The Morning Wire / Mon Sep 28, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Mon, Sep 28

● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

← Sep 26Sep 28Sep 29 →

Summary

Mon, Sep 28

Choice cutout closed $1.65 higher at $380.48. 56 barns across 18 states reported 4,245 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Sep 28 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	513.81/cwt	$0.21 lower	3,901	167
400-499 lb	461.86/cwt	$0.99 higher	10,799	180
500-599 lb	414.66/cwt	$9.25 higher	17,632	184
600-699 lb	366.38/cwt	$2.76 higher	12,358	176
700-799 lb	343.87/cwt	$2.87 lower	8,586	165
800-899 lb	332.93/cwt	$2.10 lower	10,110	116

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Mon, Sep 28, weighted by head. Spread of $67.67 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
Russell Livestock Auction - Iowa	IA	434.29/cwt	299
Callaway Livestock Center	MO	432.17/cwt	220
Meridian Livestock Auction	MS	402.41/cwt	23
Harned Livestock Auction	KY	400.60/cwt	22
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	399.45/cwt	28
Cleburne County Livestock Auction	AR	393.35/cwt	68
Tina Livestock	MO	392.24/cwt	21
Joplin Regional Stockyards	MO	391.96/cwt	723
Tulsa Stockyards Inc.	OK	388.40/cwt	127
Farmers Livestock Exchange, Inc.	VA	387.16/cwt	80
Cattlemans Livestock Auction - West Point, MS	MS	381.28/cwt	47
Oklahoma National Stockyards Market	OK	378.82/cwt	400
Tadlock Livestock Auction	MS	378.19/cwt	81
Glasgow Livestock Auction	KY	377.35/cwt	34
Lynchburg Livestock Market, Inc.	VA	376.98/cwt	55
Paris Livestock Auction	KY	376.58/cwt	23
Ashville Stockyards	AL	370.71/cwt	36
Arcadia Stockyard (Mon)	FL	367.68/cwt	37
Dickson Livestock Auction	TN	366.70/cwt	135
Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Mon)	FL	366.62/cwt	28

Boxed beef

PM close · Sep 28 USDA

Choice $380.48, $1.65 higher. Select $358.23, $2.47 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.25. 105 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

12,385 head traded Sep 19–Sep 25.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	350.04	2,026
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	219.69	55
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	219.98	4,041
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	346.25	5,527
Nebraska	Live FOB	221.38	736

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.

CLOSE Compared to last week feeder steers sold from 7.00 higher to 10.00 lower with the most gain on seven weight steers. Feeder heifers sold steady to 15.00 lower with the exception of six weight heifers which sold 7.00 higher. Supply was heavy with good demand.
Joplin Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to last week: Feeder steers mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Feeder heifers unevenly steady. Demand good for feeder cattle. Steer calves 5.00-15.00 lower. Heifer calves 2.00-8.00 lower. Demand moderate for calves. Quality average to attractive, end plain.
Oklahoma National Stockyards Market · Oklahoma

Compared to last week: Yearling feeder steers 3.00 to 6.00 lower, yearling feeder heifers not well compared. Light fleshed heifers off grass sold higher compared to last week's heavier fleshed heifers, while those out of backgrounding yards carrying quite a bit of flesh were lower.
Sioux Falls Regional Livestock · South Dakota

Compared to the auction two weeks ago steers under 750 lbs. sold 3.00 to 20.00 higher, while steers over 750 lbs. sold mostly 9.00 to 27.00 lower. Heifers under 700 lbs. were not well compared and heifers over 700 lbs. sold 9.00 to 24.00 lower. There were several load lots in the offering today.
Russell Livestock Auction - Iowa · Iowa

Compared to last week, Feeder Steers & Feeder Bulls unevenly steady, Feeder Heifers steady-$5.00 higher. Stronger demand for value added calves (weaned 60+ days & 2 rounds of vaccinations.). Slaughter Cows $3.00-$4.00 lower, Slaughter Bulls $1.00-$2.00 lower.
Dickson Livestock Auction · Tennessee

Compared to last week, Slaughter Steers and Heifers traded $10.00-$15.00 lower. Market prices dropped $10.00/cwt towards the end of the sale with the absence of high volume buyers. The Slaughter Dairy Cow market traded steady.
New Holland Sale Stables · Pennsylvania

Compared to last weeks sale feeder steers and heifers sold STEADY. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold $2.00-$5.00 HIGHER.
Tadlock Livestock Auction · Mississippi

Total receipts were 1,277 compared to 1,224 last week. Feeder steers under 500 lbs. were 15.00 to 20.00 lower. The heavier feeder steers over 500 lbs. were 7.00 to 12.00 lower. Feeder heifers ere 10.00 to 15.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls were 5.00 lower.
Giddings Livestock Commission · Texas

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	256.93/cwt	$1.90 lower	415
Boner (85% lean)	272.27/cwt	$1.56 higher	1,624
Cutter (90% lean)	279.44/cwt	$4.29 higher	3,551
Premium White	290.82/cwt	$1.76 lower	1,178
Bull (92% lean)	329.20/cwt	$4.88 higher	488

Reports published

See every report →

145 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.