The Morning Wire / Tue Oct 13, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Tue, Oct 13

● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

← Oct 12Oct 13Oct 14 →

The market in a line

Tue, Oct 13

Choice cutout held near $375.15. 62 barns across 24 states reported 4,105 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Oct 12 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.

Weight	Price	vs prior week	Head	Barns
300-399 lb	543.99/cwt	$10.15 higher	5,423	170
400-499 lb	488.37/cwt	$5.57 higher	18,357	190
500-599 lb	432.29/cwt	$1.93 higher	30,929	190
600-699 lb	385.05/cwt	$4.54 higher	20,559	187
700-799 lb	351.46/cwt	$7.01 higher	9,935	156
800-899 lb	337.17/cwt	$3.11 higher	8,977	120

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, Oct 13, weighted by head. Spread of $64.64 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.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Winter Livestock - Riverton, WY	WY	456.13/cwt	682
Philip Livestock Auction	SD	455.20/cwt	2,746
Gordon	NE	451.61/cwt	117
North Platte Stockyards	NE	441.15/cwt	212
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - Kansas	KS	435.19/cwt	284
Miles City Livestock Commission	MT	431.46/cwt	566
Toppenish Livestock Commission	WA	427.87/cwt	368
Lolli Brothers Livestock Market	MO	423.76/cwt	164
Producers Livestock Marketing - Salina, UT	UT	420.39/cwt	342
Unionville Livestock Market LLC	MO	420.15/cwt	87
Winter - La Junta	CO	415.49/cwt	450
F&T Livestock Market	MO	408.52/cwt	77
Ozarks Regional Stockyards	MO	404.19/cwt	183
Beaver Livestock Auction	OK	403.41/cwt	435
Springfield Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	401.90/cwt	53
OKC West Livestock Market	OK	399.56/cwt	248
Interstate Regional Stockyards	MO	397.23/cwt	36
Knoxville Livestock Auction - Knoxville, TN	TN	394.61/cwt	52
Thomasville	GA	391.94/cwt	52
Four State Stockyards	MO	391.49/cwt	86

Boxed beef

PM close · Oct 13 USDA

Choice $375.15, $0.41 lower. Select $353.67, $0.46 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $21.48. 117 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

9,540 head traded Oct 3–Oct 9.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	345.00	173
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	343.00	40
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	219.76	82
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	218.67	4,131
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	345.00	1,818
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	345.00	121

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: Feeder steers unevenly steady except for 900-1000lbs 5.00-7.00 higher. Feeder heifers unevenly steady. Demand good. Quality plain to average. Steer calves 5.00-15.00 higher. Heifer calves 10.00-20.00 higher.
OKC West Livestock Market · Oklahoma

Compared to last sale (10-06-26): Feeder steer and heifer calves under 450 lbs were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed. Steer and heifer calves over 450 lbs sold unevenly steady from 5.00 higher to 8.00 lower.
Miles City Livestock Commission · Montana

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers sold sharply higher across all weight classes. Feeder heifers sold mostly sharply higher across all weight classes. Breaker slaughter cows of average dressing sold 2.00 lower.
Winter - La Junta · Colorado

Compared to last week, yearling steers and heifers sold mostly steady and calves sold uneven with the variance depending on quality and health programs. The longer weaned calves that had received vaccinations sold near steady and with the best demand.
Kingsville Livestock Auction · Missouri

*Special Cow Sale Next Tuesday, October 20th* Compared to last week's regular sale, steers sold mostly steady to 10.00 higher. Heifers weighing 450 - 500 lbs and 650 - 700 lbs sold 4.00 to 7.00 lower with heifers weighing 500 - 649 lbs selling steady to 10.00 higher.
Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission - Kansas · Kansas

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers mostly steady.
Okeechobee Livestock Auction (Tue) · Florida

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and feeder heifers sold 5.00 to 8.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 lower.
Upton Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week, feeder steers and steer calves were 5.00-10.00 higher with spots on the calves 20.00 higher. Feeder heifers and heifer calves were steady to 5.00 higher. Demand was good on a moderate supply.
Ozarks Regional Stockyards · Missouri

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	246.17/cwt	$2.82 lower	591
Boner (85% lean)	262.58/cwt	$2.09 higher	2,134
Cutter (90% lean)	265.05/cwt	$0.37 lower	3,598
Premium White	274.60/cwt	$2.50 lower	854
Bull (92% lean)	322.82/cwt	$3.03 higher	405

What published

See every report →

105 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.