The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Wed Oct 21, 2026

Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Wed, Oct 21
● 6 barns reportedEvery figure as filed
← Oct 20Oct 21Oct 22 →

The market in a line

Wed, Oct 21
Choice cutout held near $372.59. 6 Kentucky barns reported 498 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.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb524.04/cwt$12.74 higher22418
400-499 lb449.83/cwt$10.36 higher46320
500-599 lb399.07/cwt$10.41 higher1,00621
600-699 lb363.63/cwt$2.03 higher1,03721
700-799 lb345.26/cwt$4.85 lower68517
800-899 lb336.45/cwt$3.84 higher92216

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Wed, Oct 21, weighted by head. Spread of $19.45 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
Russell Springs Livestock AuctionKY409.66/cwt30
Albany Livestock AuctionKY399.72/cwt53
Mount Sterling Livestock AuctionKY390.22/cwt26

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 21 USDA
Choice $372.59, $0.71 lower. Select $355.34, $6.20 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $17.25. 91 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
24,753 head traded Oct 10–Oct 16.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered353.403,231
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB350.84679
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered225.4873
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB223.035,858
NebraskaDressed Delivered351.239,484
NebraskaDressed FOB354.00639

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Wednesday the feeder market was mixed with an average quality offering. Feeder steers 350-650 lbs were steady to 5.00 lower with a limited supply and spotty demand, while the yearling steers appeared firm but with limited head to head comparisons.

Mount Sterling Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher with some instances of sharply higher under 500lbs. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 lower. No trend on slaughter bulls due to low comparable receipts.

Albany Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday feeder steers and heifers sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher. There was good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady. Slaughter bulls sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower. There was moderate to good demand for slaughter classes.

Russell Springs Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder steers under 600 lbs sharply higher, over 600 lbs 2.00-4.00 higher, Feeder heifers unevenly steady, Moderate to good demand for feeder classes, No comparison on yearlings, Slaughter cows and bulls steady, Moderate demand for slaughter classes.

Owenton Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)246.72/cwt$2.12 higher674
Boner (85% lean)253.86/cwt$2.18 lower1,736
Cutter (90% lean)258.99/cwt$0.29 lower3,550
Premium White271.13/cwt$5.48 lower1,578
Bull (92% lean)322.35/cwt$1.96 higher427

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.