{
  "query": {
    "country": "US",
    "product": "cattle"
  },
  "status": "ok",
  "price": {
    "currency": "USD",
    "unit": "per hundredweight (100 lb)",
    "value": 224.72,
    "measure": "average",
    "median": null,
    "typical_low": null,
    "typical_high": null,
    "min": null,
    "max": null
  },
  "sample_size": 38584,
  "period": {
    "from": "2026-10-19",
    "to": "2026-10-19"
  },
  "confidence": "high",
  "price_type": "transaction",
  "statistic": {
    "measure": "average",
    "reference_period": "2026-10-19",
    "note": "USDA's weekly head-weighted average of negotiated cash purchases by packers; not one animal, not a futures price and not a retail beef price."
  },
  "as_of": "2026-10-24T11:05:58.444Z",
  "source": {
    "id": "us-ams-livestock",
    "name": "National Weekly Direct Slaughter Cattle, negotiated purchases (USDA AMS, LM_CT154)",
    "publisher": "USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting",
    "licence": "CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication; data.gov record 'Livestock and Grain Market News LMR Web Services', publisher USDA AMS)",
    "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
    "attribution": "Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LM_CT154)",
    "url": "https://mpr.datamart.ams.usda.gov/"
  },
  "method": "USDA AMS Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting, report LM_CT154: packers report the cattle they bought on negotiated cash terms in the week; USDA publishes the head count and weighted average price by quality grade. We pass on the newest weekly report for fed steers (live weight, FOB the feedlot), combining the grades as a head-weighted mean, Domestic cattle only. The sample size is head of cattle bought, not sales records. No range is calculated.",
  "method_url": "https://proofprice.com/method",
  "summary": "US packers paid an average of US$224.72 per hundredweight for fed steers (live weight, FOB the feedlot) on negotiated cash terms in the week reported on 19 October 2026 (38,584 head), as published by USDA AMS. That is 1.6% higher than the week reported on 12 October 2026. Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LM_CT154).",
  "notice": "Information, not a valuation or offer. Ranges describe past recorded prices.",
  "extra": {
    "country_name": "United States",
    "product": {
      "key": "steer-live",
      "name": "Fed steers, live weight",
      "class": "STEER",
      "selling_basis": "LIVE FOB",
      "asked_for": "cattle"
    },
    "usd_per_cwt": 224.72,
    "usd_per_lb": 2.25,
    "head_bought": 38584,
    "report_date": "2026-10-19",
    "change_on_previous_week": {
      "reference_date": "2026-10-12",
      "value": 221.13,
      "change_percent": 1.6
    },
    "by_grade": [
      {
        "grade": "Over 80% Choice",
        "head": 34701,
        "usd_per_cwt": 224.37,
        "low": 207,
        "high": 228.5,
        "average_weight_lb": 1592
      },
      {
        "grade": "65 - 80% Choice",
        "head": 3237,
        "usd_per_cwt": 227.79,
        "low": 226,
        "high": 228,
        "average_weight_lb": 1464
      },
      {
        "grade": "35 - 65% Choice",
        "head": 646,
        "usd_per_cwt": 228.19,
        "low": 228,
        "high": 228.5,
        "average_weight_lb": 1522
      }
    ],
    "what_this_is": "Weekly head-weighted average of negotiated cash prices that US packers paid for fed cattle, published by USDA AMS (LM_CT154). Not one animal, not a futures price and not a retail price.",
    "attribution_notice": "Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LM_CT154)"
  },
  "answer_id": "ans_83be276cb239a97cb821",
  "method_version": "1",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-10-24T11:05:58.444Z",
  "evidence": {
    "type": "transaction",
    "label": "Published market average",
    "meaning": "A weighted average of prices packers paid, calculated and published by USDA AMS; the sample size is the number of head of cattle bought."
  },
  "reliability": "official_with_count",
  "data_as_of": "2026-10-19",
  "data_age_days": 5,
  "suggestions": [
    "This is one published figure for a group: for a specific job or purchase, ask for an itemised quote."
  ]
}