The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Thu Aug 6, 2026

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Thu, Aug 6
● 3 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 5Aug 6Aug 7 →

The market in a line

Thu, Aug 6
Choice cutout closed $4.11 lower at $363.86. 3 Kentucky barns reported 316 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, week of Aug 3 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 lb509.14/cwt$11.91 higher11318
400-499 lb462.07/cwt$12.30 higher23719
500-599 lb424.27/cwt$13.11 higher56320
600-699 lb399.36/cwt$5.02 lower87520
700-799 lb364.62/cwt$5.79 higher75520
800-899 lb349.78/cwt$17.77 higher1,06513

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, Aug 6, weighted by head. Spread of $31.09 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
Paris Livestock AuctionKY447.21/cwt120
Guthrie Livestock AuctionKY426.31/cwt25
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY416.13/cwt40

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 6 USDA
Choice $363.86, $4.11 lower. Select $349.78, $1.72 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $14.08. 118 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
49,995 head traded Jul 31–Aug 6.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered375.393,154
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered236.932,071
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB234.938,405
KansasDressed Delivered370.0039
KansasLive FOB234.445,017
NebraskaDressed Delivered370.2114,682

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold 4.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. There was good to very good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher.

Paris Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers 12.00-15.00 higher and sharply higher in spots, Feeder and yearling heifers 8.00-12.00 higher, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 2.00-4.00 higher, Slaughter bulls 8.00-12.00 higher, Good demand for slaughter classes.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers sold 4.00-6.00 higher. Feeder heifers traded sharply higher. All classes of feeder calves saw stronger demand. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher and slaughter bulls were mostly steady.

Guthrie Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)314.18/cwt$5.49 lower287
Boner (85% lean)329.05/cwt$5.48 lower1,699
Cutter (90% lean)330.32/cwt$2.38 lower3,110
Premium White325.83/cwt$1.91 lower2,076
Bull (92% lean)375.25/cwt$1.68 lower376

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 Kentucky 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.