The Morning Wire / Wed Aug 19, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Wed, Aug 19
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 18Aug 19Aug 20 →

The market in a line

Wed, Aug 19
Choice cutout closed $3.84 higher at $394.99. 50 barns across 24 states reported 2,772 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 lb524.56/cwt$11.97 lower2,560133
400-499 lb442.46/cwt$11.63 lower4,267143
500-599 lb396.78/cwt$5.05 lower5,729147
600-699 lb361.20/cwt$12.69 lower5,634143
700-799 lb338.19/cwt$15.84 lower5,032117
800-899 lb328.98/cwt$9.99 lower6,27685

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 19, weighted by head. Spread of $143.52 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
Winter Livestock - Dodge CityKS482.83/cwt38
Torrington Livestock Commission CompanyWY444.14/cwt53
Springfield Livestock Marketing CenterMO417.12/cwt34
South Central Regional StockyardsMO414.87/cwt83
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY398.82/cwt22
Southern Oklahoma Livestock AuctionOK398.70/cwt76
North Wilkesboro Livestock AuctionNC398.10/cwt25
North Arkansas Livestock AuctionAR387.02/cwt32
Campbellsville Livestock AuctionKY386.76/cwt28
Clovis Livestock AuctionNM377.97/cwt98
Savannah Livestock AuctionTN377.28/cwt42
Brundidge StockyardsAL373.71/cwt20
Roanoke StockyardsAL366.85/cwt55
AshburnGA360.86/cwt62
Lucedale Livestock AuctionMS360.58/cwt24
Arcadia Stockyard (Wed)FL352.46/cwt77
Norwood Livestock AuctionNC339.31/cwt20

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 19 USDA
Choice $394.99, $3.84 higher. Select $364.17, $2.12 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $30.82. 87 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
23,926 head traded Aug 13–Aug 19.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered361.962,705
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB226.343,966
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered361.1910,361

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, heifers 650 lbs and over sold 5.00 to 9.00 lower. Stocker steers and heifers, 300 lbs to 550 lbs sold 10.00 to 20.00 higher. Feeder steers, not enough for market test, weak undertone noted. Slaughter cows sold steady, soft undertone. Good demand for light to moderate supply.

Winter Livestock - Dodge City · Kansas

Compared to last week (7-29-26): Feeder steers were too lightly tested last sale to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all offerings under 950 lbs.

Public Auction Yards · Montana

No recent comparisons available although feeder prices were unevenly steady with the last reported sale four weeks ago. Slaughter cows sold with a lower undertone. Supply moderate. Demand moderate to good.

South Central Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to last week with uneven trade. Steers 5.00 to 15.00 higher. Heifers steady to 10.00 higher. Quality was plain to average with a moderate trade. Very dry and extreme heat in the area.

Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to one week ago, slaughter cows 10.00 to 12.00 lower. slaughter bulls lightly tested, all feeder classes and replacement cows sharply lower.

Ashburn · Georgia

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 3.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers 5.00 to 15.00 lower.

Arcadia Stockyard (Wed) · Florida

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold 1.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder cattle sold 3.00 to 8.00 lower. Trade active with moderate demand on feeder calves. Replacement cattle sold sharply higher. Trade active with good demand on replacements.

Moulton Stockyards · Alabama

Average attendance at today's sale with nigh double the run compared to last week, especially with an increase in the Feeder Cattle offering. No market test on Feeders compared to last week, however, local demand is following with lower national trends overall.

Buckhannon Stockyards · West Virginia

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)308.63/cwt$2.15 higher459
Boner (85% lean)326.83/cwt$1.42 lower1,620
Cutter (90% lean)324.93/cwt$8.53 lower3,086
Premium White320.82/cwt$2.10 lower1,588
Bull (92% lean)370.02/cwt$1.30 higher470

What published

See every report →
95 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.