Dunlap Livestock market report — October 23, 2026

Dunlap, IA · Friday sale · USDA report published 10/23/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

1,222

Last week 1,702 (−480)
Last year —

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$458.70 /cwt

$2,461 per head · 132 hd
vs last week —

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$350.00 /cwt

$2,599 per head · 6 hd
vs last week —

Special Calf & Yearling Sale. Compared to the auction two weeks ago both steers and heifers not well compared. The auction consisted of five full loads of heifers, four half loads and many smaller groups. Good demand, especially on loads of yearlings.
USDA Market News reporter, October 23, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 23

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. No sale last week to compare. Last year = sale of Oct 17. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. 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	Unweaned $/cwt
300–399 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$539.00 (21 hd)
400–499 lb	25	472 lb	$472.82	$2,232	—	−23.97	—
500–599 lb	132	536 lb	$458.70	$2,461	—	−14.98	—
600–699 lb	83	658 lb	$374.81	$2,466	—	−20.00	$338.00 (4 hd)†
700–799 lb	6	742 lb	$350.00	$2,599	—	−32.66	—
800–899 lb	16	831 lb	$340.95	$2,835	—	−9.05	—
900–999 lb	41	952 lb	$312.66	$2,977	—	−46.34	—

Feeder heifers — Oct 23

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. No sale last week to compare. Last year = sale of Oct 17. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. These are kept out of the main price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt
400–499 lb	122	482 lb	$414.76	$1,998	—	−23.07	$447.65 (38 hd)
500–599 lb	46	562 lb	$393.58	$2,211	—	−23.74	$355.50 (6 hd)
600–699 lb	33	612 lb	$364.34	$2,230	—	+9.83	—
700–799 lb	329	744 lb	$328.64	$2,446	—	−8.28	—
800–899 lb	38	817 lb	$312.00	$2,549	—	—	—
900–999 lb	107	925 lb	$296.11	$2,739	—	−33.89	—

Slaughter cows — Apr 2

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Premium White 65-75%	Average	12	1,525 lb	$150.00	$150.00–$150.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $458.70/cwt
4-week average: $444.03
13-week average: $430.24
4-week vs 13-week: +3.2%

52-wk low $368.70high $519.43

Sales in 6 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $350.00/cwt
4-week average: $354.80
13-week average: $354.38
4-week vs 13-week: +0.1%

52-wk low $319.26high $416.67

Sales in 6 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $393.58/cwt
4-week average: $390.21
13-week average: $385.37
4-week vs 13-week: +1.3%

52-wk low $346.00high $464.60

Sales in 6 of the last 13 weeks.

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 Jul and Jun and lowest in Nov and Oct.

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	−1.5%	43%	7
Feb	+1.3%	71%	7
Mar	+2.5%	57%	7
Apr	+4.7%	86%	7
May	+2.1%	71%	7
Jun	+5.0%	83%	6
Jul	+8.7%	100%	3
Aug	+1.9%	67%	6
Sep	+1.1%	57%	7
Oct	−3.2%	29%	7
Nov	−6.6%	0%	7
Dec	−3.1%	29%	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 Mar.

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	−0.1%	57%	7
Feb	+0.6%	57%	7
Mar	−1.1%	29%	7
Apr	+0.2%	43%	7
May	−0.7%	29%	7
Jun	+2.4%	50%	6
Jul	+6.7%	67%	3
Aug	+5.5%	83%	6
Sep	+2.8%	86%	7
Oct	−0.7%	57%	7
Nov	−3.4%	14%	7
Dec	−1.0%	57%	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
Fri Oct 23	1,222	$458.70	$350.00	$393.58
Tue Oct 20	101	—	—	—
Fri Oct 9	1,702	$429.37	$359.60	$386.84
Tue Oct 6	96	—	—	—
Tue Sep 29	187	—	—	—
Fri Sep 25	1,955	$452.74	$348.52	$383.92
Tue Sep 22	205	—	—	—
Tue Sep 15	91	—	—	—
Fri Sep 11	1,187	$429.00	$346.68	$377.52
Tue Sep 1	212	—	—	—
Fri Aug 28	1,898	$368.70	$334.29	$364.00†
Tue Aug 25	125	—	—	—
Tue Aug 18	136	—	—	—
Tue Aug 11	114	—	—	—
Fri Aug 7	3,358	$442.94	$387.21	$406.37
Tue Aug 4	186	—	—	—
Tue Jul 28	99	—	—	—

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Iowa sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Clarinda Livestock, Clarinda	82 mi	Oct 22	$440.43	$355.41
Sheldon Livestock, Sheldon	93 mi	Aug 15	$284.69	$267.50
Tama Livestock, Tama	156 mi	Sep 14	$420.73	$335.06
Bloomfield Livestock, Bloomfield	182 mi	Oct 21	$443.00	$376.96
Kalona Livestock, Kalona	203 mi	Oct 22	—	—

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Feeder Cattle	October 23, 2026	1,222	32	AMS_2155
Slaughter Cattle	October 20, 2026	101	39	AMS_2164

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Dunlap Livestock Feeder Cattle - Dunlap, IA” (AMS_2155); “Dunlap Livestock Slaughter Cattle - Dunlap, IA” (AMS_2164). 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.