Cattle Current Podcast—Oct. 5, 2026

Cattle futures weakened Friday, with sharply lower week-end wholesale beef prices and wobbly negotiated cash fed cattle prices.

Live Cattle futures were an average of $2.05 lower. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $4.74 lower.

Week to week on Friday, Live Cattle futures closed an average of 71¢ lower, except for 32¢ higher in near Dec. During the same period, Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $1.22 higher, except for an average of 56¢ lower in the front two contracts.

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly light on moderate to good demand in the North through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.

Based on the last established prices for the week, FOB live prices were mainly steady to $2 lower in Nebraska at $220-222/cwt. and mostly unevenly steady to $2 lower in the western Corn Belt at mainly $219-$222. Dressed delivered prices were steady to $5 lower in Nebraska at mostly $345 and steady in the western Corn Belt at $345-$350.

The Texas Cattle Feeders Association reported its members trading fed cattle steady at $226.

Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.60 lower Friday afternoon at $374.19/cwt. Select was $1.60 higher at $354.49. Week to week on Friday, Choice was $4.64 lower and Select was $1.27 lower.

Estimated total cattle slaughter of 548,000 last week was 64,000 head more than the previous week and 20,000 head fewer than the same week last year. Year-to-date estimated total cattle slaughter of 20.6 million head was 1.7 million head fewer (-7.5%) than the same time last year. Estimated year-to-date beef production of 18.3 billion pounds was 1 billion pounds less (-5.2%).

Grain and Soybean futures were lower on Friday.

Soybean futures were mostly 3¢ to 6¢ lower with hangover from disappointment in the trade talks between the U.S. and China and likely pressure from a more favorable harvest outlook.

Kansas City HRW Wheat futures were 1¢ to 3¢ lower through near-Sep. 

Corn futures were mostly 2¢ to 5¢ lower through new-crop contracts with continued pressure from the higher stocks estimated in the USDA report published earlier in the week. Week to week on Friday, Corn futures closed 24’9¢ lower through the front six contracts.