The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Thu Aug 20, 2026

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Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Thu, Aug 20
● 3 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Aug 19Aug 20latest

The market in a line

Thu, Aug 20
Choice cutout closed $5.06 lower at $389.93. 3 Kentucky barns reported 306 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 Thu, Aug 20, weighted by head. Spread of $5.48 between the top and bottom of 2 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
Stanford Livestock AuctionKY423.31/cwt24
Paris Livestock AuctionKY417.83/cwt52

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Aug 20 USDA
Choice $389.93, $5.06 lower. Select $363.74, $0.43 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $26.19. 110 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
14,303 head traded Aug 14–Aug 20.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered355.211,591
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB224.894,057
KansasLive FOB228.00117
NebraskaDressed Delivered357.815,074
NebraskaDressed FOB359.18999
NebraskaLive FOB226.422,465

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Thursday feeder steers sold 10.00 to 15.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold 12.00 to 16.00 lower. Plainer quality feeders sold sharply lower in some instances. There was moderate demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 6.00 to 8.00 lower.

Paris Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder and yearling steers under 700 lbs 12.00-15.00 lower, 800 lbs and up 5.00-8.00 lower, Feeder and yearling heifers steady to 8.00 lower, Moderate demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls steady, Moderate demand for slaughter classes.

Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Thursday: Feeder steers sold mostly steady on a light test. Feeder heifers traded 4.00-6.00 lower. Softer demand for feeders especially the plain quality and unweaned calves. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 6.00-8.00 lower.

Guthrie Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)309.74/cwt$1.10 higher558
Boner (85% lean)319.08/cwt$7.74 lower1,679
Cutter (90% lean)318.99/cwt$5.93 lower3,041
Premium White322.77/cwt$1.95 higher2,162
Bull (92% lean)365.48/cwt$4.54 lower419

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.