93 per bushel, respectively.

Milk prices were higher with June Class III Milk futures gaining $0.13 to close at $13.26 per cwt.

Stock Markets were higher today, marking the third straight day of gains for the S&P 500 as it approaches an all-time higher. Crude oil prices were higher, with July crude oil futures gaining $0.87 to close at $51.23 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data 06/08/16

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From Agri-Pulse:

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2016 - Public and private skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) should soon be able to provide more and better telemedical services after the Senate gave final congressional approval to the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., amends the federal Communications Act to permit those facilities to apply for support from the FCC-managed Universal Service Fund (USF). A USF program, the Rural Health Care Program (RHCP), provides funding for telecommunications and broadband services used to provide health care in rural communities. The Communications Act specifies which types of health care providers are eligible to receive RHCP support, and SNFs are currently not included.

Thune, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, applauded the passage of his bill, which was included in a conference report on the Toxic Substances Control Act. His committee passed the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act in November, and Tuesday night the full Senate approved the conference report by voice vote. The conference report now heads to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

“Closing the gap between the health care our rural communities are receiving and the care they deserve has been a priority of mine, and having this bill signed into law would mean that gap gets even smaller,” said Thune. “We should be doing all we can to make it easier for health care professionals to connect with rural patients and provide greater support and improved services to those who need them the most. This bill would put these professionals, like those who work for skilled nursing facilities around the country, in a much better position to do so.”

When the Federal Communications Commission updated the RHCP and created the Healthcare Connect Fund in 2012, it proposed implementing a pilot program to examine funding SNFs. In January 2014, the FCC deferred implementation of the pilot program, claiming it needed additional statutory authority to allow SNFs to be eligible.

In a news release, Thune noted that groups such as the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, would benefit from his legislation. The society known as Good Sam, currently operates hundreds of SNFs nationwide, most of which are in rural communities. Through internet-based connections to its national headquarters, Good Sam allows rural patients to remotely connect with hospitals and physicians. The Rural Health Care Connectivity Act would help organizations like Good Sam provide better-quality care for rural areas throughout the country.

“We commend Sen. Thune and the support of other congressional leaders for the long-awaited passage of the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act of 2015,” said David J. Horazdovsky, president and CEO of Good Sam. “Enactment of this bill will offer much-needed assistance to residents of Good Samaritan and other skilled nursing care centers in a variety of locations in South Dakota and in other rural areas of the country.”