The Morning Wire / Alabama / Tue Aug 18, 2026

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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Alabama cattle market

The trading day in one page — Tue, Aug 18
● 6 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 17Aug 18Aug 19 →

The market in a line

Tue, Aug 18
Choice cutout closed $11.58 higher at $391.15. 6 Alabama barns reported 327 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Alabama, week of Aug 17 USDA
Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a state figure. Watch the barn count: a weight class carried by one or two barns is a thin figure, not a market.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb474.76/cwt$16.25 lower15512
400-499 lb417.16/cwt$4.91 lower15513
500-599 lb371.23/cwt$7.93 lower35612
600-699 lb343.52/cwt$14.67 lower29414
700-799 lb330.65/cwt$4.08 lower1106
800-899 lb308.80/cwt$3.70 lower154

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, Aug 18, weighted by head. Spread of $29.80 between the top and bottom of 3 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
Cullman StockyardsAL389.92/cwt36
Uniontown StockyardsAL380.96/cwt102
Letohatchee StockyardsAL360.12/cwt105

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 18 USDA
Choice $391.15, $11.58 higher. Select $366.29, $2.03 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $24.86. 118 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
23,779 head traded Aug 12–Aug 18.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.502,377
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB227.603,366
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered363.6711,426

At the Alabama barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls sold 6.00 to 9.00 lower. Replacement cows sold steady. Feeder cattle sold sharply lower.

Letohatchee Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold 4.00 to 10.00 lower. Replacement cattle sold firm. Feeder steers sold sharply higher. Feeder heifers and bulls sold unevenly steady. Trade was active with good demand on feeder cattle.

Uniontown Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Feeder cattle sold sharply lower. Trade active with moderate demand. Replacement cattle sold steady.

Cullman Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: To few replacement cattle to trend. Slaughter cattle sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder cattle sold sharply lower. Trade active with good demand on feeder cattle.

Arab Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Feeder cattle sold 6.00 to 8.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls market lightly tested. Replacement cows and pairs sold mostly steady.

Lineville Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 8.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold 4.00 to 10.00 lower. Feeder cattle sold unevenly steady on a light supply. Replacement cows and pairs sold steady. Trade active with moderate to good demand on feeder cattle.

Opp Stockyards · Alabama

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)306.48/cwt$7.43 lower541
Boner (85% lean)328.25/cwt$3.02 higher1,566
Cutter (90% lean)333.46/cwt$10.30 higher2,512
Premium White322.92/cwt$1.15 lower1,896
Bull (92% lean)368.72/cwt$0.56 lower373

What published

See every report →
Every USDA report carried this date is listed in the archive.
Source: USDA AMS. Feeder prices and barn comment are Alabama only; boxed beef, fed cattle and the cow market are national, because those markets are. 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.