Southern Plains cash cattle trades gain broader reporting coverage
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has introduced a new negotiated cash cattle report that combines data from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. The change is designed to improve market reporting and provide more reliable price information for cattle producers, feeders, and industry participants.
The report uses information that packers already submit through the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program. While it does not change the way cattle are bought and sold, it expands the amount of publicly available market information from an important cattle-producing region.
For several years, some cattle market reports have been difficult to publish due to federal confidentiality requirements. USDA can only release a report if it follows the 3/70/20 rule. This rule requires at least three companies to regularly provide data, prevents a single company from accounting for more than 70% of the reported volume, and ensures one company is not the only reporter for more than 20% of the time.
Colorado has frequently faced reporting challenges because of these requirements. During 2026, similar issues affected other Southern Plains states. Weekly negotiated cash price reports for Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were withheld for extended periods beginning in July. Kansas also experienced reporting interruptions later in the year.
These reporting gaps reduced the amount of information available to producers and market analysts. As a result, many participants could not see weekly price data from major cattle-feeding regions.
The issue also affected the widely followed 5-Area fed cattle average price. This benchmark is commonly used across the cattle industry and plays an important role in pricing formulas and livestock risk management programs.
Many producers assume that all five reporting regions are always included on the 5-Area average. However, only regions that meet confidentiality standards are used in the calculation. Since late August, only Nebraska and the Iowa-Minnesota region have consistently qualified for inclusion.
This means that for about two months, cattle traded in large portions of the Southern Plains did not directly influence the benchmark price. Industry observers note that this situation highlights the importance of maintaining reliable reporting across key cattle-producing areas.
Price differences between regions can sometimes be significant. During 2026, prices in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico averaged slightly above those reported in Nebraska and Iowa-Minnesota. However, weekly differences occasionally reached several dollars per hundredweight.
Because price spreads can vary from week to week, market participants benefit when more regional transactions are included in publicly reported data. Better reporting can help improve price discovery and provide a clearer picture of market conditions.
The newly combined five-state report is expected to address many of these challenges. By pooling transaction data from multiple states, the report has a greater chance of meeting confidentiality standards on a consistent basis.
Industry members will be watching several key developments in the coming months. First, they will look to see whether the five-state report can be published every week without interruption. Consistent publication would provide producers and cattle feeders with a more dependable source of market information.
Second, stakeholders will monitor whether the report allows more Southern Plains transactions to contribute to the 5-Area fed cattle at average price. If more cattle trades qualify for inclusion, the benchmark could better reflect conditions across the broader cattle market.
Third, market analysts will be interested in whether USDA publishes historical data for the new report series. Historical information would help researchers and producers compare market trends and better understand long-term price relationships.
The creation of the new report reflects ongoing efforts to improve transparency and market access within the U.S. cattle industry. Reliable price reporting is essential for producers making marketing decisions, evaluating risk management strategies, and understanding changing market conditions.
As the industry reviews the first months of data, the new five-state report may become an important tool for improving price discovery and strengthening confidence in cattle market information across the Southern Plains.
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