The Morning Wire / Mon Sep 28, 2026

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Mon, Sep 28
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Sep 26Sep 28Sep 29 →

The market in a line

Mon, Sep 28
Choice cutout closed $1.65 higher at $380.48. 56 barns across 18 states reported 4,245 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Sep 28 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 lb510.13/cwt$4.64 lower2,849119
400-499 lb439.52/cwt$21.79 lower5,690128
500-599 lb396.47/cwt$9.10 lower9,219132
600-699 lb362.36/cwt$1.33 lower9,073127
700-799 lb342.87/cwt$3.90 lower6,639114
800-899 lb331.49/cwt$3.55 lower6,71276

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, Sep 28, weighted by head. Spread of $67.67 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
Russell Livestock Auction - IowaIA434.29/cwt299
Callaway Livestock CenterMO432.17/cwt220
Meridian Livestock AuctionMS402.41/cwt23
Harned Livestock AuctionKY400.60/cwt22
Lexington Livestock Auction - KentuckyKY399.45/cwt28
Cleburne County Livestock AuctionAR393.35/cwt68
Tina LivestockMO392.24/cwt21
Joplin Regional StockyardsMO391.96/cwt723
Tulsa Stockyards Inc.OK388.40/cwt127
Farmers Livestock Exchange, Inc.VA387.16/cwt80
Cattlemans Livestock Auction - West Point, MSMS381.28/cwt47
Oklahoma National Stockyards MarketOK378.82/cwt400
Tadlock Livestock AuctionMS378.19/cwt81
Glasgow Livestock AuctionKY377.35/cwt34
Lynchburg Livestock Market, Inc.VA376.98/cwt55
Paris Livestock AuctionKY376.58/cwt23
Ashville StockyardsAL370.71/cwt36
Arcadia Stockyard (Mon)FL367.68/cwt37
Dickson Livestock AuctionTN366.70/cwt135
Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Mon)FL366.62/cwt28

Boxed beef

PM close · Sep 28 USDA
Choice $380.48, $1.65 higher. Select $358.23, $2.47 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.25. 105 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
12,385 head traded Sep 19–Sep 25.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered350.042,026
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered219.6955
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB219.984,041
NebraskaDressed Delivered346.255,527
NebraskaLive FOB221.38736

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 from 7.00 higher to 10.00 lower with the most gain on seven weight steers. Feeder heifers sold steady to 15.00 lower with the exception of six weight heifers which sold 7.00 higher. Supply was heavy with good demand.

Joplin Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to last week: Feeder steers mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Feeder heifers unevenly steady. Demand good for feeder cattle. Steer calves 5.00-15.00 lower. Heifer calves 2.00-8.00 lower. Demand moderate for calves. Quality average to attractive, end plain.

Oklahoma National Stockyards Market · Oklahoma

Compared to last week, Slaughter Steers and Heifers traded $10.00-$15.00 lower. Market prices dropped $10.00/cwt towards the end of the sale with the absence of high volume buyers. The Slaughter Dairy Cow market traded steady.

New Holland Sale Stables · Pennsylvania

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower, slaughter bulls sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder steers sold 2.00 to 12.00 lower, feeder heifers and feeder bulls sold unevenly steady. Replacement cattle sold steady.

Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Mon) · Florida

Compared to last sale; Much needed and appreciated rain in the area kept numbers much lower. Steer calves and feeder steers had no comparable sales but lower market was evident. Heifer calves 350-400 lbs sold steady with 450-600 lbs being lower. Feeder heifers 600-650 lbs sold 10.00 higher.

Roswell Livestock Auction · New Mexico

Compared to a week ago, Slaughter Cows and Bulls steady, Replacement Cattle steady, Feeder Cattle mostly steady.

Eastanollee · Georgia

Compared to last week: Steers over 500 Lbs. were unevenly steady with instances of 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Steers under 500 lbs. didn't have enough comparable trades to test trends but a low undertone was noted. Heifers were unevenly steady. Quality was plain to average. Demand was moderate.

Tulsa Stockyards Inc. · Oklahoma

Compared to last week, steer calves under 550 lbs were lightly tested, the best test was on steers weighing 550-700 lbs trading steady to firm, with 700-750 lbs selling with a firm to higher undertone and over 850 lbs were not tested.

Callaway Livestock Center · Missouri

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)256.93/cwt$1.90 lower415
Boner (85% lean)272.27/cwt$1.56 higher1,624
Cutter (90% lean)279.44/cwt$4.29 higher3,551
Premium White290.82/cwt$1.76 lower1,178
Bull (92% lean)329.20/cwt$4.88 higher488

What published

See every report →
104 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.