The Morning Wire / Thu Jul 2, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Thu, Jul 2
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Jul 1Jul 2Jul 6 →

The market in a line

Thu, Jul 2
Choice cutout closed $4.19 lower at $387.07. 8 barns across 6 states reported 261 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Jun 29 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 lb591.32/cwt$0.79 higher62327
400-499 lb515.11/cwt$6.19 higher1,66731
500-599 lb468.91/cwt$0.45 higher3,07232
600-699 lb434.17/cwt$1.56 higher3,51533
700-799 lb394.83/cwt$1.57 higher3,19932
800-899 lb360.38/cwt$4.76 lower5,11222

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, Jul 2, weighted by head. Spread of $43.86 between the top and bottom of 2 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
OgallalaNE498.93/cwt86
Woodward Livestock IncOK455.07/cwt53

Boxed beef

PM close · Jul 2 USDA
Choice $387.07, $4.19 lower. Select $367.43, $2.26 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $19.64. 112 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
28,573 head traded Jun 26–Jul 2.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered407.981,211
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB400.0080
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered259.002,181
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB257.056,364
KansasDressed FOB401.50141
KansasLive FOB255.358,403

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 and Heifers had too limited receipts from the previous week to trend. There was a higher undertone noted with an attractive quality and good demand. Steer and heifer calves were too light to test with few receipts.

Woodward Livestock Inc · Oklahoma

Compared to last Thursday, not enough stocker or feeder cattle this week for accurate trends. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was down 41 cents on June 30 to $376.99. The market will observe the July 4th Independence Day Holiday on Friday, for a 3-day weekend. Slaughter cows steady.

Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

Compared to last week's sale, Slaughter Choice Steers traded mostly 7.00 lower on a lighter supply. Slaughter Breaker Dairy Cows traded mostly steady. Slaughter Boner and Lean Dairy Cows traded mostly 3.00 lower. Light supply.

New Holland Sale Stables · Pennsylvania

Slaughter cattle sale today: Compared to last week. Choice steers and heifers were 2.75-4.25 higher, Dairy steers steady, slaughter cows were too lightly tested this week to get an accurate market trend, however a lower undertone was noticed. Trade active. Demand good.

Kalona Livestock Auction · Iowa

Compared to last week's sale slaughter cows sold steady. Holstein bull calves sold 10.00 to 30.00 lower. Beef cross bull calves sold 110.00 to 140.00 lower.

Empire - Bath · New York

Compared to last week. Slaughter Cows steady to 4.00 lower on lean Cows. Slaughter Bulls steady to 10.00 higher. Fair demand for replacements.

Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)320.62/cwt$8.39 higher523
Boner (85% lean)334.91/cwt$0.96 higher1,577
Cutter (90% lean)335.13/cwt$2.45 higher2,529
Premium White328.77/cwt$2.56 higher2,054
Bull (92% lean)373.38/cwt$0.42 higher391

What published

See every report →
39 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.