Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News

Livestock Price Reporting

August 25, 2017
Price Reporting

Taylor Cox, Field Chief

Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting (LMR)

Des Moines, Iowa

Jodie Pitcock, Assistant Field Chief

Voluntary Price Reporting

St. Joseph, Missouri
Mission & Objective

The primary mission of the Livestock, Poultry and 

Grain Market News Division (LPGMN) of the 

Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program (LPS) is to 

compile and disseminate information that will aid 

producers, consumers, and distributors in the sale 

and purchase of livestock, meat, grain, poultry, 

eggs and their related products nationally and 

internationally. 
Function of Market News

• To Facilitate Marketing

o Timely Market Reports

o Common Descriptions 

 Grade Standards

 Uniform reporting

• Provide Up to Date Market Information 

o Daily and Weekly Reports

o Internet

o Radio Broadcast
Users of Market Information 

• Producers

o Farmers/Ranchers/Feedlots/ 

Packers

o Egg Sheller/Bakers

o Retailers/Restaurants

• Speculators

o Brokers

o Traders

• Financial Institutions

o Banks (loan officers and 

appraisers)

o Lending Organizations

• Others

o Government Agencies

o Universities (Extension)

o Insurance Companies
Legal Authority for Market News Service

"The Shepherd Amendment" - Legislation enacted by Congress Aug. 11, 1916, authorized 

the Secretary of Agriculture "to gather from stockmen, livestock associations, State livestock and agricultural 

boards, common carriers, stockyards, commission firms, livestock exchanges, slaughtering and meat packing 

companies, and others information relative to the number of different classes and grades of marketable 

livestock, especially cattle, hogs, and sheep in the principal livestock feeding districts and growing sections; 

prices, receipts, and shipments of the different classes and grades of cattle, hogs, and sheep at livestock 

centers; prices of meats and meat food products, and the amounts of such products in storage, to compile and 

publish such information at such frequent intervals as most effectively to guide producers, consumers and 

distributors in the sale and purchase of livestock, meats, and other animal products, and to gather and publish 

any related information pertaining to marketing and distribution of livestock, meats, and animal byproducts." 

"The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, under which marketing services activities were consolidated, 

contains this statement of duties concerning market news activities "... to collect and disseminate marketing 

information ..." and "... to collect, tabulate, and disseminate statistics on marketing agricultural products, 

including , but not restricted to statistics on marketing supplies, storage, stocks, quantity, quality, and condition 

of such products in various positions in the marketing channel, utilization of such products, and shipments and 

unloads thereof. 

"Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999" - Legislation enacted by Congress on October 22, 

1999, as an amendment to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 provides for the Mandatory Program of 

reporting market information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and products of such livestock by 

certain livestock packers, livestock product processors, and importers.
Office Locations

Livestock Mandatory Reporting:

2 offices (St. Joseph, MO & Des Moines, IA)

3 commodities:

• Cattle and beef

• Swine and pork

• Lamb

Voluntary Price Reporting:

28 offices

Covering over 15 commodities:

• From eggs to cattle, bioenergy to feedstuffs
Livestock Mandatory 

Reporting

Cattle & Beef
LMR Cattle

• Packers that slaughter 125,000 head per 

year are required to report

*based on 5-year slaughter average

• Currently 38 live cattle plants are covered

*includes fed cattle and cow plants

• LMR covers 92% of all fed cattle 

transactions; and 33% of all cow and bull 

transactions

*head counts tabulated annually through LMR divided by total slaughter provided by 

NASS and FSIS
LMR Beef

• Packers that slaughter 125,000 head per year are required to report

• Sales from Domestic packers only

• LMR covers over 90% of boxed beef volume

• First time sales only. Distributors, grinders, exporters, etc. who do 

not slaughter, do not submit LMR sales data

• Beef Offal/Variety meat sales are not covered

*covered through our voluntary reporting service
Important Notes

• Packers are required to submit all prices (and 

associated data) at the time the price is established

• Packers are required to submit base (purchase) and 

net (slaughter) data on cattle – beef prices are FOB 

the plant

• All data is reported as U.S. dollars per cwt
LMR Staff and Reports

• Cattle: 3 reporters handle 5,000-8,000 records per day

• Publish 29 to 53 cattle reports per day, in addition to 

weekly and monthly reports

Transaction Example:

• Beef: 3 reporters cover the fed cattle and cow source 

product reporting - handle an average of 15,000 records 

per day

• Publish 6 daily & 11 weekly beef reports

*LMR system imports on average 50,000-60,000 lines of transactional data daily
LMR Compliance Structure

LMR Compliance Program Manager

LMR Compliance Program Coordinator

5 LMR Compliance Auditors

Conduct Approximately 200 Audits Per Year
Compliance

• Minimum of two audits annually: a full day (slaughter) 

audit is conducted at least once per fiscal year – the 

other audit is a verification of each purchase type through 

random pulls

• During the audit, plants are required to provide 

documentation to the auditors proving purchase type

• Documentation includes, but is not limited to; buy sheets, 

grading or settlement sheets, scale tickets, kill line-ups, 

sales invoices, copies of checks, etc.
Audits

• Audit schedule is set up every six months

• In a six month period auditors review:

- 38 cattle plants totaling 840 records

- 43 swine plants totaling 935 records

- 6 sheep plants totaling 186 records

Purchase Types

• Negotiated Cash: Cash or spot market purchase 

where the price is determined through buyer-seller 

interaction. The price is known, and reported, at the 

time the deal is struck and delivery may be up to 30 

days.

*currently the reg. breaks negt. del. periods for cattle into 0-14/15-30 

day del. windows – shown on the report 0-30 day period
Reporting Forms and Reports

• Live Cattle Daily Report – Current Established 

Prices [Form LPS-113] Required to submit at 10AM 

and 2PM all transactions that have been priced since 

the last reporting period for steers and heifers (fed 

cattle only). 

• Examples of reports derived from the LPS-113:

National Weekly Formula, Contract, Grid - LM_CT151

5 Area Weekly Negotiated Cash - LM_CT150

Meat Packers’ Users Guide Link:

https://mpr.ams.usda.gov/mpr/manuals/help/section1.htm?selItem=introduction&product=livestock
LPS-113
LPS-113
Reporter Data Review

• Reporters review submitted files prior to release deadlines

• Reporters analyze data on a line item basis

• Receive sales documentation to support verbal confirmation

• Use checklists to ensure all plants have reported

• Reporters look for any invalid records, contact plant, and correct data

• Reporters identify data outliers and call the plant to inquire about lots 

in question before generating reports

Purchase Types (cont’d)

• Formula: The advance commitment of cattle for 

slaughter by any means other than negotiated, 

negotiated grid, or forward contract. Formulas use 

a method of calculating price in which the price may 

often not be known until a future date. 
Purchase Types (cont’d)

Forward Contract: An agreement for the purchase of 

cattle, executed in advance of slaughter, under which the 

base price is established by reference to prices quoted on 

the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 
Purchase Types (cont’d)

Negotiated Grid: The base price is negotiated between 

buyer and seller and is known at the time the deal is struck 

and delivery is usually expected within 14 days. However, 

the final net price will be determined by applying a series of 

premiums and discounts after slaughter based on carcass 

performance. The base is reported when established. The 

net is reported after slaughter and grading occurs.
Purchase Types (cont’d)

Packer-Owned: Cattle that a packer owns for at least 14 

days immediately before slaughter. These are reported 

on the weekly LPS-115B only.
Reporting Forms and Reports

Live Cattle Daily Report – Committed and Delivered Cattle [Form 

LPS-114] Required to submit at 10AM and 2PM central all transactions 

since the last reporting period regarding committed and delivered 

volume for steers and heifers (fed cattle only). 

 Example of a report derived from the LPS-114:

Daily Committed and Delivered - LM_CT106
LPS-114
Reporting Forms and Reports

• Live Cattle Weekly Report – Slaughter, Packer Owned, 

Forward Contract (Due at 9AM Monday for fed cattle only)

[Form LPS-115A] Used to report head count totals of Imported 

and Domestic Formula, Forward Contract, Negotiated Cash, and 

Negotiated Grid cattle killed in the prior week.

[Form LPS-115B] Used to report packer-owned steers and 

heifers slaughtered in the previous week. 

[Form LPS-115C] Used to report new signings of forward contract 

steers and heifers when the contract is established. 

 Report Derived from LPS115: LM_CT153
LPS-115
LPS-115A, LPS-115B
LPS-115C
Reporting Forms and Reports

• Cattle Premiums and Discounts Weekly Report 

[Form LPS-117] This submission is due once a week 

on Monday morning at 9:00AM Central. Packers are 

required to submit their estimated premiums and 

discounts for fed cattle on this form for the upcoming 

week.

 Example of a report derived from the LPS-117:

Weekly 5-Area Premiums and Discounts - LM_CT169
LPS–117
LPS-117

Reporting Forms and Reports

• Cow/Bull Plant Delivered Bids [Form LPS-131]; This submission 

is due at 10AM each day and is used to collect the packer’s bids for 

each class and weight break on what they expect to pay for cows 

and bulls that day. These are the bids given to buyers that day. 

 Report derived from the LPS-131: Daily Cow and Bull Plant 

Delivered Bids - LM_CT138

• Live Cow/Bull Daily Purchase Report [Form LPS-132]; This 

submission is due at 2PM each day and is used to collect the 

actual pricing and slaughter data on cows and bulls, normally after 

harvest.

 Report Derived from the LPS-132: Daily Cow and Bull Established 

Prices - LM_CT103
LPS-131
LPS-131
LPS-132
LPS-132

New Cattle Comprehensive Report

https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lswfedcc.pdf
Beef Reporting
Beef Reporting Form Highlights

Boxed Beef Daily Report– [Form LS-126] Files 

submitted at 10am and 2pm. Notable criteria:

• Destination – domestic, overseas, or NAFTA

• Sales type – negotiated, formula, or forward contract

• Delivery period – 0-21, 22-60, 60-90, or 90+ days

• Refrigeration – fresh, frozen or aged

• Class – steer/heifer, cow, bull, dairybred, etc.

• Classification – Prime, Choice, Select, etc.

• Branded designation – brand parameters or unbranded

• Specific item – packer SKU#, or IMPS item

• Quantity sold – in pounds

• FOB plant price – $cwt
Afternoon daily spot reports:

• Boxed Beef Cutout and Boxed Beef 

Cuts(LM_XB403)

• Boneless Processing Beef and Beef 

Trimmings(LM_XB401)

• Cutter Cow Cutout and Cow Cuts(LM_XB405)

Weekly Reports:

• Spot Mkt Boxed Beef Cutout & Cuts (LM_XB459)

• Formula Sales Boxed Beef (LM_XB454)

• Forward Sales Boxed Beef (LM_XB455)

• Spot Mkt Branded Boxed Beef (LM_XB452)

• Spot Mkt Prime Boxed Beef (LM_XB456)

• Spot Mkt Ungraded Boxed Beef (LM_XB462)

• Spot Mkt Bnls. Beef & Trimmings (LM_XB460)

• Formula Bnls. Beef & Trimmings (LM_XB450)

• Spot Mkt Cutter Cow Cutout & Cuts (LM_XB461)

Weekly Comprehensive Reports:

• Comprehensive Boxed Beef Cutout 

(LM_XB463)

LM_XB459 Negotiated

LM_XB452 Branded

LM_XB454 Formula

LM_XB463 Comprehensive

Livestock Voluntary

Reporting

Cattle
Feeder Cattle Reporting

USDA-LPGMN publishes feeder cattle data sourced from 

auction markets, video markets and direct sales.

• USDA and State Departments of Ag provide feeder 

cattle auction market data in 3 states

• USDA reports over 15 feeder cattle video/internet 

markets

• USDA publishes direct feeder data for all 12 states that 

feed into the CME Group’s Feeder Cattle Index
Overview of the CME Feeder Cattle Index

The CME Group calculates a 7 day rolling weighted 

average based on feeder cattle data published by USDA 

LPGMN.

• Only data for 700-899 lb. Medium and Large 1 and 

Medium and Large 1-2 feeder steers is used.

• Cattle must originate from the 12 state region 

(MT, WY, CO, NM, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, IA and MO)

http://www.cmegroup.com/market-data/reports/cash-settledcommodity-index-prices.html
Information Collected on Direct Sales

• Head Count

• Sex

• Base Weight 

• Grade (USDA Frame and Muscle score)

• Price

• FOB or Delivered and Delivery Period 

• Buyer/Seller 

 Other party involved in the transaction will be 

contacted to verify trades
Information Collected (Cont’d)

• New contributors must be a participant for 30 days, 

before information is included in the official report

• Contributors must be a regular participant for their 

information to be included in the report

• All information is evaluated before being published

• All individual information collected is strictly confidential 

and will only be released in report form
Cattle Reports
Feeder and Replacement Cattle Auctions
Additional Coverage

International

• Live Animal Imports

• Canada

• Mexico

• Meat Imports

• By County, Species and Product Type

• Prices

• New Zealand, Australia and Uruguay

• Canada

• Japan
Contact information

Taylor Cox

Field Chief

USDA - AMS - Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News

515-284-4460

Taylor.Cox@ams.usda.gov

Jodie Pitcock

Assistant Field Chief

USDA - AMS - Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News

816-676-7000

Jodie.Pitcock@ams.usda.gov

Visit us online at:

https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/ls-home