Tama Livestock market report — September 14, 2026

Tama, IA · Monday sale · USDA report published 09/14/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

1,070

Last week 702 (+368)
Last year —

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$420.73 /cwt

$2,413 per head · 148 hd
vs last week —

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$335.06 /cwt

$2,426 per head · 14 hd
vs last week —

CUSTOMER APPRECIATION BBQ FEEDER CALF SALE TODAY: No comparison: Today's sale consisted of calves coming off the cow with and without vaccinations, weaned calves with vaccinations. Trade active. Demand good.
USDA Market News reporter, September 14, 2026

Feeder steers — Sep 14

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 Sep 8. 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	—	—	—	—	—	—	$494.49 (24 hd)
400–499 lb	7	437 lb	$488.66	$2,135	—	+8.04	$466.16 (69 hd)
500–599 lb	148	574 lb	$420.73	$2,413	—	−49.21	$416.95 (219 hd)
600–699 lb	44	670 lb	$364.95	$2,443	—	−42.55	$368.43 (73 hd)
700–799 lb	14	724 lb	$335.06	$2,426	—	−38.00	—
900–999 lb	4	983 lb	$306.00†	$3,008	—	—	—

Feeder heifers — Sep 14

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 Sep 8. 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	—	—	—	—	—	—	$453.61 (16 hd)
400–499 lb	28	478 lb	$457.16	$2,185	—	−10.25	$439.18 (135 hd)
500–599 lb	68	510 lb	$405.91	$2,070	—	−46.88	$376.07 (69 hd)
600–699 lb	21	637 lb	$335.97	$2,140	—	−18.83	$345.00 (2 hd)†
700–799 lb	12	780 lb	$293.17	$2,287	—	+3.52	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 21

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	Average	20	1,180 lb	$177.67	$123.00–$247.50
Breaker 75-80%	Average	20	1,420 lb	$146.19	$135.00–$188.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	2	1,665 lb	$123.23	$121.00–$126.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	9	1,064 lb	$112.97	$104.00–$128.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of September 14, 2026): $420.73/cwt
4-week average: $420.73
13-week average: $420.73
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $384.44high $480.58

Sales in 1 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of September 14, 2026): $335.06/cwt
4-week average: $344.58
13-week average: $344.58
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $332.54high $390.95

Sales in 2 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of September 14, 2026): $405.91/cwt
4-week average: $383.46
13-week average: $383.46
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $346.26high $434.11

Sales in 2 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

Not enough history yet for a seasonal pattern.

7-weight steers

Not enough history yet for a seasonal pattern.

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Wed Oct 21	297	—	—	—
Wed Oct 14	227	—	—	—
Wed Oct 7	279	—	—	—
Wed Sep 30	523	—	—	—
Wed Sep 23	533	—	—	—
Wed Sep 16	426	—	—	—
Mon Sep 14	1,070	$420.73	$335.06	$405.91
Fri Sep 11	702	—	$354.10	$361.00
Wed Sep 9	253	—	—	—
Wed Sep 2	205	—	—	—
Wed Aug 26	195	—	—	—
Wed Aug 19	274	—	—	—
Wed Aug 12	260	—	—	—
Wed Aug 5	307	—	—	—
Wed Jul 29	292	—	—	—
Wed Jul 22	264	—	—	—
Wed Jul 15	231	—	—	—
Wed Jul 8	278	—	—	—
Wed Jul 1	132	—	—	—
Wed Jun 24	364	—	—	—
Wed Jun 17	292	—	—	—

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
Mar 6, 2026	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	636	$470.16	$390.95	$413.64	Yes
Feb 13, 2026	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	1,030	$480.58	$386.10	$434.11	Yes
Jan 23, 2026	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	1,595	$441.09	$383.76	$423.83	Yes
Jan 16, 2026	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	1,965	$417.02	$375.43	$380.48	Yes
Jan 9, 2026	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	2,518	$435.49	$371.78	$393.78	Yes
Dec 5, 2025	Feeder Cattle Specialspecial	1,312	$437.13	$369.57	$360.80	Yes

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
Kalona Livestock, Kalona	56 mi	Oct 22	—	—
Bloomfield Livestock, Bloomfield	84 mi	Oct 21	$443.00	$376.96
Clarinda Livestock, Clarinda	153 mi	Oct 22	$440.43	$355.41
Dunlap Livestock, Dunlap	156 mi	Oct 23	$458.70	$350.00
Sheldon Livestock, Sheldon	186 mi	Aug 15	$284.69	$267.50

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Slaughter Cattle	October 21, 2026	297	52	AMS_2165
Feeder Cattle	September 14, 2026	1,070	5	AMS_2156
Feeder Cattle Special special	March 6, 2026	636	6	AMS_2144

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Tama Livestock Slaughter Cattle - Tama, IA” (AMS_2165); “Tama Livestock Feeder Cattle - Tama, IA” (AMS_2156); “Tama Livestock Feeder Cattle Special - Tama, IA” (AMS_2144). 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.