Cattle Prices Continue Torrid Pace

Jul 11, 2025

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) said auction barns in Nebraska recorded sales of 500-600 lb. feeder steers of around $428 per cwt during the last week in June, up $74 per cwt. from the beginning of the year and $124 per cwt. compared to a year ago. Recent sales of live steers averaged nearly $231/cwt. compared to $198 per cwt. last year.

Both supply and demand factors have contributed to the record prices. On the supply side, fewer domestic calves combined with fewer imported calves from Mexico have resulted in fewer cattle available for placement and ultimately processing. The AMS reported cattle slaughter during the last week in June was down more than 8% compared to the same week a year ago. And the Daily Livestock Report noted that since the last week of April, fed cattle slaughter is down 7% compared to a year ago.

On the demand side, consumers have continued to buy beef despite higher retail prices. Plus, packer capacity has increased (i.e. Sustainable Beef in North Platte came online), meaning more packers are bidding for fewer animals.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.