Price ranges from fed cattle negotiated cash sales

Recent wide spreads between boxed beef cutout values and fed cattle prices have reignited beef cattle producers' long‐held concerns about price discovery. The recent concerns have led to policy proposals meant to increase negotiated trade volumes in the cash market. We determine how volume, day of the week, sex, grade, weight range, and other factors impact price ranges in the negotiated cash market. We find many factors, in addition to sales volume, can impact price ranges. The analysis provides insight into current policy proposals, and we discuss the need for more detailed data for precise answers to current policy questions.