by Andrew Griffith, Livestock Marketing Specialist
August 28, 2026
FED CATTLE
Fed cattle traded $6 to $7 lower on a live basis compared to last week. Prices on a live basis were mainly $217 to $220 while dressed prices were mainly $345 to $346.
The 5-area weighted average prices through Thursday were $218.65 live, down $6.64 from last week and $345.30 dressed, down $10.50 from last week. A year ago, prices were $243.44 live and $385.76 dressed.
Finished cattle prices lost another $120 per head, which has feedlot closeouts well into the red. However, the feedlot can make the decision to pay less for cattle coming into the yard. There are certainly fewer cattle moving right now as many feeder cattle producers are holding onto cattle with the hope of prices improving, but it is going to be difficult for cattle feeders to bid higher prices when corn prices are increasing and finished cattle prices are decreasing. The market for finished cattle is well below year ago levels with cattle being valued approximately $300 per head less year-over-year. Does this mean this is the beginning of the end? The short answer is no, but it could indicate the market has put in its cyclical peak.
BEEF CUTOUT
At midday Friday, the Choice cutout was $376.39 down $4.97 from Thursday and up $9.75 from a week ago. The Select cutout was $362.00 up $2.81 from Thursday and down $1.41 from last week. The Choice Select spread was $14.39 compared to $22.73 a week ago.
It would appear packer margins continued to improve this week until Friday with fairly steady boxed beef prices and lower finished cattle prices. It was mentioned packer margins improved approximately $270 per head in one week’s time due to lower cattle prices and higher boxed beef prices. The margin improved approximately $120 per head this week compared to last week with the decline in finished cattle prices. Thus, packer margins have improved nearly $400 per head the past two weeks. As is always the case, there will be folks out there who think the packer is taking it to the cattle producer by paying less for cattle and being paid more for beef. However, those same people have not thought through what it cost the packer to close a packing facility or what it would cost to bring a shuttered facility back on line. There will be people that complain the packer should pass profits down the line, but how many cow-calf producers were trying to share their strong profits with others? This can be a feast and famine business, and this is businesses making business decisions that are not easy.
OUTLOOK
Based on Tennessee weekly auction market average prices, steer prices were $2 to $10 lower compared to last week, while heifer prices were $6 to $11 lower compared to the previous week. Slaughter cow prices were $4 to $6 lower this week compared to a week ago while slaughter bull prices were $3 to $5 lower compared to last week. The cattle complex was hit with a left hook when Tyson announced the closure of the Joslin slaughter facility and the desire to sell the Pasco facility. The following week the cattle complex took an uppercut from the President when he announced importing lean grinding beef with no tariff. In the grand scheme of the market, these two pieces of information should not have influenced cattle prices, because there is over capacity in the packing sector, and importing 300,000 metric tons (661.4 million pounds) of lean grinding beef with no tariff will not change beef supply by that quantity. In reality, the majority of the beef under that directive will be beef that was destined for the United States anyway and only increase beef imports modesty. It will simply reduce the cost of 300,000 metric tons of beef by the tariff rate imposed on that country. Despite what the facts and fundamentals are, markets do not like surprises. Thus, the people who make up the market tend to be reactive instead of proactive. This is not to suggest market participants could prepare for sudden announcements, but market participants could think through the implications of such announcements prior to making decisions. Regardless of how one responded, the market now knows this information was received as bearish to cattle markets as calf and feeder cattle prices have declined $40 to $60 per hundredweight over the past few weeks. There are certainly some in the industry who think prices will rebound fairly quickly, but it appears prices may be under pressure for an extended period. These announcements come at a time when most producers are marketing calves, but sometimes “you slay the beast and sometimes the beast slays you.”
ASK ANDREW, TN THINK TANK
There have been several questions related to Tyson closing beef facilities, President Trump’s announcement of importing 300,000 metric tons (661.4 million pounds) of beef with no tariff and the Mexican border opening to cattle imports. Hopefully, much of that was covered in the preceding text. For this week’s question, several folks have asked what they should do with cattle they intended to market in August and September. In fact, several communications have involved producers who PO (passed out/no sold) cattle. A key aspect to consider when no selling a lot of cattle is that means the person is willing to own the cattle at that price. The same can be said about producers holding cattle, because they think prices are too low. In response to the question of what producers should do with cattle they intended to market in the near term, if I knew the answer with 100 percent certainty, I would not be writing this column, and I would not be sharing information. Thus, the best advice is to make a decision and do not look backwards.
Please send questions and comments to agriff14@utk.edu.
FRIDAY’S FUTURES MARKET CLOSING PRICES
Friday’s closing prices were as follows: Live/fed cattle –October $211.73 -1.20; December $213.73 -1.08; February $215.53 -1.30; Feeder cattle –September $320.90 -1.55; October $316.53 -1.55; November $309.93 -1.55; January $302.28 -1.65; September corn closed at $5.12 up 2 cents from Thursday.