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Live cattle prices: $220.67/cwt

5-area weekly average, week of September 28, 2026

What ranchers and feedlots are actually paid - the upstream market beneath wholesale and retail beef.

Fed steers in the 5-area marketing region averaged $220.67 per cwt (live basis, over 80% Choice) in the week of September 28, 2026, per USDA AMS report LM_CT150.
A year earlier the same average was $244.44/cwt (−9.7% since).

5-area weekly weighted average price for live FOB steers, over 80% Choice. Source: USDA AMS LM_CT150 (Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa/Minnesota).

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What does a cattle price in dollars per cwt mean?

Cattle are priced in dollars per hundredweight (cwt), i.e. per 100 pounds of live animal. A $221/cwt steer weighing 1,500 lb sells for about $3,310.

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The price chain runs in one direction: cattle prices set what packers pay, the boxed beef cutout sets what wholesalers pay, and retail prices follow with a lag of weeks to months. When the cattle herd shrinks, this page moves first.