TDA Market Recap Aug. 31, 2009

Commissioner Todd Staples                              1-800-TELL-TDA

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE   www.TexasAgriculture.gov

AUSTIN – (Aug. 31, 2009) For the week ending Aug. 29, 2009, feeder cattle prices at Texas auctions were steady to $4 lower per hundredweight, with some to $6 lower. Fed cattle prices were $1.50 higher than a weak earlier. Cotton prices were unchanged. Wheat ended the week slightly higher, grain sorghum was unchanged and corn prices were slightly lower. As for futures markets, wheat closed the week higher, while feeder cattle, fed cattle, cotton, corn and lumber were lower. Parts of East Texas and the Panhandle received up to 2 inches of rain during the week, but much of the state recorded trace amounts, at best. Topsoil moisture was rated in mostly short to very short. Only Northeast Texas and the Northern High Plains reported mostly adequate moisture supplies. Cotton harvest is underway in South and South-Central Texas while on the Plains, the crop is setting bolls and some bolls are opening. Overall, the cotton crop is rated in mostly fair to good condition. Corn harvest is wrapping up in South Texas and well underway in the Blacklands region. Statewide, harvest is 66 percent complete. Grain sorghum matured rapidly due to the hot, dry conditions with 61 percent of the acreage harvested. Field preparations for winter wheat seedings continued, with some producers delaying planting in hopes of receiving moisture. Pastures were rated in mostly fair to very poor condition.

The cash prices above are market averages for locations covered by the TDA Market News program and do not reflect any particular sale at any specif