The Morning Wire / Sat Aug 15, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Sat, Aug 15
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 14Aug 15Aug 17 →

The market in a line

Sat, Aug 15
Choice cutout held near $375.30. 8 barns across 4 states reported 443 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 Sat, Aug 15, weighted by head. Spread of $0.20 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
Somerset Livestock AuctionKY375.39/cwt30
Crossville Livestock AuctionTN375.19/cwt21

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 8–Aug 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 Saturday the feeder market was lower with an average quality offering. Feeder steers and heifers were sharply lower across all weight classes with good supply and moderate demand.

Somerset Livestock Auction · Kentucky

No trends established, due to lack of comparable sales. However sharply lower undertones noted on Feeder Cattle. Fair quality and moderate demand.

Crossville Livestock Auction · Tennessee

Compared to last Saturday: Feeder steers and bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold steady. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady.

Campbellsville Livestock Auction · Kentucky

No market trends available due to limited comparable receipts, however, a lower undertone was noted for feeder and slaughter classes, due in part to the recent downturn in the futures market and decreased buyer participation.

Greenville Livestock Auction - Greenville, TN · Tennessee

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 →
9 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.