The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Mon Aug 17, 2026

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Mon, Aug 17
● 7 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 15Aug 17Aug 18 →

The market in a line

Mon, Aug 17
Choice cutout closed $4.27 higher at $379.57. 7 Kentucky barns reported 368 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, 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 lb481.37/cwt$34.43 lower10413
400-499 lb442.91/cwt$32.67 lower21615
500-599 lb402.97/cwt$25.43 lower34518
600-699 lb378.82/cwt$7.07 lower46215
700-799 lb338.96/cwt$22.01 lower32712
800-899 lb338.59/cwt$2.61 lower2749

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 17 USDA
Choice $379.57, $4.27 higher. Select $364.26, $13.02 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $15.31. 81 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
21,970 head traded Aug 8–Aug 14.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.502,377
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB227.802,986
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered364.349,997

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Monday both the feeder and slaughter markets were lower with an average quality offering. Feeder steers and heifers were sharply lower across all weight classes with a moderate supply and moderate demand.

Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeders steers and heifers sold unevenly steady. Average to plain quality unweaned feeders sold 3.00 to 4.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 3.00 lower.

Harned Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Monday: No trends due to limited comparisons. Moderate to lite demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows 5.00-8.00 lower, Moderate demand for slaughter cows. No trend on slaughter bulls.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)313.91/cwt$5.11 higher404
Boner (85% lean)325.23/cwt$2.75 lower1,087
Cutter (90% lean)323.15/cwt$5.13 lower1,844
Premium White324.07/cwt$0.70 lower1,655
Bull (92% lean)369.29/cwt$1.83 higher258

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.