Cull cows are not a rounding error. For most cow-calf operations the cows and bulls that leave the herd each year are a real share of the money that comes in — and unlike the calf crop, they sell into a market that reports every single day.
Today the average cow sold dressed brought $274.95/cwt against a cow cutout of $315.95.
| Class | Dressed | vs prior day | Head | Live | Head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breaker (75% lean) | $256.38 | +1.63 | 645 | — | — |
| Boner (85% lean) | $267.20 | +2.01 | 1,979 | $126.67 | 13 |
| Cutter (90% lean) | $271.64 | +0.98 | 3,366 | $122.51 | 181 |
| Premium White | $288.69 | +2.24 | 1,597 | $119.42 | 7 |
| Bull (92% lean) | $321.95 | −0.89 | 352 | $182.71 | 7 |
A thin live quote can move on a handful of cows, which is why the dressed price leads. The two are never averaged together — they are different weight bases. Dressed combines FOB and delivered, which USDA reports as two halves of the same market. Classes are USDA's, graded on lean percentage.
The beef that comes off cull cattle — the grinding and processing beef that ends up as hamburger, not the steaks off a fed steer. Both figures here are dressed weight, so they compare directly.
| Class | EASTERN AREA | NORTHWEST | SOUTHWEST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaker (75% lean) | $227.58 12 hd | $253.10 175 hd | $260.52 421 hd |
| Boner (85% lean) | $259.20 273 hd | $269.75 253 hd | $274.51 919 hd |
| Cutter (90% lean) | $272.05 550 hd | $277.05 272 hd | $282.51 1,034 hd |
| Premium White | $270.94 101 hd | $298.69 612 hd | $284.94 806 hd |
| Bull (92% lean) | $317.36 36 hd | $317.18 49 hd | $325.24 248 hd |
Either no cattle of that description traded, or too few buyers reported for the price to be printed without identifying one of them. Regions are USDA's own areas for this report and do not match the fed cattle regions.
LM_CT103 and LM_XB405, daily since May 2022.LM_CT103 is the National Daily Direct Cow and Bull Report; LM_XB405 is the daily cow cutout. Both publish each business day. Prices are weighted averages: SUM(price × head) ÷ SUM(head).
Figures marked USDA are as reported; those marked Derived are our arithmetic on USDA numbers, with the method stated beside them. This site is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the USDA.