by Andrew Griffith, Livestock Marketing Specialist
August 21, 2026
FED CATTLE
Fed cattle traded $4 to $5 lower on a live basis compared to last week. Prices on a live basis were mainly $223 to $226 while dressed prices were mainly $355 to $356.
The 5-area weighted average prices through Thursday were $225.29 live, down $4.11 from last week and $355.80 dressed, down $9.47 from last week. A year ago, prices were $244.92 live and $386.20 dressed.
Finished cattle prices continued moving lower this week, which has put a strain on cattle feeding margins. At the same time, corn prices have increased, which will increase the cost of gain if prices stay elevated. Thus, cattle feeders are being squeezed on the output price and the feed price, which means their only way to relieve pressure is the purchasing price of feeder cattle. Cattle purchased this week were certainly less expensive than those purchased two to four weeks ago. This is a double-edged sword to some degree, but a lower cost environment is generally preferred as it reduces financial risk. A $50 per head margin on a calf purchased for $2,500 per head is preferred to a $50 per margin for a calf purchased for $3,000.
BEEF CUTOUT
At midday Friday, the Choice cutout was $386.14 down $3.79 from Thursday and up $11.41 from a week ago. The Select cutout was $363.41 down $0.33 from Thursday and up $14.30 from last week. The Choice Select spread was $22.73 compared to $25.62 a week ago.
The announcement by Tyson to close and sell processing facilities has changed packer margins considerably as boxed beef prices are making a run that exceeds $390. One might say the impending Labor Day weekend is supporting beef prices, and that is certainly one factor pushing beef prices higher. However, it is more likely that the expectation of lower beef production every week is supporting prices more than the Labor Day grilling holiday as retailers, restaurants and food service providers are attempting to secure needs in a different environment than one week ago. Using some rough figures of a $6 decline in live cattle prices and an $18 increase in the Choice cutout compared to one week ago, this would increase packer margins by approximately $270 per head in one week. This is the nature of this business in that market conditions can change quickly, and everyone has to be prepared to change with them. Tyson made an impactful decision that will influence them for years into the future, but the biggest benefactors of this decision are all other packers.
OUTLOOK
Based on Tennessee weekly auction market average prices, steer prices were $16 to $26 lower compared to last week, while heifer prices were $11 to $25 lower compared to the previous week. Slaughter cow prices were $1 to $3 lower this week compared to a week ago while slaughter bull prices were $7 to $8 lower compared to last week. Livestock auction prices did not disappoint this week in that they fell in line with expectations following Tyson’s announcement of closing the Joslin, Illinois processing facility, closing the case ready facility in Utah, and desire to sell the Pasco, Washington processing facility. The immediate shuttering of the Joslin plant is similar to getting hit in the jaw with a right hook from Mike Tyson (no relation to Tyson Foods). In the immediate, it is surprising. A half second later, the pain is felt and it impacts judgement and decisions. In this situation, cattle feeders, largely farmer feeders, in the region who frequently marketed cattle to the Joslin facility do not know what they are going to do with cattle ready to be marketed nor are they interested in purchasing feeder cattle, because there is tremendous uncertainty. This sudden shock created a large wave on initial impact and will continue to have a ripple effect for months to come. The feeder cattle market was immediately impacted, which means the calf market also had to follow. This specific event has led to many video cattle being PO (passed out) or in other words “no sale” due to an unacceptable price on the part of the seller. Thus, the seller is taking the risk of the market price continuing to decline with the hope the market price will recover in the next few weeks. In this particular case, it will be difficult for cattle prices to recover much from this structural change in the packing industry. There were already significant signs indicating the market had overpriced feeder cattle. This action in the packing industry provided the reason to reduce prices as pressure will continue to be present for feeder cattle and calves alike.
The August cattle on feed report for feedlots with a 1000 head or more capacity indicated cattle and calves on feed as of August 1, 2026 totaled 11.11 million head, up 1.8% compared to a year ago, with the pre-report estimate average expecting an increase of 2.5%. July placements in feedlots totaled 1.42 million head, down 11.0% from a year ago with the pre-report estimate average expecting placements down 6.2%. July marketing’s totaled 1.62 million head down 7.4% from 2025 with pre-report estimates expecting marketings down 7.3%. Placements on feed by weight: under 700 pounds down 10.3%, 700 to 899 pounds down 13.6%, 900 pounds and over down 5.6%.
ASK ANDREW, TN THINK TANK
There were two questions asked over the past week that had similar answers. The first question was, “What is the estimated cost of carrying a cow per year?” The second question had to do with the cost of carrying an open cow. The actual question was what is the cost to the industry of open cows, which probably meant the cost of open cows across the United States. The answer to both questions can be answered using the annual cow-calf budget produced by the University of Tennessee. Anyone willing to use the Excel spreadsheet version of the cow-calf budget can easily estimate their expected cost of carrying a cow-calf pair for a year by inputting their expected cost in each of the expenditure lines. Similarly, a person can calculate the cost of carrying a single open female based the length of time that animal is carried before culling due to not being pregnant. If a person wanted to take that further to calculate the cost of open cows to the industry then they would have to extrapolate based on several assumptions.
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 –August $223.05 -0.30; October $217.93 -0.08; December $218.50 +0.23; Feeder cattle –August $334.75 -0.55; September $329.03 +0.10; October $323.65 +0.95; November $316.25 +1.38; September corn closed at $4.84 up 5 cents from Thursday.