The Morning Wire / Wed Aug 12, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Wed, Aug 12
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 11Aug 12Aug 13 →

The market in a line

Wed, Aug 12
Choice cutout held near $372.28. 47 barns across 23 states reported 2,724 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Aug 10 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 lb536.53/cwt$15.56 higher2,410129
400-499 lb454.09/cwt$1.70 lower4,267152
500-599 lb401.83/cwt$12.41 lower6,255153
600-699 lb373.89/cwt$13.62 lower7,091152
700-799 lb354.03/cwt$9.39 lower6,343136
800-899 lb338.97/cwt$11.78 lower7,82985

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 12, weighted by head. Spread of $114.02 between the top and bottom of 19 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
Torrington Livestock Commission CompanyWY457.83/cwt60
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY456.40/cwt113
Albany Livestock AuctionKY434.49/cwt43
Windsor Livestock AuctionMO427.59/cwt74
Clovis Livestock AuctionNM422.78/cwt109
Campbellsville Livestock AuctionKY412.21/cwt31
Springfield Livestock Marketing CenterMO412.11/cwt158
Savannah Livestock AuctionTN410.51/cwt39
AshburnGA389.57/cwt137
Arcadia Stockyard (Wed)FL386.04/cwt62
Southern Oklahoma Livestock AuctionOK380.00/cwt90
Roanoke StockyardsAL375.56/cwt43
Lucedale Livestock AuctionMS370.22/cwt57
Brundidge StockyardsAL365.50/cwt22
Johnson StockyardMS359.72/cwt21
Orangeburg Livestock AuctionSC358.90/cwt51
Norwood Livestock AuctionNC354.93/cwt34
Frisco City StockyardsAL352.59/cwt28
Winter Livestock - Dodge CityKS343.81/cwt21

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 12 USDA
Choice $372.28, $0.97 higher. Select $349.81, $0.01 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.47. 105 loads traded.

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 10.00 20.00 lower with extreme heat in the area. Quality was plain to average with a moderate demand.

Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to a week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady, feeder steers, bulls, and heifers steady, steer calves steady to 2.00 lower, bull and heifer calves steady, replacement cows mostly steady.

Ashburn · Georgia

Compared to one week ago: Feeder steers sold steady, feeder heifers sold 5.00 to 8.00 lower, feeder bulls sold sharply lower. Slaughter cows sold 8.00 to 10.00 lower, slaughter bulls sold sharply lower. Replacement cows and pairs sold mostly steady.

Roanoke Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to last week, Feeder Steers $6.00-$12.00 lower, Feeder Heifers $7.00-$13.00 lower, Feeder Bulls $13.00-$19.00 lower, Slaughter Cows $8.00-$10.00 lower, Slaughter Bulls not well established but sold with a lower undertone. Quality fair to fancy, Demand good.

Savannah Livestock Auction · Tennessee

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 4.00 to 6.00 lower, while feeder cattle were 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Trade and demand were moderate with moderate offerings. Quality of cattle was average. 22 head Goats: 85.00- 300.00; 26 head Sheep: 50.00 - 260.00: 2 head Baby Calves: 375.00 - 750.00

Norwood Livestock Auction · North Carolina

Compared to last week: Feeder calves sold 1-15 lower in all classes. Slaughter cattle sold steady but were lightly tested. In addition to the sale there was1 Load of heifers sold on the board, 66 head, 795lbs. $3.0975/lb.

Johnson Stockyard · Mississippi

Compared to last week's sale slaughter steers sold 1.00 to 4.00 higher. Slaughter heifers sold 6.00 to 6.50 higher. Slaughter cows sold 6.00 to 13.00 lower. Holstein bull calves sold 30.00 to 35.00 lower.

Finger Lakes Livestock Auction · New York

Compared to last week, slaughter steers and heifers traded steady to 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Slaughter dairy steers sold 2.00 lower. Slaughter dairy cross steers and heifers were lightly tested, however, a lower tone was noted. Trade was active with moderate demand.

Greenville Livestock Auction · Illinois

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)309.60/cwt$5.55 lower442
Boner (85% lean)326.64/cwt$8.16 lower1,470
Cutter (90% lean)327.88/cwt$9.90 lower2,933
Premium White321.12/cwt$3.74 lower1,641
Bull (92% lean)368.90/cwt$3.34 lower337

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.