The Morning Wire / Tue Oct 6, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Tue, Oct 6

● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

← Oct 5Oct 6Oct 7 →

Summary

Tue, Oct 6

Choice cutout held near $378.93. 60 barns across 25 states reported 4,028 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Oct 5 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	533.84/cwt	$20.03 higher	4,660	163
400-499 lb	482.80/cwt	$20.94 higher	15,688	181
500-599 lb	430.36/cwt	$15.70 higher	26,018	183
600-699 lb	380.51/cwt	$14.13 higher	15,892	182
700-799 lb	344.45/cwt	$0.58 higher	8,153	163
800-899 lb	334.06/cwt	$1.13 higher	8,928	120

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, Oct 6, weighted by head. Spread of $92.73 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
North Platte Stockyards	NE	473.64/cwt	150
Philip Livestock Auction	SD	462.48/cwt	2,102
Winter Livestock - Riverton, WY	WY	446.38/cwt	802
Miles City Livestock Commission	MT	444.42/cwt	747
Brookhaven Livestock Auction	MS	436.36/cwt	30
Toppenish Livestock Commission	WA	431.91/cwt	161
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UT	UT	427.40/cwt	434
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	425.25/cwt	118
Interstate Regional Stockyards	MO	421.34/cwt	33
Beaver Livestock Auction	OK	419.61/cwt	287
Lonestar Stockyards	TX	413.22/cwt	146
Buckhannon Stockyards	WV	409.98/cwt	70
Winter - La Junta	CO	409.50/cwt	280
Ozarks Regional Stockyards	MO	401.90/cwt	123
Kingsville Livestock Auction	MO	395.21/cwt	111
OKC West Livestock Market	OK	394.22/cwt	436
Virginia Cattle Company	VA	390.46/cwt	28
Arab Stockyards	AL	389.86/cwt	34
SEMO Livestock Sales	MO	388.72/cwt	38
Four State Stockyards	MO	380.91/cwt	89

Boxed beef

PM close · Oct 6 USDA

Choice $378.93, $0.67 higher. Select $356.34, $2.23 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.59. 125 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

24,298 head traded Sep 26–Oct 2.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	348.45	2,602
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	345.00	40
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	220.75	283
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	219.38	7,538
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	346.10	8,344
Nebraska	Live Delivered	226.00	700

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 unevenly steady. Feeder heifers steady to 4.00 higher. Most 7 weight steers carried either a calf-like or soft appearance.
OKC West Livestock Market · Oklahoma

First major calf and yearling special offering for fall run at Riverton Livestock Auction. Steers and heifers higher overtones throughout the day, with good buyer participation and demand for all classes. Quite a few new buyers on the seats with a very active internet.
Winter Livestock - Riverton, WY · Wyoming

Compared to last sale (9-29-26): All feeder steers and heifer calves were all too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend.
Miles City Livestock Commission · Montana

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers under 450 sold sharply lower. Feeder steers over 450 sold mostly sharply higher. Feeder heifers under 550 sold unevenly steady while heifers over 550 sold sharply higher. Slaughter breaker sow of average dressing sold 4.00 lower.
Winter - La Junta · Colorado

Compared to last report feeder cattle sold sharply higher on calves and yearlings. With breaker and boning slaughter cows selling steady to 5.00 higher, while lean cows sold 4.00 lower. With slaughter bulls selling 3.00 to 4.00 higher on a light test.
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UT · Utah

Compared to last week, the steers and a portion of the heifers sold steady to 10.00 lower. The exception was on the heifers weighing 500 to 800 lbs. that sold 10.00 higher. Quality and condition are key factors in the marketplace, currently, as we enter the season of fluctuating temperatures.
Kingsville Livestock Auction · Missouri

Special Carlot Feeder Cattle sale and BBQ. Compared to last Tuesday stocker steers less than 700 lbs 1.00-8.00 higher. Feeder steers over 700 lbs 3.00-11.00 lower. Heifers 2.00-11.00 higher.
Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

Compared to last week, Feeder Steers mostly steady to 15.00 higher. Feeder Heifers mostly steady. Feeder Bulls 5.00 lower. Slaughter Cows sharply lower, 5.00 to 15.00 off previous week. Slaughter Bulls 6.00 lower. Quality average to good, with several large groups of very good quality.
Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TN · Tennessee

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	249.34/cwt	$3.61 lower	416
Boner (85% lean)	264.27/cwt	$1.86 lower	1,924
Cutter (90% lean)	269.89/cwt	$2.17 higher	3,195
Premium White	283.40/cwt	$3.96 lower	1,257
Bull (92% lean)	325.62/cwt	$3.10 higher	329

Reports published

See every report →

105 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.