Market holds steady as Superior markets 19,213 head
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Feeders and calves sold steady across the board with the last offering at Superior Livestock Auction’s Oct. 1 video auction, where producers marketed 19,213 head.
Cattle producers sold a total of 143 lots consigned from 23 states, with 54 successful buyers. Cattle sold on contract to deliver immediately through March 2027.
Bidding stayed active from open to close. Midwest feeder steers weighing 825 pounds brought approximately $2,895 per head. Premiums were shown for weaned calves with weaned calves out of the southern states bringing up to $300 more per head than unweaned calves. Beef-dairy cross cattle traded steady to $20 higher, led by Kansas offerings, with 680-pound steers bringing approximately $2,686 per head, reversing the softness that class showed two weeks earlier.
The fundamentals under the market have not changed. Feeder supplies remain historically tight, with USDA putting the 2026 calf crop at 32.5 million head, down 1.5 percent from a year ago, and feedlot placements running at record lows, leaving fewer cattle available to either retain or place through 2027. Heifer retention is improving, though it has not reached the levels that marked herd expansion in past cycles.
Winter wheat pasture draws lightweight calves out of the fall run, and that grazing base is going in on about its normal schedule. Winter wheat planting across the major producing states reached 34 percent by Sept. 27, slightly ahead of the 32 percent five-year average and double last year’s pace, with 11 percent emerged against a 12 percent average. Drought conditions improved almost everywhere across the High Plains last week as tropical moisture delivered 5 to 10 inches to the Southwest and into Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. The southern Plains stayed hot and dry through most of the week before heavy rain crossed Oklahoma and north Texas on the eve of the auction.
Superior’s next offering is the Thursday, Oct. 15 Video Auction, with a consignment deadline of Monday, Oct. 5. Producers marketing through Superior can sell cattle for immediate and future delivery. Find a rep, register to bid or view the online catalog at superiorlivestock.com.
Top Lots:
SLC, Inc., Park, KS. 65 Feeder Steers @ 825#. English & English cross. Approx. 80-90% Black or Red hided, balance Charolais cross, prior to sort. $351.00, Oct 20-Nov 5 Del.
Trinity Feedyard LLC, Garden City, KS. 74 Beef Dairy Cross Steers @ 680#. VAC 60, Out of pred. Holstein w/a few Holstein cross cows AI’d to reg. Alta Angus (Connealy Optimizer, HR Poker & KCF Bennett Culmination) bulls selected for growth & feed efficiency. 100% Black hided & some w/White under belly. May be White streak in flank, side, head, socks or tip of tail. $395.00, Oct 1-31 Del.
Ensz Brothers, Middleton, MI. 57 Feeder Steers @ 850#. Superior Progressive Genetics, Red Angus. 100% Cross Diamond sired. 100% Red hided. $341.00, Oct 12-23 Del.
Eckhardt Farms, Goodland, KS. 60 Feeder Steers @ 825#. Angus & Angus cross. Approx. 98% Black hided. 1 Red hided. $350.00, Oct 15-30 Del.
Charles Coblentz, Chouteau, OK. 42 Beef Dairy Cross Heifers @ 1150#. VAC 60, Superior Progressive Genetics, Out of Holstein cows by Black Angus bulls. Connealy Clarity & Whitewater bloodlines. Some with White under belly, head, socks & tip on tail. 100% Black hided. $258.00, Oct 5-10 Del.
Sageser Cattle Co., Kress, TX. 95 Weaned Str Calves @ 550#. VAC PRECON, Black Angus, Red Angus cross & Charolais cross. Pred. 1/8 or less ear, few up to 1/4. $450.00, Oct 5-16 Del.