Arkansas Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Weekly Livestock Auction Summary, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 16, 2021

9,022 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Arkansas Weekly Livestock Auction Summary report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $141.65/cwt -5.78 vs last sale · ≈ $742/hd at 524 lb · 240 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.56/cwt +3.32 vs last sale · ≈ $706/hd at 475 lb · 235 head

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $161.12/cwt -3.39 vs last sale · ≈ $843/hd at 523 lb · 197 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	9,022	2,865	7,087
Feeder cattle	7,349	2,230	6,013
Slaughter cattle	1,214	474	737
Replacement cattle	459	161	337

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last report: Market trend not applicable due to very limited comparable sales from last week. However, feeder and stocker cattle had a lower undertone early last week but started to turn around mid week to finish the week with a higher undertone. Slaughter cows and bulls had a mostly lower undertone.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–345	326	43	162.00–200.00	$184.42	$601	-2.81
350–395	374	47	165.00–197.00	$181.45	$679	+4.95
403 thin fleshed	403	4	179.00	$179.00	$721	—
420 value added	420	1	193.00	$193.00	$811	—
400–445	421	83	155.00–197.00	$169.81	$715	-1.50
456–485 value added	461	8	162.00–186.00	$177.47	$818	—
450–495	472	173	145.00–190.00	$164.76	$778	-7.08
485	485	1	145.00	$145.00	$703	-26.84
500–545	523	188	145.00–176.00	$160.44	$839	-4.07
505–547 value added	525	9	163.00–185.00	$175.39	$921	—
550–595	571	131	140.00–170.00	$156.25	$892	-2.21
605–623 unweaned	616	19	151.00–157.00	$154.32	$951	—
600–645	622	100	143.00–169.00	$154.53	$961	-3.60
620–625	623	3	137.00–142.00	$140.34	$874	-17.79
630 value added	630	1	157.00	$157.00	$989	—
650–665 value added	658	2	156.00–157.00	$156.51	$1,030	—
650–695	670	87	138.00–163.00	$151.27	$1,014	+5.57
693 unweaned	693	2	140.00	$140.00	$970	—
700–746	721	48	135.00–158.00	$148.19	$1,068	+2.69
745	745	1	130.00	$130.00	$968	-15.50
750–790	768	17	131.00–154.00	$141.26	$1,085	-0.58
800–821 value added	820	15	143.00–146.00	$145.80	$1,196	—
820–830	825	2	133.00–152.00	$142.44	$1,175	—
832	832	3	130.00	$130.00	$1,082	—
852	852	2	144.00	$144.00	$1,227	—
881 value added	881	4	136.00	$136.00	$1,198	—
885	885	2	127.50	$127.50	$1,128	—
930	930	2	133.00	$133.00	$1,237	—
1100	1100	2	99.00	$99.00	$1,089	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–345	329	22	133.00–180.00	$160.91	$529	+7.44
330	330	1	167.50	$167.50	$553	+14.03
350–395	376	46	132.00–188.00	$154.33	$580	+3.09
405–448	430	51	122.50–180.00	$151.24	$650	-5.31
450–498	472	102	130.00–172.00	$149.92	$708	-3.73
480 value added	480	1	155.00	$155.00	$744	—
505–523 thin fleshed	519	5	151.00–152.00	$151.81	$788	—
500–548	524	81	130.00–161.00	$147.98	$775	+0.87
550	550	1	100.00	$100.00	$550	-43.01
550–595	573	41	125.00–158.00	$142.73	$818	-0.28
550–593 value added	584	5	150.00	$150.00	$876	—
600 unweaned	600	1	132.00	$132.00	$792	—
600–645	622	40	123.00–156.00	$144.53	$899	+1.51
636 value added	636	10	152.00	$152.00	$967	—
650–695	671	10	127.50–150.00	$141.03	$946	-3.77
700–745	719	6	120.00–146.00	$132.11	$950	-3.02
758–798	781	8	117.00–130.00	$125.94	$984	-10.27
830	830	1	138.00	$138.00	$1,145	—
852–890	867	10	117.00–134.00	$127.91	$1,109	—
915–920	917	3	101.00–116.00	$110.98	$1,018	+2.98
960	960	1	110.00	$110.00	$1,056	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
341	341	6	180.00	$180.00	$614	—
511 value added	511	8	175.00	$175.00	$894	—
526–540	533	52	153.00–167.00	$163.95	$874	+13.95
557–591	572	53	146.00–160.00	$153.07	$876	-12.93
626–645	640	34	144.00–156.00	$149.96	$960	—
662–684	671	12	152.00–155.00	$153.73	$1,032	—
702	702	10	156.00	$156.00	$1,095	—
735	735	18	145.00	$145.00	$1,066	—
790	790	10	143.50	$143.50	$1,134	—

Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
302–345	319	11	120.00–140.00	$132.03	$421	-7.97
350–370	363	4	109.00–144.00	$121.09	$440	-6.76
402–435	419	14	101.00–135.00	$125.15	$524	-4.02
455–495	479	11	75.00–136.00	$121.26	$581	+2.28
520–535	528	6	105.00–125.00	$113.65	$600	—
565–590	578	2	114.00–126.00	$120.13	$694	+4.64
605–615	610	2	100.00–119.00	$109.58	$668	—
675	675	1	115.00	$115.00	$776	-2.00
765–780	773	2	67.50–90.00	$78.86	$610	—
830	830	1	60.00	$60.00	$498	—
860	860	1	71.00	$71.00	$611	—

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
478	478	4	60.00	$60.00	$287	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–345	322	39	145.00–170.00	$155.58	$501	-2.49
355 value added	355	1	170.00	$170.00	$604	—
350–395	375	75	141.00–170.00	$152.35	$571	-0.62
420–425 value added	423	2	154.00–157.00	$155.51	$658	—
400–445	424	129	136.00–165.00	$149.93	$636	-6.24
452–490 value added	466	18	147.00–158.00	$154.85	$722	—
450–496	475	209	133.00–160.00	$148.11	$704	+2.87
475–498	490	3	131.00–142.00	$138.45	$678	-6.79
498 fancy	498	5	151.00	$151.00	$752	—
503–520	511	6	135.00–144.00	$138.63	$708	-15.87
505–535 value added	522	3	146.00–150.00	$148.34	$774	+5.34
500–549	524	230	128.00–155.00	$141.61	$742	-5.77
545 fancy	545	1	150.00	$150.00	$818	—
570 value added	570	1	148.00	$148.00	$844	—
550–598	578	192	126.00–153.00	$140.25	$811	-2.39
608–625	614	3	120.00–134.00	$129.25	$794	-6.92
602–640 unweaned	623	8	129.00–136.00	$134.50	$838	—
600–648	625	89	129.00–147.00	$138.71	$867	+2.54
615–640 value added	628	6	144.50–146.00	$145.00	$911	—
652–658 value added	653	27	146.50–150.00	$147.13	$961	+5.63
655	655	2	131.00	$131.00	$858	-2.66
650–695	669	64	115.00–148.00	$138.78	$928	+5.12
710 value added	710	73	144.00	$144.00	$1,022	—
705–745	717	29	120.00–147.00	$134.52	$965	+9.35
750–785	763	7	119.00–131.00	$125.82	$960	-0.18
805–840	815	6	113.00–129.00	$120.46	$982	+0.46
853	853	2	119.00	$119.00	$1,015	±0.00
915	915	1	108.00	$108.00	$988	±0.00

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
290 thin fleshed	290	2	160.00	$160.00	$464	—
290–295	292	3	148.00–159.00	$152.70	$446	—
300–345	328	29	125.00–153.00	$139.98	$459	-0.46
350–398	377	57	125.00–147.00	$137.61	$519	-2.98
400–448	427	74	120.00–150.00	$136.46	$583	-3.09
450–478 thin fleshed	473	8	135.00–145.00	$138.09	$653	—
450–498	476	75	120.00–146.00	$132.70	$632	-1.00
500–548	525	68	120.00–142.00	$131.17	$689	-4.99
530 thin fleshed	530	1	134.00	$134.00	$710	—
540	540	2	131.00	$131.00	$707	-5.16
550–595	566	39	120.00–138.00	$129.80	$735	-3.07
610–640	625	24	110.00–138.00	$126.10	$788	-3.07
650–695	676	10	114.00–129.00	$121.03	$818	-5.57
710	710	1	116.00	$116.00	$824	+0.54
750–780	761	4	104.00–118.00	$108.26	$824	-5.22
835	835	1	110.00	$110.00	$918	—
855	855	1	98.00	$98.00	$838	-2.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
371	371	4	150.00	$150.00	$556	-6.00
405–445	416	36	145.00–157.00	$152.28	$633	+2.28
452–498	480	39	136.00–148.00	$142.87	$686	+7.87
485–495 value added	491	43	155.00–158.00	$156.28	$767	—
506–545	530	67	132.00–148.00	$143.77	$762	+2.64
534 value added	534	15	151.00	$151.00	$806	—
564–595	586	24	135.00–146.00	$138.37	$811	—
602–643	632	33	135.00–145.00	$141.20	$892	-3.88
646 value added	646	20	147.00	$147.00	$950	—
658	658	3	133.00	$133.00	$875	-3.00
690	690	4	138.00	$138.00	$952	+2.00
788	788	22	127.00	$127.00	$1,001	—
913	913	6	99.00	$99.00	$904	—

Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–345	322	8	105.00–135.00	$123.49	$398	+2.44
355–395	386	9	108.00–132.00	$120.07	$463	-8.14
403–440	422	8	85.00–122.00	$108.85	$459	-6.15
450–490	464	10	90.00–120.00	$110.46	$513	-0.94
520–545	536	6	81.00–118.00	$111.11	$596	+11.11
555–585	576	5	100.00–113.00	$105.91	$610	-4.85
610	610	1	90.00	$90.00	$549	±0.00
685	685	1	118.00	$118.00	$808	—
705	705	2	100.00	$100.00	$705	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
290–295	292	3	186.00–200.00	$194.69	$568	—
305–343	324	10	190.00–203.00	$196.09	$635	-0.21
350–395	376	50	155.00–194.00	$181.11	$681	-5.70
400–448	424	65	140.00–182.00	$171.80	$728	+0.15
450–497	474	102	135.00–176.00	$160.87	$763	-0.36
500–548	524	100	135.00–170.00	$151.28	$793	-0.01
530–540	535	2	130.00–132.00	$130.99	$701	-20.30
550–595	572	89	131.00–172.00	$145.23	$831	-0.43
600–645	621	40	127.00–155.00	$137.60	$854	-4.57
610–648 unweaned	630	9	128.00–144.00	$138.83	$875	—
650–695	671	25	120.00–145.00	$131.18	$880	-3.58
673 unweaned	673	2	138.00	$138.00	$929	—
675	675	1	117.00	$117.00	$790	-17.76
700–740	719	20	112.00–146.00	$127.56	$917	-4.87
755–795	771	5	109.00–129.00	$122.06	$941	-10.26
800–845	819	13	110.00–133.00	$116.98	$958	+3.42
860	860	2	120.00–123.00	$121.50	$1,045	—
942	942	2	90.00	$90.00	$848	—
985	985	1	113.00	$113.00	$1,113	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–348	323	22	143.00–182.00	$160.05	$517	-7.87
350–390	370	29	135.00–162.00	$155.62	$576	+0.66
365–390 thin fleshed	372	7	157.00–165.00	$158.62	$590	—
400–445	424	41	137.00–173.00	$157.01	$666	+8.96
453–498	475	26	125.00–158.00	$143.50	$682	-0.26
500–545	526	43	123.00–149.00	$137.61	$724	+5.93
560 thin fleshed	560	1	135.00	$135.00	$756	—
550–595	577	31	111.00–146.00	$132.95	$767	+32.95
605–640 thin fleshed	617	3	130.00–136.00	$133.92	$826	—
600–645	628	14	120.00–137.00	$128.91	$810	+3.93
650–688	673	6	126.00–135.00	$129.54	$872	+16.92
710–735	721	4	100.00–120.00	$111.23	$802	-15.27
755–780	763	3	85.00–104.00	$96.21	$734	-11.43
855	855	1	80.00	$80.00	$684	-14.40
961	961	4	104.50	$104.50	$1,004	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
436–442	438	16	159.00–182.00	$173.30	$759	—
516–539	524	15	147.00–165.00	$158.82	$832	—
553–597	583	26	145.00–153.00	$150.59	$878	—
772	772	10	131.00	$131.00	$1,011	—
865	865	11	108.50	$108.50	$939	—

Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
290–295	293	2	156.00–167.00	$161.55	$473	—
325–345	333	4	136.00–158.00	$150.02	$500	+9.02
365–385	375	2	131.00–145.00	$138.19	$518	+13.19
400–445	426	8	128.00–141.00	$134.55	$573	+14.55
490	490	1	115.00	$115.00	$564	-4.31
500–520	510	2	109.00–131.00	$120.22	$613	—
605	605	1	113.00	$113.00	$684	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1055	1055	Young (2-4 yrs)	N/A	1	1,100.00	$1,100.00	—
1190	1190	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	N/A	1	1,450.00	$1,450.00	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
820	820	80-85%	1	40.00	$40.00	$328	-7.50
870–1040	943	80-85%	6	40.00–50.00	$44.12	$416	—
855–1310	1076	80-85%	27	40.00–62.00	$53.97	$581	-3.77
860–1495	1173	80-85%	93	55.00–69.00	$62.72	$736	-2.26
940–1515	1272	80-85%	52	64.50–75.50	$70.51	$897	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
590–835	737	85-90%	3	25.00–40.00	$36.00	$265	—
810	810	85-90%	1	65.00	$65.00	$526	+33.25
745–880	826	85-90%	4	40.00–53.00	$44.20	$365	+12.45
860	860	85-90%	2	55.00–65.00	$60.00	$516	—
855–1185	952	85-90%	8	32.50–49.00	$43.85	$417	—
775–1195	982	85-90%	38	33.00–59.50	$50.27	$494	-4.92
845–1365	1023	85-90%	49	44.00–67.00	$55.65	$569	+15.08
965–1335	1119	85-90%	17	54.00–70.00	$61.79	$691	-8.26

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1020–1580	1356	75-80%	6	55.00–62.50	$59.80	$811	-5.63
1105–1690	1369	75-80%	24	57.00–69.50	$64.90	$888	-5.40
1100–1765	1441	75-80%	18	65.00–75.50	$71.02	$1,023	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
805	805	1	65.00	$65.00	$523	—
975–2110	1384	14	61.50–89.00	$78.04	$1,080	—
1030–2085	1614	42	80.00–96.00	$89.07	$1,438	—
1340–2132	1786	14	94.00–100.00	$97.05	$1,733	—

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
595–675	635	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	119.00–125.00	$121.81	$773
535–1180	759	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	19	50.00–124.00	$71.82	$545
785–830	808	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	2	65.00	$65.00	$525

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
750 thin fleshed	750	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	550.00	$550.00
945	945	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	650.00	$650.00
900–1010	957	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	3	650.00–740.00	$681.67
895–1075	985	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	710.00–1,025.00	$881.89
880–1235	1026	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	7	735.00–900.00	$828.46
1130	1130	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	720.00	$720.00
1140–1230	1185	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	850.00–1,025.00	$934.18
1075–1315	1195	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	2	1,160.00–1,175.00	$1,168.25
950–1750	1216	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	43	550.00–1,135.00	$895.78
1100–1345	1220	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	850.00–1,050.00	$940.10
1200–1355	1267	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	3	785.00–1,000.00	$878.05

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
880–1005	943	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	45.00–60.50	$53.26	$502
855–1120	1005	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	4	55.00–74.00	$65.83	$662
925–1480	1138	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	4	56.00–74.50	$65.76	$748
995–1365	1232	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	6	67.00–76.00	$70.86	$873
955–1550	1241	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	5	68.50–75.00	$71.09	$882
1025–1560	1256	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	4	69.00–74.00	$71.65	$900
985–1485	1290	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	13	63.50–76.00	$69.23	$893
1210–1500	1359	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	5	69.50–73.00	$70.80	$962
1390	1390	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	71.50	$71.50	$994

Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
592	592	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	400.00	$400.00
670–835	744	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	4	410.00–600.00	$526.50
790	790	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	500.00	$500.00

Small 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
795	795	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	65.00	$65.00	$517

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
905	905	(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	90.00	$90.00	$814
920	920	(<2 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	101.00	$101.00	$929
931–938	935	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	10	85.00–87.00	$86.00	$804
900–1065	983	(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	70.00	$70.00	$688

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
800	800	(<2 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	1	775.00	$775.00
875	875	(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,100.00	$1,100.00
965	965	(<2 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	660.00	$660.00

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
940–1086	997	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	15	750.00–860.00	$803.97	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
825–1055	940	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	2	930.00–1,025.00	$983.31	-136.69
735–1165	958	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	700.00–1,025.00	$888.13	—
1090	1090	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	1	875.00	$875.00	—
1105	1105	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	1	730.00	$730.00	—
1125	1125	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	1,025.00	$1,025.00	—
1050–1400	1226	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	4	1,025.00–1,275.00	$1,195.39	+270.39
1275	1275	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	1,100.00	$1,100.00	+1.16

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
535	535	1	74.00	$74.00	$396	—
580	580	1	62.00	$62.00	$360	—

↑ Back to top

Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
800	800	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	960.00	$960.00	—

↑ Back to top

Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.