Kentucky · Daily market report
Cattle prices today in Kentucky
What cattle are bringing right now, read for Kentucky producers. USDA mandatory reporting numbers, refreshed every day, with the week-over-week move and per-head math so you can price a load or a listing.
How to read these numbers in Kentucky
USDA does not publish a daily mandatory fed cattle price for Kentucky, because the mandatory reporting areas cover the major feeding regions. The numbers below are the national and 5 Area figures every buyer in Kentucky is working from — pair them with your nearest sale barn's weekly report for the local basis.
Fed steers are up $3.27 per cwt against a week ago ($219.10 on October 9, 2026 versus $222.37 now). A week's direction matters more than any single afternoon when you are deciding whether to sell now or hold.
Fed cattle — 5 Area weighted average
Negotiated packer purchases across the five mandatory reporting areas. Live prices are per hundredweight on the hoof; dressed prices are per hundredweight of carcass.
Cull cows and bulls
Cull cows are the quiet half of a Kentucky cow-calf operation's income. These are national dressed averages — a good check before you haul an open or broken-mouth cow to town.
Boxed beef cutout
The wholesale beef cutout is the leading signal for where fed bids go next. When it runs up, packers have room to pay more — and that pull reaches Kentucky calf prices within weeks.
Last 14 reporting days
Two weeks of daily numbers, so you can see the trend rather than one strong afternoon.
Selling cattle in Kentucky
Cattle sell locally because hauling costs real money. A Kentucky buyer within a few counties will nearly always beat a better price three states away once you price the trip. That is the whole reason BarnBridge exists — post the animals, deal direct, keep the sale price.
Before you list, weigh or estimate the animals, get daylight photos from the side and rear, and write down breeding status, age and vaccination history. Listings that answer those questions up front sell in days rather than weeks.
- Cattle for sale in Kentucky
- How to sell livestock in Kentucky
- Cattle value calculator — bred cows, pairs, cull cows and feeder calves.
Nearby states
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, refreshed automatically every day. These are national and regional wholesale numbers, not a quote for any one animal. Your local sale barn report is the truest read on your area.