by USDA

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Oct. 20 announced an update to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) cash cattle reports as part of the department’s broader effort to implement two of President Trump’s executive orders on “Supporting American Ranchers” and “Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers” to bring greater transparency to cattle market cash reporting.

“President Trump tasked our agency with bringing clarity and consistency to cattle markets and protecting rancher viability, and today’s action is one of several steps we are taking to deliver on that promise,” said Rollins. “Maintaining reliable and transparent price information is critical to a well-functioning cattle market. We are making these changes to address those challenges and make the best use possible of the market information that AMS gathers.”

Cash purchases accounted for more than 50% of transactions in 2005, but fell to less than 18% in 2025.

Negotiated cash cattle trade has declined significantly as cattle industry procurement practices have shifted toward formula-based purchasing methods. Cash purchases accounted for more than 50% of transactions in 2005, but fell to less than 18% in 2025. Because cash purchases serve as the basis for many formula transactions, the decline in negotiated trade has reduced the number of reportable transactions and created confidentiality challenges that can limit the usefulness of existing price reports. This update supports USDA’s cattle and beef-market transparency objectives by providing producers, livestock sellers, packers and other market participants with more meaningful information about negotiated cash cattle prices.