The Morning Wire / Fri Oct 23, 2026

The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Fri, Oct 23

● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed

← Oct 22Oct 23Oct 24 →

The market in a line

Fri, Oct 23

Choice cutout closed $3.68 lower at $365.79. 17 barns across 11 states reported 836 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Oct 19 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	544.49/cwt	$0.50 higher	5,174	160
400-499 lb	488.60/cwt	$0.23 higher	17,561	179
500-599 lb	439.27/cwt	$6.98 higher	33,329	183
600-699 lb	392.08/cwt	$7.03 higher	21,745	185
700-799 lb	350.70/cwt	$0.76 lower	9,212	154
800-899 lb	340.23/cwt	$3.06 higher	8,837	108

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Fri, Oct 23, weighted by head. Spread of $117.44 between the top and bottom of 9 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
Burwell	NE	468.53/cwt	1,037
Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction	SD	467.43/cwt	2,836
Dunlap Livestock Auction	IA	458.70/cwt	132
St. Onge Livestock	SD	458.22/cwt	1,418
Imperial	NE	449.19/cwt	293
Lexington	NE	445.59/cwt	240
Eastern Missouri Commission Company	MO	436.64/cwt	59
Public Auction Yards	MT	433.18/cwt	455
Cattlemen's Livestock Auction - Belen, NM	NM	351.09/cwt	28

Boxed beef

PM close · Oct 23 USDA

Choice $365.79, $3.68 lower. Select $352.69, $2.28 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $13.10. 124 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

391 head traded Oct 17–Oct 23.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	354.50	152
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	225.66	239

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, yearling steers from 900 lbs to 949 lbs were 8.00 to 10.00 higher, no comparisons on yearling heifers. Most yearlings were light to moderate flesh and coming off pasture.
Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction · South Dakota

Compared to last week's sale steer calves under 400 lbs sold 35.00-40.00 lower, 400-499 lbs mostly 10.00 lower. Heavier steer calves 500-699 lbs sold 9.00-13.00 higher. Feeder steers 700-899 lbs not enough to establish a market trend.
Public Auction Yards · Montana

Compared to last week; slaughter and feeder cows traded 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Slaughter bulls traded mostly steady. A large offering again this week with several ranchers selling cows with dry conditions and high feed costs in the area.
Torrington Livestock Commission Company · Wyoming

Compared to last week steer calves under 550 lbs sold steady to 10.00 higher and steer calves over 550 lbs sold unevenly steady with heifer calves 450-650 lbs selling 10.00 to 20.00 higher. Demand was good from the buyers in the crowd with internet activity noticed.
Lexington · Nebraska

Compared to the last special two weeks ago, steer calves weighing under 650 lbs all sold with a firm to higher undertone on a light test of comparable sales, the best test was on 700-800 lb steers selling 10.00-20.00 higher with over 800 ls trading with a firm to higher undertone on light test.
Eastern Missouri Commission Company · Missouri

Slaughter cattle were 2.00 lower this week compared to last week . Feeder cattle were steady compared to last week . Demand was moderate ; market activity and buyer interest were moderate . Offerings moderate with quality average . 24 head of hogs
Siler City Livestock Auction · North Carolina

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Yearling steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady.
Richmond Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Above average attendance for the Bred Cow Special today, buyer interest mostly active throughout. Feeder Offering somewhat up and down in quality, Steers sold mostly steady to slightly lower; Heifer demand on a lower trend, especially for 5 to 6 weights.
Preston Farmers Market · West Virginia

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	245.91/cwt	$3.73 lower	713
Boner (85% lean)	251.29/cwt	$2.18 lower	1,774
Cutter (90% lean)	255.58/cwt	$0.92 lower	3,588
Premium White	264.73/cwt	$3.97 lower	1,323
Bull (92% lean)	318.75/cwt	$0.22 higher	333

What published

See every report →

47 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.