The Morning Wire / Tue Aug 25, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Tue, Aug 25
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 24Aug 25Aug 26 →

The market in a line

Tue, Aug 25
Choice cutout closed $2.84 higher at $388.53. 53 barns across 19 states reported 3,259 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Aug 24 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 lb479.93/cwt$44.63 lower2,173131
400-499 lb416.28/cwt$26.18 lower4,241154
500-599 lb371.00/cwt$25.78 lower5,891153
600-699 lb349.11/cwt$12.09 lower6,188155
700-799 lb334.62/cwt$3.57 lower5,752130
800-899 lb324.00/cwt$4.98 lower8,80594

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Tue, Aug 25, weighted by head. Spread of $54.73 between the top and bottom of 20 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
Lexington Livestock Auction - KentuckyKY395.97/cwt22
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UTUT392.66/cwt39
Lolli Brothers Livestock MarketMO388.01/cwt30
Springfield Livestock Auction - KentuckyKY385.63/cwt26
Virginia Cattle CompanyVA382.08/cwt24
OKC West Livestock MarketOK381.15/cwt246
Interstate Regional StockyardsMO374.69/cwt46
Ozarks Regional StockyardsMO365.75/cwt214
Beaver Livestock AuctionOK365.18/cwt158
Buckhannon StockyardsWV364.21/cwt24
Lonestar StockyardsTX363.21/cwt51
McAlester Union StockyardsOK361.87/cwt55
Uniontown StockyardsAL356.97/cwt71
Athens Regional Stockyard - Athens, TNTN356.66/cwt69
Townsend Livestock MarketFL348.49/cwt23
Flemingsburg Livestock AuctionKY347.22/cwt54
Four State StockyardsMO344.78/cwt57
Letohatchee StockyardsAL342.46/cwt64
Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market, IncFL341.58/cwt27
Shelby Livestock AuctionNC341.24/cwt40

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 25 USDA
Choice $388.53, $2.84 higher. Select $368.98, $3.96 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $19.55. 101 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
31,741 head traded Aug 19–Aug 25.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered352.934,008
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered221.31205
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB223.046,694
NebraskaDressed Delivered348.1012,171
NebraskaDressed FOB356.00204
NebraskaLive FOB223.278,459

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's light run, feeder steers and heifers were uneven from 5.00 lower to 5.00 higher, depending on the amount of pre-conditioning. Steer and heifer calves under 600 lbs. were 10.00-20.00 lower. Demand was moderate on a moderate supply.

Ozarks Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers 5.00 to 10.00 lower.

Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Tue) · Florida

Compared to last sale (8-11-26): Feeder steers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Feeder heifers were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive.

Miles City Livestock Commission · Montana

Compared to one week ago, slaughter cows and bulls steady to 5.00 lower, feeder steers lightly tested, feeder bulls steady to 10.00 lower, feeder heifers steady to 5.00 lower, all replacements steady to 10.00 higher.

Carnesville · Georgia

For today's Board Sale results, please see Buckhannon Stockyards Board Sale report. Average attendance for todays in barn sale, trade remained fairly brisk throughout despite current market conditions.

Buckhannon Stockyards · West Virginia

Compared to last week: Slaughter cows 2.00-6.00 lower. Slaughter bulls very lightly tested and few representative sale 10.00 lower conservatively. Packer demand moderate at best but demand for open cows returning to the country was moderate to good.

Oklahoma National Stockyards Market · Oklahoma

Compared to last week: Feeder calves sold 15.00 - 20.00 cheaper. Slaughter cattle sold steady to 5.00 lower.

Philadelphia Livestock Auction · Mississippi

Compared to the last reported sale two weeks ago, due to reporter absence last week, steers and heifers sold with a weak to lower undertone. Demand was moderate for a light to moderate supply.

Kingsville Livestock Auction · Missouri

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)305.57/cwt$9.78 lower503
Boner (85% lean)319.42/cwt$2.28 lower1,721
Cutter (90% lean)322.36/cwt$1.56 higher3,123
Premium White320.87/cwt$0.68 higher1,934
Bull (92% lean)363.12/cwt$1.95 lower417

What published

See every report →
98 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.