Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Feeder cattle auctions mixed; futures up.

Formula trades lower; Beef prices down.

Cotton prices down.

Milk futures down.

Crude oil up; Natural gas up.

Stock markets up.

Cattle:

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported mixed prices, from $5 lower to $9 higher. Texas Weekly Direct reported mostly $1 to $3 lower and as much as $5 lower. Trade was fairly active on moderate to good demand. January Feeder cattle futures were up 53 cents, closing at $143.35 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was not active today. February Live cattle futures were higher, gaining 30 cents to close at $117.37 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were down, with Choice grade losing 84 cents to close at $208.23 per cwt and Select grade losing $1.31 to close at $201.64 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 611,000, up 70,000 from last week and 2,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is up 0.33%. 

Cotton:

Cotton prices were down, closing at 77.5 cents per pound and March cotton futures closing at 81.68 cents per pound.

Corn and Grain Sorghum:

Corn prices were down a penny, closing at $3.59 per bushel and March corn futures were down 3 cents, closing at $3.46 per bushel. January Grain sorghum was down 3 cents to close at $5.68 per cwt.

Wheat:

Wheat was down, losing 14 cents to close at $3.78 per bushel and March wheat futures lost 14 cents, closing at $4.26 per bushel.

Milk:

Milk prices were down a nickel, with January Class III milk futures closing at $13.76 per cwt.

Stock Markets and Crude Oil:

Stock markets were up, with all three major indexes showing gains. February Crude oil futures were up 50 cents to close at $64.30 per barrel.

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From Agri-Pulse:

USDA report shows record corn yield, soybean production in 2017

The Department of Agriculture released market-shifting reports on Friday, largely showing robust production in 2017 adding to an already solid amount of stocks on hand around the world.

The reports noted records in U.S. corn yield and soybean production, all the while pointing to global stocks that don’t show any signs of providing relief for low commodity prices.

In the Department’s annual Crop Production report, soybean production and harvested acreage both hit record amounts in 2017, coming in at 4.39 billion bushels and 89.5 million acres. The average yield came in at 49.1 bushels per acre, a dip of about 3 bpa from 2016’s record.

The 2017 estimated U.S. corn crop came in at 14.6 billion bushels, a 4 percent drop from 2016’s estimated production. The crop’s average yield, however, set a U.S. record at 176.6 bpa, and harvested area rounded out at 82.7 million acres, a 5 percent drop from the year prior.

USDA’s Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings report delivered a surprise, with the trade estimates ultimately overestimating the acreage adjustment that was coming in winter wheat acreage.

“Probably the highlight of the report was the winter wheat acres were expected to be slashed 1.3 million acres, and it came in basically unchanged,” said Don Roose, founder of U.S. Commodities Inc., a grain and livestock investment and management firm in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates pegged U.S. wheat ending stocks at 29 million bushels higher “on increased supplies and decreased use," but lowered global supplies by 0.8 million tons on reduced beginning stocks.

That same report also raised corn stocks 40 million bushels and reported a season-average corn price at $3.25 per bushel. Total global coarse grain production – which also includes sorghum – is estimated slightly higher to 1.3 billion tons. Meanwhile, soybean exports are projected 65 million bushels lower and ending stocks are projected at 470 million bushels.

For the most part, Roose said the report day largely fell within trade expectations.

“We went into the report supply bearish, and I think you come out of the report supply bearish,” he said. The January batch of reports, Roose added, are often important, market-moving reports.

“It kind of lays out where we’re at for the rest of the winter,” he said. The weather in South America will be key, and could determine important marketing decisions for U.S. growers. “From a producer standpoint, it tells him if he has some real marketing opportunities. I think when you look at this report, you’re really down to weather problems in South America in a La Niña year that have to surface.”