Marty Morgan, Cooke County Extension Agent 

We received some hit and miss showers last week on Monday and Friday which only amounted to a few tenths to one inch of precipitation.  The rain slowed down the remaining Milo harvest a little but the main problem is the humidity is in the 50’s and 60’s most every morning making it difficult to get it dry enough to harvest.   Most of the Milo has been harvested west of Hwy 51 and north of FM 1630.  Harvest continues in the area south of FM 1630 and between Hwy 51 and I-35 in the southern part of the county.  Harvest is about 70 percent complete and yields have dropped slightly to 2500 to 5000 lbs for the most part with the cash price hanging around the $5/cwt mark.  The corn harvest is complete for the most part and reported yields of from 70 to 130 bu/ac with most of it averaging between 80 to 90 bu/ac.  The cash price of corn is a little above $3/bu which is not very good.  These grain and cattle markets were down again this past Friday and keep sliding on the downward trend and keep inching closer to breakeven prices. Farmers are plowing and getting ready to plant wheat and oats in the coming weeks.  There is plenty of moisture now, but with temps forecast in the 90’s the next 10 days,  it is still a little too hot for planting,  and on top of that Army worms would be a problem.   The pastures are in great shape for this time of year with a lot of green grass around but there have been reports of Army worms in pastures, but they are below the threshold needed to justify spraying,  with most of the damage being done in the low lying areas such as along creek bottoms, under shade trees and in volunteer wheat patches.  The cow calf and stocker operators have been blessed this year with lots of hay and forage for their cattle, with decent gains,  so all are in good shape except for the poor market conditions and the lirking Army Worm.

   Last Week’s Markets(8-8 to 8-12)—-Sept 16 Corn was down 19 cents for the week closing at $3.16.   Dec 16 corn down and closed at $3.25.    Sept 16 wheat was down from 29 to 43 cents on the week and settled at $3.84 on the Chicago board,  and $3.90 on the KC board.  Sept 16 Soybeans lost 36 cents on the week and settled at $9.91.  Nov 16 Beans settled at $9.67.   Aug 16 live cattle were down $3.20 on the week settling at $110.35 and Oct 16 Lives settled at $106.35.   Sept 16 Feeders were down $6 on the week settling around $140, with the Oct 16 feeder’s settling at $136    In the local markets six weight Feeder Steers and Heifers were $5-8 lower with a load of 623 lb Steers bringing $1.50 and a load of 642 lb Heifers bringing $1.41.  Steer and Heifer calves were $2-4 lower,  with a load of 622 lb steers bringing $1.48/lb and a load of 609 lb heifers brought $144/lb.   Slaughter cows and bulls steady with cows around 75 cents a pound and bulls 95 cents a pound.  USDA Slaughter estimates were at 600,000 for the week.