The Morning Wire / Kentucky / Wed Oct 28, 2026

Kentucky cattle market

The trading day in one page — Wed, Oct 28

● 7 barns reportedEvery figure as filedNational wire →

← Oct 27Oct 28Oct 29 →

The market in a line

Wed, Oct 28

Choice cutout closed $3.22 lower at $369.00. 7 Kentucky barns reported 584 priced lots.

Feeder steers

Kentucky, week of Oct 26 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	508.16/cwt	$15.88 lower	155	16
400-499 lb	442.12/cwt	$7.71 lower	330	18
500-599 lb	394.73/cwt	$4.34 lower	749	18
600-699 lb	371.43/cwt	$7.80 higher	885	18
700-799 lb	345.16/cwt	$0.10 lower	705	18
800-899 lb	336.23/cwt	$0.22 lower	987	13

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 28, weighted by head. Spread of $55.47 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.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Russell Springs Livestock Auction	KY	420.65/cwt	39
Albany Livestock Auction	KY	406.85/cwt	36
Mount Sterling Livestock Auction	KY	395.87/cwt	62
Owenton Livestock Auction	KY	365.18/cwt	63

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 28 USDA

Choice $369.00, $3.22 lower. Select $355.25, $3.60 lower. The Choice–Select spread stands at $13.75. 107 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

11,551 head traded Oct 22–Oct 28.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	357.12	1,980
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	355.00	256
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	224.23	4,381
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	351.19	3,735
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	353.00	885
Nebraska	Live FOB	224.36	314

At the Kentucky barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder and yearling steers 5.00-10.00 lower, Feeder and yearling heifers steady to 5.00 lower, Moderate demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00-4.00 lower, Moderate demand for slaughter classes.
Owenton Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder steers and heifers sold 6.00-8.00 higher with instances of 12.00-14.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls traded mostly steady.
Russell Springs Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last week: Feeder steers sold 5.00 to 8.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 4.00 lower.
Albany Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Compared to last Wednesday the feeder market was spotty with an average quality offering. Feeder steers 350-650 lbs were unevenly steady bouncing from 4.00 lower to 4.00 higher across the weight classes, while the feeder heifers 400-600 lbs were steady to 5.00 lower with a good supply and spotty dem…
Mount Sterling Livestock Auction · Kentucky

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	244.29/cwt	$3.13 higher	558
Boner (85% lean)	251.31/cwt	$2.50 higher	1,757
Cutter (90% lean)	254.76/cwt	$2.00 higher	3,900
Premium White	264.63/cwt	$0.12 lower	1,586
Bull (92% lean)	309.89/cwt	$2.03 lower	428

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.