Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 18, 2020

789 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Ash Flat Livestock Auction report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $121.11/cwt +1.66 vs last sale · ≈ $694/hd at 573 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $114.85/cwt +5.04 vs last sale · ≈ $535/hd at 466 lb · 17 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $143.31/cwt +3.69 vs last sale · ≈ $747/hd at 521 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 789 1,003 685
Feeder cattle 733 903 613
Slaughter cattle 41 60 34
Replacement cattle 15 40 38

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers traded mostly steady to 4.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs were 2.00 to 7.00 higher over 600 lbs were steady. Feeder bulls traded uneven. Slaughter cows were steady and slaughter bulls were steady to 2.00 lower on short supply.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 174.00 $174.00 $496 —
335 335 1 165.00 $165.00 $553 -6.39
370–395 378 4 163.00–177.00 $169.38 $640 +2.38
405–430 value added 418 2 160.00–164.00 $161.94 $677 —
410–445 427 12 148.00–165.00 $157.65 $673 +8.31
450–490 468 8 140.00–154.00 $146.18 $684 -3.52
515 value added 515 1 154.00 $154.00 $793 —
505–540 520 14 138.00–152.00 $143.50 $746 +12.47
540 540 1 130.00 $130.00 $702 -10.34
560–595 573 5 134.00–147.00 $140.75 $806 +4.27
605–635 618 10 131.00–140.00 $135.11 $835 +13.76
625–630 value added 628 2 138.00–144.00 $140.99 $885 +2.49
655–692 681 10 125.00–135.00 $127.58 $869 +1.98
705–725 715 2 121.00–131.00 $126.07 $901 -3.26
750–790 765 5 120.00–128.00 $122.85 $940 +0.85
825 825 1 120.00 $120.00 $990 +6.00
935 935 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,028 —
1040 1040 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,144 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 thin fleshed 315 1 170.00 $170.00 $536 —
350 thin fleshed 350 1 176.00 $176.00 $616 —
375–390 383 2 150.00–155.00 $152.45 $584 +8.45
410–440 423 3 132.00–138.00 $134.95 $571 -9.05
450–485 476 8 120.00–135.00 $129.56 $617 +2.66
505–545 529 10 120.00–130.00 $126.84 $671 -1.03
550 thin fleshed 550 1 130.00 $130.00 $715 —
555–570 565 3 120.00–130.00 $124.28 $702 +13.02
635–640 638 2 110.00–120.00 $114.98 $734 -4.45
660–675 668 2 110.00–120.00 $114.94 $768 +12.39
705–735 720 2 104.00–115.00 $109.61 $789 —
755 755 1 106.00 $106.00 $800 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 147.00 $147.00 $426 —
325 325 1 130.00 $130.00 $422 -25.42
355–390 369 14 141.00–147.50 $144.81 $534 +6.54
420 thin fleshed 420 4 140.50 $140.50 $590 —
400–445 427 7 122.00–135.00 $130.31 $556 +1.20
450 450 1 120.00 $120.00 $540 +2.63
459–480 thin fleshed 462 7 135.50–139.00 $136.02 $628 —
465–490 475 3 125.00–126.00 $125.33 $595 -3.93
505–545 521 7 120.00–125.00 $122.73 $639 -0.98
510–540 525 2 115.00 $115.00 $604 -8.71
555–595 570 16 118.00–126.50 $122.26 $697 +3.36
585–590 588 3 115.00 $115.00 $676 -3.90
620 620 1 115.00 $115.00 $713 -1.97
620 620 1 120.00 $120.00 $744 +3.03
655 655 1 115.00 $115.00 $753 +0.34
680 680 1 105.00 $105.00 $714 +5.00
915 915 1 95.00 $95.00 $869 +5.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 333 8 120.00–134.00 $127.72 $425 +7.72
365–380 374 4 120.00–130.00 $123.44 $462 +7.03
415 thin fleshed 415 2 129.00 $129.00 $535 —
410–440 428 6 110.00–120.00 $116.66 $499 -1.66
450–498 466 17 110.00–120.00 $114.85 $535 +2.24
500–535 525 4 110.00–115.00 $111.27 $584 +3.12
550–595 576 4 100.00–115.00 $108.81 $627 -0.70
610–635 623 2 110.00 $110.00 $685 +20.00
685 685 1 100.00 $100.00 $685 +10.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 100.00 $100.00 $350 —
435 435 1 85.00 $85.00 $370 —
485–495 490 2 85.00–90.00 $87.47 $429 +0.57
545 545 1 90.00 $90.00 $490 +5.00
655 655 1 80.00 $80.00 $524 +10.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–333 325 4 168.00–175.00 $172.77 $562 +5.65
355–399 385 8 156.00–166.00 $160.81 $619 -5.71
405–435 thin fleshed 411 5 158.00 $158.00 $649 —
410–440 428 3 140.00–145.00 $141.69 $606 -12.37
430 430 1 125.00 $125.00 $538 -29.06
455–495 472 5 129.00–140.00 $135.83 $641 -6.43
520–548 536 3 119.00–133.00 $127.28 $682 +2.77
550 550 1 125.00 $125.00 $688 +17.50
625–635 630 2 115.00–126.00 $120.54 $759 +4.53
655 655 1 125.00 $125.00 $819 +10.97
700 700 1 114.00 $114.00 $798 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 182.50 $182.50 $456 —
305 thin fleshed 305 1 185.00 $185.00 $564 —
390 thin fleshed 390 1 143.00 $143.00 $558 —
400–445 thin fleshed 423 2 144.00–162.50 $152.76 $646 —
480 480 1 120.00 $120.00 $576 —
505–530 518 5 110.00–125.00 $120.76 $626 -3.24
590 590 1 115.00 $115.00 $678 +6.41
625 625 1 113.00 $113.00 $706 +9.02
715 715 1 94.00 $94.00 $672 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–890 862 85-90% 3 25.00–30.00 $27.50 $237 —
825–965 895 85-90% 2 20.00 $20.00 $179 —
915 915 85-90% 1 52.50 $52.50 $480 —
900–1185 964 85-90% 8 27.00–36.00 $32.35 $312 —
1025–1215 1114 85-90% 4 38.00–44.00 $40.92 $456 -9.65
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1560 1281 80-85% 6 42.00–44.00 $43.11 $552 —
1125–1570 1314 80-85% 5 47.00–50.50 $48.19 $633 +3.52
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275 1275 75-80% 1 45.00 $45.00 $574 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1425 1393 2 50.00–62.00 $56.14 $782 —
1485–1645 1568 3 67.00–72.50 $70.66 $1,108 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00
1100–1400 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 700.00–800.00 $735.42
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1125–1235 1180 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 41.00–51.50 $46.49 $549

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $850.00 —

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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.