🐄 USDA Livestock Auction Reports: Cattle Prices and Report Dates

Get official USDA livestock auction reports ready for research in seconds. Collect report titles, dates, correction flags, and direct USDA documents free with no login. Add your own free USDA key to also pull structured cattle and feeder prices in the same run.

🏛️ Official source Trace every record to USDA AMS

📅 Source dates Keep publication and report periods

🔎 Precise filters Use titles or exact report IDs

💲 Real cattle prices Add your free USDA key for price rows

This Actor turns the official Agricultural Marketing Service publication feed into clean, source-linked records, including structured prices once you add your own free USDA key. No source login is needed for report metadata.

🔍 What does this Actor do?

The Actor checks the official USDA AMS list of recently published reports and keeps the livestock auction reports that match your keywords or exact report IDs. Every run returns each report's official title, publication time, covered dates, correction status, file details, and a direct USDA document link, free and without any login.

Add your own free USDA MyMarketNews key and the same run also pulls the structured MARS rows behind each selected report, with USDA's own price, grade, and head-count fields exactly as published. Report metadata always returns, with or without a key.

The output also preserves the publication feed's own generation time and declared report count. Structured MARS rows inherit the complete report provenance, so a row can be traced without joining it back to a separate report item.

The Actor does not estimate prices or fill missing fields. It returns only values supplied by USDA.

👥 Why use it?

• I am a cattle market analyst looking to compare official USDA sale reports and prices without checking dozens of USDA pages by hand.
• I am an agricultural economist looking to collect repeatable USDA publication records, complete with source dates and direct documents, for ongoing market research.
• I am a livestock buyer looking to track newly released feeder cattle and stockyard reports on a schedule, so I never miss a fresh sale report.
• I am a data product manager looking to add official USDA records, metadata and prices alike, to a research feed without maintaining source collection code.

🚀 How to use it

STEP 1 Choose reports Keep the guided keywords or enter exact USDA IDs.

STEP 2 Set your scope Pick the window and limits, and add your free key for prices.

STEP 3 Run or schedule Export the dataset or repeat the feed on a schedule.

🎛️ Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
reportIds	array of numbers	No	Exact positive USDA report IDs. When provided, these take precedence over title keywords.
daysBack	integer	No	Publication window from 1 to 30 days. It defaults to the latest 7 days.
reportKeywords	array of strings	No	Case-insensitive phrases matched against official report titles. Guided livestock terms are provided.
includeMarketRows	boolean	No	Adds structured MARS rows when a personal USDA key is available. Report metadata still returns without a key.
marsApiKey	string	No	Personal MyMarketNews key used only for optional structured rows. It is never saved to the dataset.
maxReports	integer	No	Finite cap on matching report records. It defaults to 10 reports.
maxRowsPerReport	integer	No	Finite cap on optional MARS rows for each selected report. It defaults to 10 rows.

📦 Output example

{
    "recordType": "report",
    "reportId": 1280,
    "fileName": "ams_1280",
    "fileExtension": "pdf",
    "publishedDateText": "2026-08-10 11:56:55 MDT",
    "publishedAtEpochMs": 1786384615723,
    "publishedAt": "2026-08-10T17:56:55.723Z",
    "reportBeginDate": "2026-08-10",
    "reportEndDate": "2026-08-10",
    "isCorrection": false,
    "title": "Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK",
    "sourceGeneratedDateText": "2026-08-10 12:15:59 MDT",
    "sourceTotalReports": 2,
    "sourceDocumentUrl": "https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_1280.pdf",
    "sourceListUrl": "https://marsapi.ams.usda.gov/services/v1.1/public/listPublishedReports/7",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-08-10T18:15:59.000Z"
}

Add your free USDA key and each selected report also adds structured marketRow records, with USDA's own fields nested under marketData:

{
    "recordType": "marketRow",
    "reportId": 1280,
    "rowNumber": 1,
    "title": "Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK",
    "marketData": { "...": "USDA's own published fields for this report, such as price, grade, and head count" },
    "sourceDocumentUrl": "https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_1280.pdf"
}

marketData fields come straight from USDA and vary by report type. The Actor passes them through unchanged rather than guessing or renaming values.

🧾 Data table

Field	Type	Description
recordType	string	Distinguishes a published report from an optional structured market row.
reportId	number	USDA report identifier from the official publication feed.
fileName	string	Source-provided USDA document file name.
fileExtension	string	Source-provided document format, such as pdf or txt.
publishedDateText	string	Original USDA publication date and timezone text.
publishedAtEpochMs	number	Source publication timestamp in milliseconds.
publishedAt	string	Publication timestamp formatted as ISO 8601.
reportBeginDate	string	Beginning of the reporting period supplied by USDA.
reportEndDate	string	End of the reporting period supplied by USDA.
isCorrection	boolean	Whether USDA marks the publication as a correction.
title	string	Official USDA report title.
sourceDocumentUrl	string	Direct link to the official report document.
sourceListUrl	string	Official published-report feed used for the run.
sourceGeneratedDateText	string	Original generation time printed by the official USDA feed.
sourceTotalReports	number	Total report count declared by the official feed before filtering.
rowNumber	number	Position of an optional MARS row within its selected report.
marketData	object	Source-backed structured row returned by USDA MARS. MARS rows also include the report file, dates, correction flag, and feed provenance fields above.
scrapedAt	string	Time the record was collected.

The Output tab includes separate views for published reports, structured MARS rows, and source provenance.

💰 Pricing

Pricing is pay per saved result. Empty runs cost nothing, and there is no fixed subscription.

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ℹ️ Source scope and limitations

• Public report metadata comes from the official USDA AMS updated-reports feed, free and without a key.
• Structured market rows, including price, grade, and head-count fields, require your personal MyMarketNews key. The Actor does not provide or share keys.
• Report coverage depends on titles published by USDA within your chosen window.
• Direct documents may be PDF or text files. This release does not parse document body tables without MARS data.
• USDA is the source of record. This Actor is independent and is not affiliated with USDA.

❓ FAQ

Does the USDA livestock report feed require a login?

No. Published-report metadata and document links are public. Only structured MARS price rows require your own USDA MyMarketNews key.

Do I need a USDA key to get cattle prices?

Report metadata, including titles, dates, correction flags, and document links, always returns free with no key. Structured price rows, with USDA's own price, grade, and head-count fields, need your own free USDA MyMarketNews key. Requesting one takes about a minute on USDA's site, and this Actor never stores or logs it.

How fresh is the livestock auction data?

Each run reads the current official publication list for your selected 1 to 30 day window. Output preserves the USDA publication timestamp.

Does this Actor collect private data?

No. It collects official market report metadata, public documents, and optional rows returned through an authorized USDA key.

Which livestock reports are supported?

You can match any title in the official feed. The guided defaults target auctions, stockyards, feeder cattle, and slaughter or replacement cattle reports.

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