Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Slaughter Cattle: Thursday trade and demand was moderate in all feeding regions. In the Southern Plains 
compared to Wednesday, live purchases traded mostly steady at 126.00. In Nebraska compared to last week, live and dressed purchases traded mostly steady at 127.00 and 204.00 respectively. In Colorado compared to last week, live purchases traded mostly steady to 1.00 higher from 126.50-127.00, bulk at 127.00. In the Western Cornbelt live purchases have ranged mostly from 126.00-128.00, with dressed purchases mostly at 204.00.

Negotiated Sales: Confirmed: 72,711   Week Ago: 13,392   Year Ago: 3,908

Formula Purchases: Net - Dressed 
Head count priced today: 16,500 
Weighted avg weight:      861.00 
Weighted avg net price:   201.83

Livestock Slaughter under Federal Inspection: 
                             Cattle      Calves   Hogs        Sheep 
Thursday  (est       119,000    2,000      463,000      8,000 
Week ago (est)      119,000    2,000     465,000       8,000 
Year ago (act)       111,000     1,000     444,000      7,000 
Week to date (est) 467,000    8,000   1,818,000    33,000 
Last Week (est)     469,000    8,000   1,834,000    31,000 
Last Year (act)       458,000    7,000   1,768,000    31,000

Boxed Beef: Boxed beef cutout values firm to higher on light to moderate demand and light offerings. Select and Choice chuck, round, and loin cuts steady to firm. Choice rib cuts steady while Select higher. Beef trimmings not fully established.

Cutout Values...            Choice        Select 
Current Cutout Values:    223.88         216.78 
Change from prior day:     +0.31           +1.58 
Choice/Select spread:         7.10

Futures Summary: 

April Live Cattle Futures: 121.77...-1.20

June Live Cattle Futures: 113.27...-1.55

August Live Cattle Futures: 111.25...-1.20

March Feeder Cattle Futures: 141.75...-2.02

April Feeder Cattle Futures: 143.00...-2.37

May Feeder Cattle Futures: 144.45...-2.42

CME Feeder Cattle Index: 144.72...-0.24

April Lean Hog Futures: 68.07...+0.27

National Grain Market Summary: Compared to yesterday, cash bids for corn and sorghum were higher, soybeans were lower, and wheat was mixed.  USDA lowered its estimate of U.S. ending stocks of corn from 2.352 billion bushels (bb) to 2.127 bb for 2017-18. The drop came from a 50 million bushel (mb) increase in the estimate of ethanol demand and a 175 mb increase in export demand.  USDA reduced its estimate of world 
ending soybean stocks from 98.1 mmt to 94.4 mmt (3.5 bb), largely due to Argentina's soybean crop going from 54.0 mmt to 47.0 mmt (1.7 bb).  USDA increased its estimate of U.S. ending wheat stocks from 1.009 bb to 1.034 bb, which was more than expected after the export estimate was cut 25 mb. The export reduction was no surprise, but this report did not show new-crop estimates that the market is already trading on.

Kansas City Corn: 3.76...+0.07

Kansas City Soybeans: 10.21...-0.01

Kansas City Wheat: 5.23...-0.01

March Corn Futures: 3.8575...+0.0650

March Soybean Futures: 10.5375...-0.0125

March Wheat Futures: 4.9475...+0.0175

Nearby Crude Oil Futures Contract: 60.12...-1.03

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,894.59...+93.23

NASDAQ: 7,427.95...+31.30

U.S. Dollar Index: 90.15...+0.57