USDA to implement new regional cash cattle price reporting

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will introduce a new regional cash cattle report to its Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) system starting October 26, 2026. Announced by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, the update aims to increase market transparency and support rancher viability.

The new report will aggregate existing data from Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) noted that the update will not require additional reporting from covered packers, as it utilizes data already collected through the LMR system.

The move follows a significant shift in industry practices, where negotiated cash cattle trade has declined from over 50 percent of transactions in 2005 to less than 18 percent in 2025. As the industry moves toward formula-based purchasing, the decline in cash transactions has created confidentiality challenges and reduced the number of reportable transactions. This new regional reporting is intended to provide producers, livestock sellers, and packers with more meaningful insight into negotiated cash cattle prices.