The Morning Wire / Thu Sep 17, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Thu, Sep 17
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18 →

Summary

Thu, Sep 17
Choice cutout closed $3.66 lower at $372.15. 32 barns across 19 states reported 1,949 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.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb498.30/cwt$13.88 higher2,902148
400-499 lb450.87/cwt$10.19 higher7,763167
500-599 lb403.36/cwt$12.77 higher12,243167
600-699 lb363.27/cwt$10.59 higher10,010163
700-799 lb344.17/cwt$4.48 higher7,980146
800-899 lb334.77/cwt$10.37 lower11,797109

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Thu, Sep 17, weighted by head. Spread of $86.54 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.
BarnStateAverageHead
New Cambria Livestock MarketMO447.23/cwt112
OgallalaNE445.49/cwt126
Mitchell Livestock AuctionSD435.10/cwt89
Fairview Livestock AuctionIL432.66/cwt145
Billings Livestock CommissionMT430.55/cwt90
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - KansasKS426.92/cwt107
Winter Livestock - PrattKS420.20/cwt25
Cedar Livestock AuctionUT410.01/cwt29
Dalhart Livestock AuctionTX400.86/cwt89
Mid Missouri StockyardsMO399.38/cwt40
Wheeler Livestock AuctionMO399.31/cwt31
Paris Livestock AuctionKY394.42/cwt59
Woodward Livestock IncOK389.49/cwt74
Virginia Livestock, LLCVA388.91/cwt41
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY385.35/cwt78
I-40 Livestock AuctionAR384.66/cwt62
Apache Livestock AuctionOK383.35/cwt27
Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TNTN383.17/cwt179
Benton County Sale BarnAR377.63/cwt32
Producers Livestock Auction Co - San AngeloTX360.69/cwt41

Boxed beef

PM close · Sep 17 USDA
Choice $372.15, $3.66 lower. Select $351.88, $2.69 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $20.27. 101 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
42,775 head traded Sep 11–Sep 17.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered350.958,599
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB349.48448
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered220.76457
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB222.0510,390
NebraskaDressed Delivered350.1615,656
NebraskaDressed FOB350.001,052

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, Steers weighing 500 lbs to 800 lbs sold 10.00 - 15.00 higher with steers over 800 lbs selling steady to 3.00 lower. Steers under 500 lbs not enough for market test.

Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - Kansas · Kansas

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and feeder heifers 2.00 to 7.00 higher. Steer calves and heifer calves 10.00 to 15.00 higher. Quality good to attractive with good demand. Slaughter cows 2.00 higher, lean cows 4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls steady.

Apache Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers under 900 lbs steady to 5.00 higher, over 900 lbs 1.00-3.00 lower, Feeder heifers under 500 lbs 8.00-12.00 lower, over 500 lbs steady, Moderate to good demand for feeder and yearling classes.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to the last sale (September 10, 2026): No market trend is available for feeder cattle due to limited comparable receipts, however, a lower undertone was noted for feeder steer classes and a higher undertone was noted for feeder heifers and bulls. Quality this week was mixed.

Billings Livestock Commission · Montana

Slaughter cattle sale today: Compared to last week. Choice steers and heifers were steady-1.00 higher, Dairy steers no comparison due to light receipts last week, slaughter cows Breakers and Boners were 2.00-2.50 higher, Lean cows were steady. Trade active. Demand good.

Kalona Livestock Auction · Iowa

Compared to last Thursday, stocker and feeder cattle firm in a light test. Feeder cattle futures were $3.55 to $5.27 lower on the session. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up 43 cents on September 16 to $343.17. Slaughter cows 2.00-7.00 lower. Slaughter bulls weak. Trade active with good demand.

Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

Compared to last week's sale, Slaughter Dairy Cows sold $5.00-$10.00 higher. Feeder Dairy Calves Holsteins traded $30.00-$50.00 higher while Beef Cross Calves were up $50.00-$100.00.

New Holland Sale Stables · Pennsylvania

Compared to last week, the best test of steers weighing 500lbs to 750lbs sold 8.00 to 23.00 higher. Heifers of the same weights sold 5.00 to 15.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls were mostly steady to 5.00 higher based on few comparisons with last week's light run.

Mid Missouri Stockyards · Missouri

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)274.61/cwt$0.65 lower521
Boner (85% lean)279.89/cwt$5.47 lower1,666
Cutter (90% lean)284.62/cwt$6.72 lower3,216
Premium White302.03/cwt$2.83 higher1,743
Bull (92% lean)329.14/cwt$3.96 lower463

Reports published

See every report →
68 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.