I-40 Livestock market report — October 15, 2026

Ozark, AR · Thursday sale · USDA report published 10/15/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

368

Last week 694 (−326)
Last year 435

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$372.54 /cwt

$2,022 per head · 11 hd
vs last week −2.04

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$325.00† /cwt

$2,486 per head · 1 hd
vs last week +6.65

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 400 lbs sold 30.00 lower, 400-600 lbs sold 6.00-10.00 lower, over 600 lbs sold 6.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs sold 11.00-25.00 lower, over 500 lbs sold 4.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 3.00 lower.
USDA Market News reporter, October 15, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 15

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 8. Last year = sale of Oct 16. Value added = lots USDA marks as value added (weaned and vaccinated programs). No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Value added $/cwt	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	21	354 lb	$456.77	$1,619	−54.43	−35.95	—	$420.43 (5 hd)
400–499 lb	8	417 lb	$443.20	$1,848	−8.99	−16.84	—	$387.68 (6 hd)
500–599 lb	11	543 lb	$372.54	$2,022	−2.04	−40.87	—	—
600–699 lb	3	650 lb	$349.23†	$2,270	+5.72	−23.36	$362.51 (2 hd)†	—
700–799 lb	1	765 lb	$325.00†	$2,486	+6.65	—	—	—
800–899 lb	1	810 lb	$275.00†	$2,228	—	−50.00	—	—
900–999 lb	1	915 lb	$305.00†	$2,791	+30.00	—	—	—

Feeder heifers — Oct 15

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 8. Last year = sale of Oct 16. Value added = lots USDA marks as value added (weaned and vaccinated programs). No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Value added $/cwt	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	11	365 lb	$420.31	$1,533	−36.96	−31.45	—	$406.38 (4 hd)†
400–499 lb	21	437 lb	$385.34	$1,685	+6.64	−30.44	—	$335.03 (5 hd)
500–599 lb	19	543 lb	$331.20	$1,799	−2.37	−31.66	—	$303.66 (6 hd)
600–699 lb	9	628 lb	$318.84	$2,002	+5.79	−8.55	$336.00 (4 hd)†	$302.50 (2 hd)†
700–799 lb	1	715 lb	$290.00†	$2,074	—	−45.00	—	—
800–899 lb	1	890 lb	$250.00†	$2,225	—	−20.00	—	—
900–999 lb	1	950 lb	$245.00†	$2,328	—	−2.47	—	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 15

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	High	1	1,190 lb	$143.00	$143.00–$143.00
Boner 80-85%	Average	3	1,060 lb	$131.46	$130.00–$134.00
Boner 80-85%	Low	7	1,086 lb	$123.40	$120.00–$127.00
Boner 80-85%	Very Low	16	1,045 lb	$112.51	$85.00–$118.00
Breaker 75-80%	Average	4	1,425 lb	$132.51	$130.00–$134.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	3	1,522 lb	$125.47	$121.00–$129.00
Lean 85-90%	Very Low	3	1,027 lb	$111.76	$106.00–$116.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Falling

Latest (week of October 12, 2026): $372.54/cwt
4-week average: $369.62
13-week average: $384.39
4-week vs 13-week: −3.8%

52-wk low $360.68high $502.24

Steers 700–799 lb Falling

Latest (week of October 12, 2026): $325.00/cwt
4-week average: $322.73
13-week average: $334.22
4-week vs 13-week: −3.4%

52-wk low $308.02high $385.00

Sales in 10 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Easing

Latest (week of October 12, 2026): $331.20/cwt
4-week average: $332.29
13-week average: $338.74
4-week vs 13-week: −1.9%

52-wk low $318.84high $432.78

Direction compares the 4-week average with the 13-week average: Rising +1% or more, Steady within ±1%, Easing −1% to −3%, Falling −3% or more. Weekly prices are head-weighted averages of Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 feeder cattle, regular lots.

The label describes recent prices; it is not a forecast. In our backtest of every barn since 2019 (about 35,000 barn-weeks), barns labeled Falling went on to beat other barns' average move over the next 13 weeks 61% of the time, and barns labeled Rising trailed it 56% of the time.

Last 52 weeks

Weekly average $/cwt4-week average

Price history since 2019

Weekly average $/cwt

When to sell: the seasonal pattern

5-weight steers

For 500–599 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Mar and Feb and lowest in Oct and Nov.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	+1.2%	57%	7
Feb	+6.0%	86%	7
Mar	+6.9%	100%	7
Apr	+5.6%	100%	7
May	+3.3%	86%	7
Jun	+0.3%	57%	7
Jul	+2.0%	71%	7
Aug	+0.1%	62%	8
Sep	−3.4%	29%	7
Oct	−6.6%	0%	7
Nov	−5.4%	0%	7
Dec	−3.4%	14%	7

7-weight steers

For 700–799 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Jul and Aug and lowest in Nov and Dec.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	−1.3%	57%	7
Feb	+1.5%	100%	7
Mar	−1.4%	29%	7
Apr	−0.7%	57%	7
May	−1.4%	43%	7
Jun	−0.4%	57%	7
Jul	+4.6%	86%	7
Aug	+4.2%	75%	8
Sep	+3.5%	57%	7
Oct	+2.7%	57%	7
Nov	−3.1%	43%	7
Dec	−2.6%	43%	7

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Thu Oct 15	368	$372.54	$325.00†	$331.20
Thu Oct 8	694	$374.58	$318.35†	$333.57
Thu Oct 1	702	$360.68	$323.19†	$328.85
Thu Sep 24	706	$370.68	$324.39	$335.55
Thu Sep 17	388	$380.16	$325.00†	$335.35
Thu Sep 10	362	$381.64	—	$332.85
Thu Sep 3	371	$370.01	—	$324.79
Thu Aug 27	483	$375.21	$326.24†	$329.24
Thu Aug 20	198	$395.70	—	$340.03
Thu Aug 13	416	$400.27	$333.91	$347.94
Thu Aug 6	243	$404.44	$341.50†	$350.51
Thu Jul 30	230	$414.43	$362.50†	$359.73
Thu Jul 23	369	$396.71	$333.13	$351.63
Thu Jul 16	496	$425.11	—	$391.14

Special and graded sales

The last 12 months of this barn's special and graded sales, $/cwt, Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 regular lots (value-added lots where a sale has only those). A sale counts in the weekly trend only when it is a regular feeder sale: a plain special where feeder steers and heifers are most of the head. Graded, replacement, cow-and-pair, preconditioned and Holstein sales stay out.
Sale	Type	Head	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799	Heifers 500–599	In trend
Sep 15, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	1,037	$401.48	$342.67	$357.00	Yes
Aug 11, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	1,019	$444.07	$348.97	—	Yes
Jul 14, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	1,498	$458.41	$354.81	$411.00	Yes
Apr 14, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	337	$494.56	$378.00	$420.00	Yes
Mar 10, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	442	$525.00	$374.28	$418.12	Yes
Feb 10, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	584	$467.68	$363.53	$414.16	Yes
Jan 13, 2026	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	370	$479.42	$358.64	$388.18	Yes
Nov 11, 2025	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	709	$386.97	$320.00	$348.15	Yes
Oct 14, 2025	Feeder Cattle Pot Load Salespecial	1,265	$441.00	$375.00	$376.23	Yes

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Arkansas sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
County Line Sale, Ratcliff	14 mi	Oct 21	$383.50	$327.00†
Benton County Sale Barn, Siloam Springs	61 mi	Oct 22	$402.94	$330.00†
Green Forest Stockyards, Green Forest	62 mi	Oct 21	$358.83	—
Hope Livestock Auction, Hope	128 mi	Oct 22	$376.33	$318.84
Ash Flat Livestock Auction, Ash Flat	135 mi	Oct 16	$411.75	$337.00†

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Thursday	October 15, 2026	368	47	AMS_2053
Feeder Cattle Pot Load Sale special	September 15, 2026	1,037	9	AMS_3662

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “I-40 Livestock - Ozark, AR” (AMS_2053); “I-40 Livestock Feeder Cattle Pot Load Sale - Ozark, AR” (AMS_3662). See something wrong? Report a correction. Feeder prices are Medium and Large frame No. 1 and 1–2 cattle, $/cwt, grouped into 100-lb bands by average weight and weighted by head count. Value-added, unweaned and No. 2 lots are shown in their own columns; other lot types (fancy, fleshy, thin-fleshed, spayed, replacement) are left out. $/head = $/cwt × average weight ÷ 100.