The Morning Wire / Thu Aug 27, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Thu, Aug 27
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Aug 26Aug 27Aug 28 →

The market in a line

Thu, Aug 27
Choice cutout closed $3.77 lower at $381.36. 28 barns across 16 states reported 1,652 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 Thu, Aug 27, weighted by head. Spread of $79.73 between the top and bottom of 15 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
Paris Livestock AuctionKY403.01/cwt64
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - KansasKS397.76/cwt22
Winter Livestock - PrattKS396.12/cwt25
Mo-Kan Livestock MarketMO395.17/cwt68
Woodward Livestock IncOK393.77/cwt83
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY390.31/cwt32
Guthrie Livestock AuctionKY389.97/cwt27
Apache Livestock AuctionOK376.34/cwt131
I-40 Livestock AuctionAR373.35/cwt30
Benton County Sale BarnAR370.63/cwt35
Dalhart Livestock AuctionTX369.71/cwt32
Mid Missouri StockyardsMO364.36/cwt35
Tulia Livestock AuctionTX354.34/cwt29
Producers Livestock Auction Co - San AngeloTX342.75/cwt63
Hope Livestock Auction Inc.AR323.28/cwt28

Boxed beef

PM close · Aug 27 USDA
Choice $381.36, $3.77 lower. Select $359.19, $3.49 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.17. 104 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
27,471 head traded Aug 21–Aug 27.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered351.152,722
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB340.0040
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered221.31205
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB220.795,393
NebraskaDressed Delivered345.509,678
NebraskaDressed FOB345.85480

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 over 750 lbs sold 4.00 to 7.00 lower and heifers over 700 lbs sold steady to 3.00 higher. Lighter calves, not enough for market test. Demand very good for high quality heavy weight calves coming off grass.

Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - Kansas · Kansas

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers mostly steady with few comparable sales versus last week: Steer calves steady to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves 5.00 to 15.00 lower. Demand was moderate. Quality average to plain.

Woodward Livestock Inc · Oklahoma

Compared to last sale (8-13-26): Feeder steers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Feeder heifers under 900 lbs sold generally steady in a narrow comparison, heifers over 900 lbs sold mostly 8.00-10.00 lower. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive.

Billings Livestock Commission · Montana

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 700 lbs mostly steady, over 700 lbs 3.00-5.00 lower, Feeder heifers under 500 lbs 8.00-12.00 lower, over 500 lbs mostly steady, Moderate demand for feeder and yearling classes.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday, Stocker steers steady in a light test. Stocker heifers firm to 3.00 higher. Feeder cattle 1.00-8.00 higher. Feeder cattle futures were $3.10 to $3.97 higher on the session with August expiring up $1 at $333.75.

Toppenish Livestock Commission · Washington

There have been no recent comparisons for an accurate trend but steers and heifers sold with a lower undertone with plenty of negative news around putting pressure on the market. Demand was moderate to good for a moderate supply. The yearling steers saw the best demand.

Mo-Kan Livestock Market · Missouri

Compared to a week ago: Due to the uncertainty of the beef market some of the consignors canceled for today. Trend not applicable. A higher undertone was noted on lighter steers, Steers 1000-1050 lbs. were 2.00 higher. A unevenly steady undertone was noted on heifers. Demand was good.

Mitchell Livestock Auction · South Dakota

Compared to last week, feeder cattle overall sold 2.00 to 6.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold on a light test due to light receipts last week, however a lower undertone was noted.

Producers Livestock Auction Co - San Angelo · Texas

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)302.35/cwt$1.15 lower455
Boner (85% lean)311.08/cwt$7.88 lower1,783
Cutter (90% lean)316.27/cwt$5.23 lower2,945
Premium White322.13/cwt$2.64 higher1,548
Bull (92% lean)356.77/cwt$6.16 lower518

What published

See every report →
61 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.