The Morning Wire / Thu Aug 13, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Thu, Aug 13
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

The market in a line

Thu, Aug 13
Choice cutout closed $3.62 higher at $375.90. 31 barns across 15 states reported 1,715 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 Thu, Aug 13, weighted by head. Spread of $80.72 between the top and bottom of 16 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
Paris Livestock AuctionKY443.75/cwt88
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY428.09/cwt21
Appalachian Regional Stockyard - WythevilleVA413.18/cwt153
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - KansasKS409.63/cwt34
Benton County Sale BarnAR409.13/cwt35
Wheeler Livestock AuctionMO408.73/cwt25
Glasgow Livestock AuctionKY400.27/cwt22
Woodward Livestock IncOK398.50/cwt44
Apache Livestock AuctionOK396.77/cwt73
Rockingham Livestock Sales, Inc.VA392.83/cwt40
Norwood Livestock AuctionNC390.26/cwt134
I-40 Livestock AuctionAR385.40/cwt27
Tulia Livestock AuctionTX384.52/cwt50
AthensGA372.68/cwt85
Hope Livestock Auction Inc.AR363.33/cwt32
Producers Livestock Auction Co - San AngeloTX363.03/cwt58

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 13 USDA
Choice $375.90, $3.62 higher. Select $349.24, $0.57 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $26.66. 113 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
22,500 head traded Aug 7Aug 13.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.812,307
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered238.53466
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB230.432,406
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB235.5070
NebraskaDressed Delivered365.309,923

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.

Special Cow Sale Tuesday August 18th Compared to last week, steers under 550 lbs not enough for market test. Steers over 600 lbs sold steady to 8.00 lower with the exception of steers weighing 800 - 850 lbs and 900 - 950lbs selling 5.00 to 10.00 higher.

Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - Kansas · Kansas

Compared to last Thursday, stocker and feeder cattle steady. Feeder cattle futures saw $1.40 to $3.52 losses across most contracts. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back up $3.44 on August 12 to $351.93. Slaughter cows weak to 6.00 lower. Slaughter bulls steady. Trade active with good demand.

Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and feeder heifers 5.00 to 15.00 lower. Steer calves 20.00 to 25.00 lower. Heifer calves 10.00 to 15.00 lower. Quality average to attractive with several fleshy new crop calves. Slaughter cows steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls 5.00 higher.

Apache Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to last sale (7-23-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on all offerings. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Several sets of yearlings coming off grass were seen this sale.

Billings Livestock Commission · Montana

Compared to last week, feeder steers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher, while feeder heifers and bulls sold 4.00 to 6.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold uneven; leans sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher, boners sold steady to 1.00 lower, and breakers sold 6.00 to 7.00 lower. Slaughter bulls overall sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher.

Producers Livestock Auction Co - San Angelo · Texas

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers under 600 lbs sold 6.00-15.00, mostly 10.00 lower, over 600 lbs sold 2.00-8.00 higher. Demand good for long weaned, vaccinated and worked cattle. Fleshy and cattle with too much hair are steeply discounted. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 4.00 lower.

I-40 Livestock Auction · Arkansas

Extreme hot temperatures today, compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Feeder cattle were 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Demand was moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average.

Smithfield Livestock Auction · North Carolina

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 600 lbs 12.00-15.00 higher, 600-800 lbs steady, over 800 lbs sharply lower, Feeder and yearling heifers steady to 5.00 lower, Good demand for feeder classes and moderate demand for yearlings.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)311.94/cwt$2.33 higher398
Boner (85% lean)328.44/cwt$1.79 higher1,529
Cutter (90% lean)328.49/cwt$0.60 higher2,796
Premium White327.76/cwt$6.64 higher2,274
Bull (92% lean)367.98/cwt$0.92 lower379

What published

See every report →
70 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.