The Morning Wire / Tue Sep 15, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Tue, Sep 15

● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

← Sep 14Sep 15Sep 16 →

Summary

Tue, Sep 15

Choice cutout held near $376.08. 60 barns across 23 states reported 3,638 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Sep 14 USDA

Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a national figure.

Weight	Price	vs prior week	Head	Barns
300-399 lb	498.30/cwt	$13.88 higher	2,902	148
400-499 lb	450.87/cwt	$10.19 higher	7,763	167
500-599 lb	403.36/cwt	$12.77 higher	12,243	167
600-699 lb	363.27/cwt	$10.59 higher	10,010	163
700-799 lb	344.17/cwt	$4.48 higher	7,980	146
800-899 lb	334.77/cwt	$10.37 lower	11,797	109

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Tue, Sep 15, weighted by head. Spread of $95.88 between the top and bottom of 20 barns. An average moves with the cattle that showed up as much as with the buyers in the seats — a yard with better grade will average higher on the same demand. This is where the money landed, not a verdict on the barn.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Philip Livestock Auction	SD	471.75/cwt	186
F&T Livestock Market	MO	430.68/cwt	72
Kingsville Livestock Auction	MO	430.60/cwt	89
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	423.21/cwt	131
Knoxville Livestock Auction - Iowa	IA	422.21/cwt	124
Toppenish Livestock Commission	WA	421.21/cwt	180
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UT	UT	406.54/cwt	212
Ozarks Regional Stockyards	MO	406.47/cwt	86
Lolli Brothers Livestock Market	MO	404.38/cwt	29
I-40 Livestock Auction	AR	401.48/cwt	25
Beaver Livestock Auction	OK	398.36/cwt	245
Virginia Cattle Company	VA	392.86/cwt	46
Lonestar Stockyards	TX	392.72/cwt	122
Four State Stockyards	MO	387.41/cwt	82
OKC West Livestock Market	OK	384.99/cwt	307
McAlester Union Stockyards	OK	384.77/cwt	56
Knoxville Livestock Auction - Knoxville, TN	TN	384.51/cwt	70
Springfield Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	380.81/cwt	28
Townsend Livestock Market	FL	377.77/cwt	56
Southern Livestock	GA	375.87/cwt	46

Boxed beef

PM close · Sep 15 USDA

Choice $376.08, $0.77 higher. Select $356.36, $1.81 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $19.72. 101 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

22,965 head traded Sep 5–Sep 11.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	351.39	5,684
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	349.78	372
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	219.02	208
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	222.07	5,822
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	350.33	5,749
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	350.00	830

At the barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

One barn per state, largest first — more states file than fit here. Your own state is linked below.

Compared to last week: Feeder steers 5.00-10.00 higher. Feeder heifers unevenly steady. The steer market opened on a very strong note, with prices dollars higher. About half way through the steer turn, quality and condition began to decline, bringing buyer interest to a halt.
OKC West Livestock Market · Oklahoma

Compared to the last reported sale three weeks ago, similar sales of steers sold 10.00-20.00 higher with some calves selling up to 30.00 higher. Heifers sold firm to 10.00 higher.
Kingsville Livestock Auction · Missouri

No trends as this was a Special Carlot Feeder Cattle Sale and BBQ. A sharply lower undertone was noted on stocker and feeder cattle. Feeder cattle futures posted $2.80 to $4 losses on Tuesday. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down 13 cents on September 14 to $341.58.
Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

Compared to last Tuesday the feeder market was stronger with a good quality offering. Feeder steers and heifers 600 lbs and under were sharply higher across all weight classes with a good supply and strong demand for quality cattle and weaned packages and groups.
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Steer and heifer calves traded mostly firm to 10.00 higher, with instances of up to 15.00 higher on a higher quality kinds with at least two rounds of shots. Quite a few yearlings were on offer today, but do to last weeks light test no trend is available.
Lonestar Stockyards · Texas

No Feeder Cattle Sale last week, comparisons made to two weeks ago. Feeder Steers 500 to 550 10.00 higher other classes of Feeder Steers not well compared; Feeder Heifers 900 to 950 10.00 to 12.00 higher, 950 to 1000 8.00 to 10.00 higher, 1000 to 1050 10.00 to 12.00 higher.
Philip Livestock Auction · South Dakota

Compared to last report feeder cattle sold unevenly steady. While slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher, with slaughter bulls selling steady on a light test. Trade was active with a good demand and a moderate supply.
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UT · Utah

Compared to last week, Feeder Steers and Heifers mostly steady to 15.00 higher. Feeder Bulls steady to 10.00 lower. Slaughter Cows steady to 4.00 higher. Slaughter Bulls 5.00 lower. Quality and demand good.
Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TN · Tennessee

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	277.19/cwt	$6.13 lower	311
Boner (85% lean)	280.10/cwt	$13.23 lower	1,453
Cutter (90% lean)	284.36/cwt	$5.82 lower	2,728
Premium White	311.56/cwt	$2.44 lower	1,652
Bull (92% lean)	336.59/cwt	$4.62 higher	303

Reports published

See every report →

106 USDA reports carried this date — sale barns, state summaries, video and board sales, grain, hay and the national desks.

Source: USDA AMS. Every figure is USDA's as filed, and the direction words — higher, lower, steady— follow the arithmetic rather than an opinion. Quoted comment is the work of USDA market reporters, credited to the sale it came from. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of USDA data, not a copy of USDA's document and not endorsed by USDA.