The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Tue Aug 18, 2026

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Tue, Aug 18
● 7 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 17Aug 18Aug 19 →

The market in a line

Tue, Aug 18
Choice cutout closed $11.58 higher at $391.15. 7 Kentucky barns reported 385 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

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, Aug 18, weighted by head. Spread of $62.20 between the top and bottom of 4 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
Springfield Livestock Auction - KentuckyKY429.54/cwt50
Flemingsburg Livestock AuctionKY404.88/cwt35
Upton Livestock AuctionKY378.39/cwt20
Ledbetter Livestock AuctionKY367.34/cwt27

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 18 USDA
Choice $391.15, $11.58 higher. Select $366.29, $2.03 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $24.86. 118 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
23,779 head traded Aug 12–Aug 18.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered363.502,377
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered230.5826
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB227.603,366
KansasDressed Delivered360.00156
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered363.6711,426

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last week feeder steers sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower. Feed heifers sold 10.00 to 15.00 lower. In some instances plainer quality feeders sold sharply lower. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 8.00 to 10.00 lower.

Springfield Livestock Auction - Kentucky · Kentucky

Compared to last week feeder steers and heifers sold sharply lower. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. No comparison on slaughter bulls due to limited supply.

Ledbetter Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeder steers 500 lbs and under sold 2.00 to 8.00 lower. Feeders steers over 500 lbs sold mostly steady. Feeder heifers sold sold 10.00 to 15.00 lower. in some instances Plain quality feeders sold sharply lower.

Upton Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Tuesday: Feeder steers under 600 lbs sharply lower, 600-700 lbs mostly steady, Feeder heifers 10.00-15.00 lower, Moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows 8.00-10.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady on a lite test, Moderate demand for slaughter classes.

Flemingsburg Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)306.48/cwt$7.43 lower541
Boner (85% lean)328.25/cwt$3.02 higher1,566
Cutter (90% lean)333.46/cwt$10.30 higher2,512
Premium White322.92/cwt$1.15 lower1,896
Bull (92% lean)368.72/cwt$0.56 lower373

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.