"Dollar bill, dollar bill," hollers the auctioneer. A staccato blur of two-cent increments follows as fast as tractor pistons firing under load. Buyers sit motionless but for a few flickering hands, and 21 seconds later, the price is set at $1.30 a pound. It's half what finer cattle sell for, but double what similar cows fetched five years ago. Now the weight. The Jordan company, with its Thursday auction here in San Saba and on Mondays an hour away in Mason, is one of the biggest cattle sellers in the biggest cattle state. Its bidders, who supply McDonald's and Wendy's as well as posh steakhouses, like weigh-ups, where their experienced eyes must guess what the scale will say. Jordan will sell perhaps 1,100 head of cattle today for over $2 million. This cow comes in at 940 pounds, or $1,222.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-13-26 0515ET
