Superior Livestock Auction

Southern and Midwest feeders sold $15-25 higher than the last test at Superior Livestock Auction’s Sept. 17 video auction, where producers marketed 21,577 head, even as USDA’s announcement of a Sept. 24 reopening at the Santa Teresa livestock port landed mid-sale.

Cattle producers sold a total of 111 lots consigned from 23 states, with 55 successful buyers. Cattle sold on contract to deliver immediately through February 2027.

“As we head into the fall run of cattle, we saw shorter numbers this week as our reps are busy delivering,” said Ralph Wade, auctioneer for Superior Livestock Auction. “Six-dollar-plus diesel adds cost to getting feeders to the feedlot, dry conditions are hanging on in the wheat pasture country, and there’s sword rattling in Washington.”

Southern and Midwest feeders were lightly tested, with sales $15-25 higher than the last test. Eight-weight cattle brought $320-350/cwt, roughly $2,616-2,950 a head. Calf prices held strong, with some four-weight calves selling above $500. Western and northern calves were highlighted by a set of 700-pound weaned steer calves out of California that brought $392/cwt, about $2,744 a head, for immediate delivery. Heifers were soft, though not well tested, and beef-dairy demand slipped on the lightweight calves. Good quality cattle stayed in strong demand, as they have for months, though the test was light across every class.

September feeder cattle futures closed above $343 on Sept. 14 before easing through the week, settling at $334 on auction day. USDA confirmed mid-auction that it planned to reopen the Santa Teresa, NM, livestock port on Sept. 24, the largest of the southern cattle crossings, closed since May 2025.

Drought remains a concern across cattle country, though scattered showers brought relief in places over the past week and producers who caught meaningful moisture have already started planting wheat. Cattle numbers remain tight and the underlying fundamentals have not changed.

“Stay the course and don’t chase a volatile market trend,” Wade said. “The short supply and high demand has not changed, this is just another bump in the road. Only a slow trickle is crossing the border at best, mostly rodeo steers, and heifer retention is slow. Stay with your marketing plan.”