Cattle remain valuable. The national price received for steers and heifers from NASS was $245 per cwt in April 2026, which was $34 per cwt higher than a year earlier. Calves are even more valuable. The national price paid for feeder cattle and calves from NASS was $418 per cwt in April 2026, $97 per cwt higher than a year earlier. Those values indicate another increase in the value of cattle production at the state level for the year. The high price levels are also strong incentives to deliver pounds and calves to the market.
The pounds are coming from the continued higher slaughter weights. The average live weight of cattle slaughtered in Nebraska in April 2026 was 1,535 pounds, up from 1,494 a year earlier. Nationally, the dressed weight for cattle in 2026 has been steady and higher than last year and the longer-run average (see Figure 1). The average steer dressed weight is about 980 pounds and the heifer dressed weight is about 80 pounds lighter. Cow weights are the exception, about even with a year earlier.
Despite mostly higher weights, beef production is down in 2026, as the number of head slaughtered remains below 2025 levels. At a recent sale, steers weighing 1,372 pounds were sold to return to feed. There were also several instances of feeder cattle described as fleshy, or just another way to describe more pounds.
Source : sdstate.edu