The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Thu Aug 13, 2026

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Thu, Aug 13
● 5 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 12Aug 13Aug 14 →

The market in a line

Thu, Aug 13
Choice cutout closed $3.62 higher at $375.90. 5 Kentucky barns reported 343 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, week of Aug 10 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 lb515.80/cwt$6.66 higher9718
400-499 lb475.58/cwt$13.51 higher31821
500-599 lb428.40/cwt$4.13 higher59819
600-699 lb385.89/cwt$13.47 lower1,29121
700-799 lb360.97/cwt$3.65 lower1,12720
800-899 lb341.20/cwt$8.58 lower93415

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 13, weighted by head. Spread of $43.48 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 AuctionKY443.75/cwt88
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY428.09/cwt21
Glasgow Livestock AuctionKY400.27/cwt22

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 13 USDA
Choice $375.90, $3.62 higher. Select $349.24, $0.57 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $26.66. 113 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
22,500 head traded Aug 7–Aug 13.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.812,307
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered238.53466
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB230.432,406
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB235.5070
NebraskaDressed Delivered365.309,923

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers under 500 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder steers over 500 lbs 4.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold 4.00 to 6.00 lower. There was good demand for feeder classes and moderate demand for yearlings. Slaughter cows sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower.

Paris Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers under 600 lbs 12.00-15.00 higher, 600-800 lbs steady, over 800 lbs sharply lower, Feeder and yearling heifers steady to 5.00 lower, Good demand for feeder classes and moderate demand for yearlings.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers sold sharply lower on a light test. Feeder heifers sold 10.00-12.00 lower. A small offering today due to very warm temperatures along with the futures trading sliding downward in the last couple of days softened demand for feeders significantly.

Guthrie Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)311.94/cwt$2.33 higher398
Boner (85% lean)328.44/cwt$1.79 higher1,529
Cutter (90% lean)328.49/cwt$0.60 higher2,796
Premium White327.76/cwt$6.64 higher2,274
Bull (92% lean)367.98/cwt$0.92 lower379

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.