Tony Purcell (Texas State Networks, Dallas, TX) reports, “The 2018 agricultural outlook for Texas is good. There is a lot of potential for Texas Agriculture. With nearby cotton futures over 80 cents on a big crop, and fed cattle cash over $120, this could likely be a turn-around year.” Tony cautioned, “Wheat is the big question mark. The freeze hit at a time of very little snow cover so we know there will be damage. What we don't know is how much. We’ll just have to wait for it to come out of dormancy.” 
He noted, “A lot of wheat growers already had begun transitioning wheat acres to cotton. Depending on what happens in Congress and how the Farm Bill shakes out, it appears cotton could be the money crop in Texas for the next few years. Prices are getting better and the export market is strong. Another question mark is the cattle market. So far, big supplies have been met with strong demand, so there is a lot of optimism out there. Bottom line is, barring something totally unexpected, there is a lot of optimism in the Lone Star State.” On the broadcast operations side, Tony said, “The Entercom/CBS merger is complete and going well. So far the transition has been seamless with only a few bumps in the road.”
