The Morning Wire / Fri Aug 14, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Fri, Aug 14
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

The market in a line

Fri, Aug 14
Choice cutout held near $375.30. 13 barns across 11 states reported 621 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

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 14 USDA
Choice $375.30, $0.60 lower. Select $351.24, $2.00 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $24.06. 76 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
21,970 head traded Aug 8Aug 14.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.502,377
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB227.802,986
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered364.349,997

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 850 to 999 lbs 16.00 to 20.00 lower. A string of steers and a couple loads off grass and a string of yard steers made up today's offering which was met with moderate demand. Despite mostly attractive quality and flesh condition, market activity was moderate at best.

Herreid Livestock Market · South Dakota

A few lot loads with rest packages of heifers and steers. Some coming off dry short grass. With heifers being preg. checked open plus a few spayed, and a few weaned fall calves. Prices on the mixed side prices higher on some weights while lower on others from three weeks ago.

Crawford · Nebraska

compared to last weeks light test with little comparison calves under 600 pounds sold with a lower undertone and feeder steers and heifers sold with a sharply lower undertone with Tyson making the announcement of closing three beef processing plants with the Joslin IL plant being one of the three cl…

Eastern Missouri Commission Company · Missouri

Compared to last week; slaughter and feeder cows started out the day selling 10.00 lower and by mid morning changing selling steady throughout the rest of the day. Slaughter bulls traded 2.00 higher on comparable trades.

Torrington Livestock Commission Company · Wyoming

Slaughter cattle were 8.00 lower this week compared to last week . Feeder cattle were 6.00 to 10.00 lower this week compared to last week . Demand was moderate ; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings light with quality average .

Siler City Livestock Auction · North Carolina

Compared to last week, despite excessive heat and triple-digit temperatures, receipts were moderate, with some quality offerings available. Demand was light, as the hot temperatures negatively affected buyer demand, along with weakness in feeder cattle futures.

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Inc. · Arkansas

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)308.80/cwt$3.13 lower461
Boner (85% lean)327.98/cwt$0.45 lower1,751
Cutter (90% lean)328.29/cwt$0.20 lower2,659
Premium White324.77/cwt$2.99 lower1,747
Bull (92% lean)367.46/cwt$0.52 lower373

What published

See every report →
45 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.