The Morning Wire / Alabama / Tue Oct 20, 2026

Alabama cattle market

The trading day in one page — Tue, Oct 20

● 5 barns reportedEvery figure as filedNational wire →

← Oct 19Oct 20Oct 21 →

The market in a line

Tue, Oct 20

Choice cutout closed $1.72 higher at $373.30. 5 Alabama barns reported 343 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Alabama, 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 state figure. Watch the barn count: a weight class carried by one or two barns is a thin figure, not a market.

Weight	Price	vs prior week	Head	Barns
300-399 lb	479.24/cwt	$7.55 higher	206	10
400-499 lb	406.58/cwt	$4.51 lower	213	12
500-599 lb	369.25/cwt	$5.61 higher	315	14
600-699 lb	335.45/cwt	$0.33 lower	343	13
700-799 lb	315.79/cwt	$11.39 lower	133	10
800-899 lb	324.16/cwt	$10.77 higher	174	3

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 20, weighted by head. Spread of $6.14 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.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Uniontown Stockyards	AL	371.39/cwt	55
Opp Stockyards	AL	368.15/cwt	22
Letohatchee Stockyards	AL	365.25/cwt	64

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 20 USDA

Choice $373.30, $1.72 higher. Select $361.54, $1.63 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $11.76. 98 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

24,753 head traded Oct 10–Oct 16.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	353.40	3,231
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	350.84	679
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	225.48	73
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	223.03	5,858
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	351.23	9,484
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	354.00	639

At the Alabama barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 1.00 higher. Replacement cows sold steady. Feeder cattle sold 2.00 to 7.00 lower.
Letohatchee Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold unevenly steady. Replacement cattle sold firm. Feeder steers sold sharply higher. Feeder bulls sold 8.00 to 10.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold sharply lower.
Uniontown Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls sold sharply higher. Feeder classes sold steady to 5.00 higher. Replacement cows sold steady. There were no pairs recorded. Trade active with good demand on feeder cattle.
Opp Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to two weeks ago: Slaughter Cattle sold mostly steady. Feeder steers and bulls sold 4.00 to 8.00 higher, feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Trade active with good demand. Replacement cattle sold firm.
Cullman Stockyards · Alabama

Compared to one week ago: Feeder steers sold steady, feeder heifers and bulls sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady. Replacement cows and pairs sold mostly steady.
Lineville Stockyards · Alabama

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	244.60/cwt	$8.63 lower	527
Boner (85% lean)	256.04/cwt	$1.41 lower	1,765
Cutter (90% lean)	259.28/cwt	$0.33 higher	3,630
Premium White	276.61/cwt	$7.86 higher	1,400
Bull (92% lean)	320.39/cwt	$0.63 higher	436

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.