The Morning Wire / Wed Aug 5, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Wed, Aug 5
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 4Aug 5Aug 6 →

The market in a line

Wed, Aug 5
Choice cutout closed $1.68 lower at $367.97. 48 barns across 22 states reported 3,113 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Aug 3 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 lb520.97/cwt$7.73 lower2,144132
400-499 lb455.79/cwt$13.49 higher3,874147
500-599 lb414.24/cwt$14.95 higher6,223157
600-699 lb387.51/cwt$15.57 higher6,926156
700-799 lb363.42/cwt$12.71 higher5,686134
800-899 lb350.75/cwt$8.69 higher8,51394

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Wed, Aug 5, weighted by head. Spread of $59.75 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
Winter Livestock - Dodge CityKS440.93/cwt39
Springfield Livestock Marketing CenterMO439.53/cwt78
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY432.66/cwt62
Owenton Livestock AuctionKY428.98/cwt21
Windsor Livestock AuctionMO425.76/cwt161
McMinnville Livestock AuctionTN420.49/cwt207
Columbia Livestock AuctionTN420.27/cwt33
'R' Livestock ConnectionUT417.02/cwt61
Southern Oklahoma Livestock AuctionOK415.53/cwt85
North Arkansas Livestock AuctionAR411.98/cwt31
Campbellsville Livestock AuctionKY411.22/cwt28
Clovis Livestock AuctionNM403.31/cwt118
Savannah Livestock AuctionTN396.92/cwt25
AshburnGA396.51/cwt73
Lafayette Livestock AuctionTN396.17/cwt28
Norwood Livestock AuctionNC395.13/cwt49
Arcadia Stockyard (Wed)FL390.49/cwt61
Lucedale Livestock AuctionMS387.10/cwt47
Brundidge StockyardsAL382.79/cwt32
Roanoke StockyardsAL381.18/cwt33

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 5 USDA
Choice $367.97, $1.68 lower. Select $348.06, $1.56 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $19.91. 109 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
30,529 head traded Jul 30–Aug 5.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered373.722,639
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB365.0070
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered235.821,542
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB234.227,582
KansasDressed Delivered370.0039
KansasLive FOB232.881,441

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 sale; Steer calves sold 10.00-20.00 higher except 550-600 lbs being 7.00 lower. Feeder steers were steady-12.00 lower with few higher. Heifer calves and feeder heifers sold higher. Trade and demand were strong on larger numbers.

Clovis Livestock Auction · New Mexico

Compared to one week ago, slaughter cows 5.00 to 7.00 lower, slaughter bulls unevenly steady, feeder steers and heifers sharply higher, feeder bulls 5.00 to 10.00 higher and replacement cows steady.

Ashburn · Georgia

Compared to two weeks ago, steer and heifer feeders and stocker calves, not enough for market test. 55 reputation heifers weighing 932 lbs sold 305.00 cwt; 55 reputation heifers weighing 926 lbs sold 306.00 cwt.

Winter Livestock - Dodge City · Kansas

Compared to last week. With a very uneven trend Steers 15.00 to 25.00 higher. Heifers 10.00 to 20.00 higher. Quality was plain to average with a good demand.

Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to the last tested market five weeks ago, yearling cattle traded 5.00 to 15.00 lower. Slaughter cows 5.00 to 7.00 lower. This week's offering was made up of almost entirely load lots of backgrounded yearlings. Supply light, demand moderate.

Green City Livestock Auction · Missouri

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers 2.00 to 5.00 lower.

Arcadia Stockyard (Wed) · Florida

Compared to last week (7-29-26): Feeder cattle were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was mostly average with a few attractive consignments of yearling heifers noticed.

Public Auction Yards · Montana

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold sharply lower. Replacement cattle sold firm. All feeder classes sold sharply higher. Trade was active with good demand on feeder cattle.

Frisco City Stockyards · Alabama

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)319.67/cwt$3.57 higher382
Boner (85% lean)334.53/cwt$2.41 lower1,556
Cutter (90% lean)332.70/cwt$5.57 lower2,919
Premium White327.74/cwt$0.50 lower2,087
Bull (92% lean)376.94/cwt$0.98 higher358

What published

See every report →
92 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.