The Morning Wire / Mon Aug 17, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Mon, Aug 17
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 15Aug 17Aug 18 →

The market in a line

Mon, Aug 17
Choice cutout closed $4.27 higher at $379.57. 50 barns across 17 states reported 3,291 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Aug 17 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 lb523.90/cwt$12.63 lower2,240118
400-499 lb434.44/cwt$19.65 lower3,587126
500-599 lb388.91/cwt$12.92 lower4,978130
600-699 lb361.28/cwt$12.61 lower5,283126
700-799 lb338.67/cwt$15.36 lower4,710104
800-899 lb328.40/cwt$10.57 lower5,30571

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Mon, Aug 17, weighted by head. Spread of $117.82 between the top and bottom of 17 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
Farmers Livestock Exchange, Inc.VA463.42/cwt34
West Point Livestock AuctionNE448.40/cwt79
Oklahoma National Stockyards MarketOK399.75/cwt155
Lynchburg Livestock Market, Inc.VA397.61/cwt74
Joplin Regional StockyardsMO394.91/cwt379
Cleburne County Livestock AuctionAR390.12/cwt67
Tulsa Stockyards Inc.OK381.63/cwt54
Cattlemans Livestock Auction - West Point, MSMS378.68/cwt64
Turnersburg Livestock AuctionNC378.54/cwt21
Dickson Livestock AuctionTN375.33/cwt71
Roswell Livestock AuctionNM371.03/cwt43
DonalsonvilleGA369.66/cwt26
Arcadia Stockyard (Mon)FL369.20/cwt41
Tadlock Livestock AuctionMS363.78/cwt88
Giddings Livestock CommissionTX362.40/cwt163
Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Mon)FL348.28/cwt30
GreensboroGA345.60/cwt30

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 17 USDA
Choice $379.57, $4.27 higher. Select $364.26, $13.02 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $15.31. 81 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.

CLOSE Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady to 10.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold 2.00-12.00 lower. Supply was light with moderate demand. The largest draft of the day was 465 steers weighing 961 lbs. which sold for 306.25/cwt.

Joplin Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to two weeks ago: Feeder steers over 900 lbs and heavier 5.00 to 10.00 lower, feeder heifers 10.00 to 20.00 lower. Moderate demand for yearling steers and heifers after the sharp downturn of the futures contracts and cash fed cattle markets.

Sioux Falls Regional Livestock · South Dakota

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers 5.00-15.00 lower. Steer and heifer calves 10.00-20.00 lower. Demand moderate for feeder cattle. Demand light to moderate for calves as summer's heat seems relentless.

Oklahoma National Stockyards Market · Oklahoma

Compared to last week, feeder cattle receipts increased, with offerings consisting primarily of plainer-quality cattle. Feeder steers sold $15.00 to $20.00 lower, while feeder heifers sold unevenly, ranging from $10.00 lower to $10.00 higher.

Cleburne County Livestock Auction · Arkansas

Compared to last week Feeder Steers & Feeder Bulls $15.00-$26.00 lower with instances of $30.00-$40.00 lower. Feeder Heifers $12.00-$26.00 lower, Slaughter Cows $4.00-$6.00 lower, Slaughter Bulls not well established but sold with a lower undertone. Quality fair to good. Demand good.

Dickson Livestock Auction · Tennessee

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady. Feeder classes sold 2.00 to 8.00 lower with instances up to 15.00 lower. Replacement cows and pairs sold steady. Trade active with moderate to good demand on feeder cattle.

Dothan Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle 5.00 lower. Feeder cattle 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Replacement type cows 5.00 to 10.00 lower.

Columbia Livestock Market · Florida

Compared to one week earlier, Slaughter Cows and Slaughter Bulls lightly tested, Replacement Cattle steady to 3.00 higher, All Feeder Classes lightly tested.

Eastanollee · Georgia

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)313.91/cwt$5.11 higher404
Boner (85% lean)325.23/cwt$2.75 lower1,087
Cutter (90% lean)323.15/cwt$5.13 lower1,844
Premium White324.07/cwt$0.70 lower1,655
Bull (92% lean)369.29/cwt$1.83 higher258

What published

See every report →
106 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.