The Morning Wire / Arkansas / Thu Oct 29, 2026

Arkansas cattle market

The trading day in one page — Thu, Oct 29

● 3 barns reportedEvery figure as filedNational wire →

← Oct 28Oct 29latest

The market in a line

Thu, Oct 29

Choice cutout closed $1.72 lower at $367.28. 3 Arkansas barns reported 269 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Arkansas, week of Oct 26 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	465.70/cwt	$23.55 lower	163	7
400-499 lb	427.70/cwt	$6.60 higher	251	7
500-599 lb	374.14/cwt	$5.04 lower	263	7
600-699 lb	340.15/cwt	$0.14 higher	190	7
700-799 lb	338.43/cwt	$17.07 higher	141	6
800-899 lb	331.47/cwt	$4.18 higher	78	4

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Thu, Oct 29, weighted by head. Spread of $26.65 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
Benton County Sale Barn	AR	389.46/cwt	74
Hope Livestock Auction Inc.	AR	364.72/cwt	43
I-40 Livestock Auction	AR	362.81/cwt	26

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 29 USDA

Choice $367.28, $1.72 lower. Select $351.63, $3.62 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $15.65. 101 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

17,855 head traded Oct 23–Oct 29.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	356.39	2,210
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	355.00	256
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	224.25	42
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	223.81	6,750
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	350.74	5,400
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	352.57	1,130

At the Arkansas barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Comparted to last week: Feeder steers sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold mixed under 350lbs 15.00 higher, 350-450lbs 5.00-10.00 lower, 450-600lbs 6.00-13.00 higher, over 600 steady to 5.00 lower. Demand was moderate quality was average to plain. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 lower.
Benton County Sale Barn · Arkansas

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	251.86/cwt	$7.57 higher	534
Boner (85% lean)	246.89/cwt	$4.42 lower	1,732
Cutter (90% lean)	250.79/cwt	$3.98 lower	3,756
Premium White	262.84/cwt	$1.79 lower	1,273
Bull (92% lean)	304.92/cwt	$4.97 lower	317

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 Arkansas 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.