The Morning Wire / Thu Oct 15, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Thu, Oct 15
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Oct 14Oct 15Oct 16 →

Summary

Thu, Oct 15
Choice cutout closed $2.52 lower at $373.98. 33 barns across 19 states reported 1,974 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Oct 12 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 lb543.99/cwt$10.15 higher5,423170
400-499 lb488.37/cwt$5.57 higher18,357190
500-599 lb432.29/cwt$1.93 higher30,929190
600-699 lb385.05/cwt$4.54 higher20,559187
700-799 lb351.46/cwt$7.01 higher9,935156
800-899 lb337.17/cwt$3.11 higher8,977120

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, Oct 15, weighted by head. Spread of $88.06 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
ValentineNE464.71/cwt877
Mobridge Livestock ExchangeSD457.62/cwt1,413
OgallalaNE452.89/cwt950
Stockmen's Livestock ExchangeND446.21/cwt1,076
Billings Livestock CommissionMT437.54/cwt870
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - KansasKS433.33/cwt96
Lamoni Livestock AuctionIA430.66/cwt92
Winter Livestock - PrattKS430.59/cwt58
Cedar Livestock AuctionUT426.68/cwt74
Dalhart Livestock AuctionTX423.72/cwt71
Tulia Livestock AuctionTX410.77/cwt71
Benton County Sale BarnAR407.64/cwt86
Mo-Kan Livestock MarketMO405.92/cwt64
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY405.70/cwt44
Wheeler Livestock AuctionMO405.44/cwt227
Paris Livestock AuctionKY400.07/cwt107
Woodward Livestock IncOK392.08/cwt20
Apache Livestock AuctionOK388.25/cwt45
Mid Missouri StockyardsMO385.71/cwt77
Guthrie Livestock AuctionKY376.65/cwt56

Boxed beef

PM close · Oct 15 USDA
Choice $373.98, $2.52 lower. Select $352.62, $5.85 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $21.36. 101 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
10,242 head traded Oct 9–Oct 15.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered355.001,032
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB349.45511
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered220.0042
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB219.092,972
NebraskaDressed Delivered346.082,389
NebraskaDressed FOB345.00121

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: steer calves 400 to 499 lbs 10.00 higher with instances up to 18.00 higher on 400 to 449 lbs, 500 to 549 lbs mostly steady. Heifer calves 400 to 549 lbs mostly steady except 450 to 499 lbs 13.00 to 15.00 higher.

Mobridge Livestock Exchange · South Dakota

Compared to last week, steers were 5.00 - 18.00 lower and heifers were 6.00 - 8.00 lower. There was a few exceptins in steers and heifers. Demand was moderate to good with alot of internet action.

Ogallala · Nebraska

Compared to last sale (10-08-26): Yearling cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Steer calves under 400 lbs were too lightly tested last week to develop an accurate market trend, however higher to sharply higher undertones were noticed on a higher quality offering.

Billings Livestock Commission · Montana

Compared to last week: Steer calves 10.00 to 20.00 higher, except 450-550 lbs unevenly steady. Heifer calves 10.00 to 15.00 higher, except 400-450 lbs steady. Very good demand for this offering of very attractive, ranch raised steer and heifer calves.

Stockmen's Livestock Exchange · North Dakota

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold steady to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold mostly steady. There was good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 2.00 lower. There was good demand for slaughter classes.

Paris Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week, steers over 850 lbs sold steady to 10.00 higher, steers 600 lbs to 800 lbs sold steady. Steers under 550 lbs not well tested. Heifers not enough for market test across all weights. 34 head of 586 lbs reputation heifers sold for 413.00 cwt. Slaughter cows sold steady.

Winter Livestock - Pratt · Kansas

Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher. There was a good supply of weaned, vaccinated, and unweaned calves and yearlings in the offering. Most of the area saw some much needed rain showers, and the fall temps have finally arrived. Demand was good.

Wheeler Livestock Auction · Missouri

Compared to last week: What a difference late rains and unseasonably warm temperatures can do to an outlook. Wheat is starting to pop around the area bringing wheat calves to the forefront.

Dalhart Livestock Auction · Texas

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)245.89/cwt$1.78 lower376
Boner (85% lean)257.03/cwt$2.27 lower1,709
Cutter (90% lean)260.97/cwt$3.62 lower3,509
Premium White274.83/cwt$1.94 lower1,214
Bull (92% lean)317.86/cwt$3.72 lower426

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.