Week of 11/02/2026 – 11/08/2026
$423.18500–600 lb steers per hundredweight, down $16.92 on the week.
Head-weighted across every livestock auction the USDA reports — 217 markets, 145,963 head. Free, no account, and we stream the sales too.
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The Cattle Square
Don't guess the market. Compare two animals.
Price what you'd sell against what you'd buy to replace it, on the same day. The spread between them tells you what the market is paying for a pound of gain — and whether that beats what a pound costs you. Nobody else puts this on the open web.
Best spread on the board at $1.10 cost of gain
Sell 900–1000 lb steers, buy 300–400 lb back — $349 a head at a $1.71 return on gain.
| 300 | 400 | 500 | 600 | 700 | 800 | 900 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | — | 2.49 | 2.02 | 1.65 | 1.48 | 1.63 | 1.71 |
| 400 | 2.49 | — | 1.52 | 1.21 | 1.13 | 1.41 | 1.55 |
| 500 | 2.02 | 1.52 | — | 0.86 | 0.94 | 1.37 | 1.55 |
| 600 | 1.65 | 1.21 | 0.86 | — | 1.00 | 1.59 | 1.75 |
| 700 | 1.48 | 1.13 | 0.94 | 1.00 | — | 2.18 | 2.17 |
| 800 | 1.63 | 1.41 | 1.37 | 1.59 | 2.18 | — | 2.15 |
| 900 | 1.71 | 1.55 | 1.55 | 1.75 | 2.17 | 2.15 | — |
Sell down the side, buy across the top. Return on gain, $/lb.
Steers, heifers and both directions of a steer–heifer swap, by state or nationally. Free, no sign-up.
National cattle market
The whole country's week, in one report.
Feeder steers were lower across every weight class this week, with the sharpest move in the 400–500 lb class at −$19.97.
Heifers followed the same direction, and cull cows were down $3.74 at $123.46.
Week of 11/02/2026 – 11/08/2026 · compared with 10/26/2026–11/01/2026 · 217 reporting markets
How to read these figures
Head-weighted averages across every auction USDA Market News reported for the week, quoted on Medium & Large 1–2 — the same grade your sale barn quotes. Every table can be switched to all grades, which runs lower because it folds in the plain cattle. These are averages, not bids: yours will bring what they bring. Not financial advice.
- 5wt steers
- $423.18
- ▼ 16.92
- 7wt steers
- $337.82
- ▼ 17.60
- Cull cows
- $123.46
- ▼ 3.74
- Choice cutout
- $362.98
- ▲ 0.24
- Head sold
- 145,963
- Markets
- 217
Feeder cattle
Head-weighted average price per hundredweight, with what that works out to per head at the class average weight. Premium is what steers brought over heifers of the same weight. ▲ green is up on last week, ▼ red is down; thin means too few head to compare.
The run-of-the-mill good feeder calf, and the grade most sale barns quote on their own market report.
- Steers
- $541.34▼ 13.62
- Heifers
- $449.45▼ 22.69
- Steer premium
- $91.89
- Steers
- $478.74▼ 19.97
- Heifers
- $408.65▼ 25.52
- Steer premium
- $70.09
- Steers
- $423.18▼ 16.92
- Heifers
- $368.63▼ 22.07
- Steer premium
- $54.55
- Steers
- $376.87▼ 16.85
- Heifers
- $333.72▼ 13.34
- Steer premium
- $43.15
- Steers
- $337.82▼ 17.60
- Heifers
- $312.19▼ 17.05
- Steer premium
- $25.63
- Steers
- $322.97▼ 17.99
- Heifers
- $297.98▼ 19.14
- Steer premium
- $24.99
- Steers
- $312.99▼ 15.54
- Heifers
- $292.45▼ 15.09
- Steer premium
- $20.54
What's a calf worth?
At this week's class average. A class average is not a bid — yours will bring what they bring — but it is the number to argue from.
$2,327
a head at this week's 500–600 lb average of $423.18 per hundredweight — down $16.92 on last week.
Based on 26,212 head sold in that class across every reporting auction. A class average, not a bid — your cattle will bring what they bring.
Cows, bulls & replacements
Cull cows price on condition — Breakers fleshiest, Leans thinnest. Replacement classes trade by the head and are thin most weeks.
- Cull cows, all$123.46 /cwt▼ 3.7413,897 head
- Breaker 75-80%$127.86 /cwt▼ 6.941,930 head
- Boner 80-85%$129.59 /cwt▼ 3.766,289 head
- Lean 85-90%$115.03 /cwt▼ 3.355,645 head
- Dairy cows$104.38 /cwt▼ 8.62766 head
- Slaughter bulls$165.77 /cwt▼ 4.021,800 head
- Bred cows$2492.00 /hd▲ 42.005,557 head
- Bred heifers$3660.86 /hd▲ 136.701,481 head
- Cow–calf pairs$3485.17 /hd▲ 254.801,196 head
- Stock cows$238.32 /cwt▲ 18.272,124 head
Boxed beef & kill
What the packer is getting, and how many head are moving. These move against the prior daily report rather than the prior week.
- Choice
- $362.98
- ▲ 0.24
- Select
- $351.62
- ▼ 2.11
- Choice–Select
- $11.36
- ▲ 2.35
- Cutter cow
- $296.66
- Fed steer
- $215.43
- Drop value
- $15.72
- Weekly kill
- 540,689
- Cow share
- 18.1%
Where the cattle sold
All 27 statesTop states by head this week. A state carrying a big share is pulling the national average toward its own market.
| State | Markets | Head | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 7 | 22,725 | 15.6% |
| Missouri | 19 | 15,779 | 10.8% |
| Nebraska | 12 | 14,534 | 10.0% |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 11,985 | 8.2% |
| Colorado | 5 | 11,005 | 7.5% |
| Wyoming | 3 | 8,018 | 5.5% |
| Kansas | 3 | 6,392 | 4.4% |
| North Dakota | 3 | 6,239 | 4.3% |
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Market News. Head-weighted across every auction USDA publishes, quoted on Medium & Large 1–2 unless a table is switched to all grades. Ticker quotes are indicative and are not exchange data. Averages are not bids and nothing here is financial advice.
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