Livestock Marketing Information Center
In The Cattle Markets
Updated: 10/6/2025
Tight Supplies and Strong Demand
Cattle and beef market prices slowed and, in some cases, reversed moves from those into record highs. The weighted average 5-market fed cattle price retreated into the $230s while prices in the southern plains held onto uncharacteristic strength – with southern cattle priced at a premium to those in the north. But it is that time of year when northern cattle are more abundant and tend to be rather long-fed.
Livestock Monitor
Updated: 10/10/2025
LAMB PRICES RISE
The lamb cutout value has been on a steady rise since early July with the value rising from $460 per cwt the first week of July to the most recently available value of $503 per cwt the first week of October. From the first week of July, the lamb cutout value has increased +9% ($43 per cwt). The last time the cutout value reached above $500 per cwt was early September 2022 when it was $503 per cwt. Prior to the rise in the lamb cutout value, from January through June, the lamb cutout value averaged $459 per cwt with a range of $452 to $466 per cwt.
RANGE AND PASTURE
Across much of the U.S., as we move further into autumn, cattle producers are increasingly deciding whether to retain or market reproductively sound females. A key factor in that decision is the condition of grasslands. The most recent USDA-NASS report (September 28) shows range and pastureland rated poor and very poor at 21% and 30.6% in the Southern Plains and Great Plains, respectively.
BIRD FLU AND EGG PRICES
Through September and into October, the number of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) cases have been rising. As has been the situation with prior HPAI cases, a rise in cases typically occurs around migratory season. Often, commercial table egg and commercial turkey operations take the brunt of the cases. In September and the first two weeks of October, USDA APHIS has reported 26 cases in commercial turkey operations across Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota, affecting more than one million birds.
Livestock Monitor (pdf)