The Morning Wire / Wed Oct 7, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Wed, Oct 7
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

The market in a line

Wed, Oct 7
Choice cutout closed $3.31 lower at $375.62. 55 barns across 24 states reported 3,594 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Oct 5 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 lb533.84/cwt$20.03 higher4,660163
400-499 lb482.80/cwt$20.94 higher15,688181
500-599 lb430.36/cwt$15.70 higher26,018183
600-699 lb380.51/cwt$14.13 higher15,892182
700-799 lb344.45/cwt$0.58 higher8,153163
800-899 lb334.06/cwt$1.13 higher8,928120

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, Oct 7, weighted by head. Spread of $80.00 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
St. Onge LivestockSD457.16/cwt376
Torrington Livestock Commission CompanyWY450.95/cwt326
Huss LivestockNE449.12/cwt121
Bloomfield Livestock AuctionIA441.40/cwt343
BassettNE435.12/cwt26
Hub City Livestock AuctionSD435.00/cwt34
Creston Livestock AuctionIA427.32/cwt154
Windsor Livestock AuctionMO420.41/cwt136
'R' Livestock ConnectionUT418.80/cwt191
La JuntaCO413.50/cwt315
Clovis Livestock AuctionNM412.51/cwt145
Public Auction YardsMT409.95/cwt39
Winter Livestock - Dodge CityKS406.91/cwt128
Green City Livestock AuctionMO402.06/cwt29
Farmington Regional StockyardsMO400.41/cwt58
SterlingCO396.50/cwt79
Arcadia Stockyard (Wed)FL386.85/cwt58
Green Forest StockyardsAR383.84/cwt22
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY378.81/cwt45
Lafayette Livestock AuctionTN377.16/cwt23

Boxed beef

PM close · Oct 7 USDA
Choice $375.62, $3.31 lower. Select $354.21, $2.13 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $21.41. 114 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
24,298 head traded Sep 26–Oct 2.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered348.452,602
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB345.0040
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered220.75283
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB219.387,538
NebraskaDressed Delivered346.108,344
NebraskaLive Delivered226.00700

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 600 lbs and heifers over 650 lbs, both up to 850 lbs, sold 20.00 higher. Steers and heifers over 850 lbs sold 5.00 higher. Several were off grass and in green condition. Steers and heifers under 650 lbs sold steady, soft undertone noted.

Winter Livestock - Dodge City · Kansas

Compared to two weeks ago, steer and heifer calves 400-650 lbs sold unevenly steady and feeder steers over 900 lbs sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Demand was moderate to good from the buyers in the crowd with internet activity noticed.

Huss Livestock · Nebraska

Compared to last week (9-30-26): Feeder cattle were all too lightly tested in any weight category to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average with most offerings seen in small packages or as singles.

Public Auction Yards · Montana

Compared to last week. Steers and Heifers 5.00 to 15.00 higher. Quality was plain to average with a good demand as there was a good rain in the area last week.

Southern Oklahoma Livestock Auction · Oklahoma

Compared to last week, slaughter cows and bulls were 2.00-5.00 lower. Demand was good on a moderate supply of slaughter animals and a heavy supply of replacement cattle. The top slaughter bulls sold for 200.00/cwt. and the top slaughter cow sold for 155.00/cwt.

Ozarks Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers steady to 5.00 higher.

Arcadia Stockyard (Wed) · Florida

Heavier run compared to last week, similar offering of Slaughter Cattle but doubling the number of Feeders, few Sheep and Goats. Average attendance pursued active trade throughout. Feeders too spread out across the weights to establish a good market test;

Buckhannon Stockyards · West Virginia

Compared to the last tested market five weeks ago, steers and heifers 2.00 to 10.00 higher. Slaughter cows 9.00 to 15.00 lower. Mostly backgrounded yearlings on offer with only a couple consignments of weaned calves so far this fall. Supply moderate, demand good.

Green City Livestock Auction · Missouri

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)252.62/cwt$3.28 higher397
Boner (85% lean)265.12/cwt$0.84 higher1,751
Cutter (90% lean)269.32/cwt$0.57 lower3,818
Premium White280.73/cwt$2.67 lower1,140
Bull (92% lean)324.08/cwt$1.54 lower334

What published

See every report →
97 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.