The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Mon Oct 19, 2026

Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Mon, Oct 19

● 7 barns reportedEvery figure as filedNational wire →

← Oct 17Oct 19Oct 20 →

The market in a line

Mon, Oct 19

Choice cutout held near $371.58. 7 Kentucky barns reported 645 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, week of Oct 19 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.

Weight	Price	vs prior week	Head	Barns
300-399 lb	524.04/cwt	$12.74 higher	224	18
400-499 lb	449.83/cwt	$10.36 higher	463	20
500-599 lb	399.07/cwt	$10.41 higher	1,006	21
600-699 lb	363.63/cwt	$2.03 higher	1,037	21
700-799 lb	345.26/cwt	$4.85 lower	685	17
800-899 lb	336.45/cwt	$3.84 higher	922	16

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Mon, Oct 19, weighted by head. Spread of $29.52 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.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Paris Livestock Auction	KY	421.78/cwt	54
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky	KY	403.15/cwt	50
Harned Livestock Auction	KY	392.27/cwt	78

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 19 USDA

Choice $371.58, $0.73 lower. Select $359.91, $6.86 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $11.67. 104 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

24,753 head traded Oct 10–Oct 16.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	353.40	3,231
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	350.84	679
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	225.48	73
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	223.03	5,858
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	351.23	9,484
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	354.00	639

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Monday feeder steers sold 10.00 to 12.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder heifers over 500 lbs sold steady to 2.00 higher. There was good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady.
Paris Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Monday the feeder market was spotty but mostly stronger with an average quality offering. Feeder steers 350 lbs and under appeared stronger, while the 450-550 lbs steers were sharply higher and 550-700 lbs steers were steady to 4.00 higher with a good supply and good demand for qual…
Lexington Livestock Auction - Kentucky · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold unevenly steady. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold steady.
Harned Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week feeder steers and heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Good demand for feeder classes on a good quality offering. Slaughter cows sold steady. No comparison on slaughter bulls.
Owensboro Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Monday: Feeder steers 8.00-12.00 higher, Feeder heifers steady to 5.00 higher, Good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls steady, Moderate demand for slaughter classes.
Stanford Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	253.23/cwt	$7.83 higher	607
Boner (85% lean)	257.45/cwt	$0.90 lower	2,166
Cutter (90% lean)	258.95/cwt	$0.59 lower	4,122
Premium White	268.75/cwt	$5.43 lower	1,221
Bull (92% lean)	319.76/cwt	$2.27 higher	390

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.