Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, April 16, 2021

684 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $157.43/cwt -7.42 vs last sale · ≈ $809/hd at 514 lb · 14 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.33/cwt +0.11 vs last sale · ≈ $654/hd at 476 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 684 789 642
Feeder cattle 517 667 558
Slaughter cattle 57 102 54
Replacement cattle 110 20 30

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 600 lbs traded 2.00 to 5.00 lower, steers over 600 lbs were not well tested but were trending 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Feeder bulls were 2.00 to 8.00 lower. Feeder heifers traded mostly steady to 4.00 lower. Slaughter cows were 2.00 to 5.00 lower, slaughter bulls traded steady.

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
300 300 1 192.00 $192.00 $576 —
400–420 410 2 170.00–174.00 $171.95 $705 -3.64
470–495 483 4 157.00–166.00 $160.28 $774 -8.25
485 485 1 155.00 $155.00 $752 -13.53
500–545 514 14 151.00–167.00 $157.43 $809 -2.37
550–595 565 4 149.00–154.00 $151.22 $854 —
560–590 577 3 130.00–141.00 $136.58 $788 —
610–630 620 5 142.00–151.00 $147.06 $912 +5.56
640 640 1 125.00 $125.00 $800 -16.50
680–690 685 3 145.00–151.00 $148.33 $1,016 +14.33
695 695 1 121.00 $121.00 $841 -13.00
710 710 2 147.00–149.00 $148.00 $1,051 —
770–790 780 2 125.00–130.00 $127.53 $995 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 160.00 $160.00 $544 —
410 410 1 134.00 $134.00 $549 —
481 481 4 143.00 $143.00 $688 -11.33
500–540 520 6 130.00–148.00 $136.38 $709 -10.54
555–575 thin fleshed 565 2 140.00–145.00 $142.46 $805 —
605 605 1 134.00 $134.00 $811 +4.00
648 value added 648 3 142.50 $142.50 $923 —
775 775 1 110.00 $110.00 $852 -5.00
795 thin fleshed 795 1 120.00 $120.00 $954 —
800–820 810 2 100.00–120.00 $109.88 $890 +4.91

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–335 330 2 153.00–154.00 $153.51 $507 +3.99
365 365 1 144.00 $144.00 $526 -0.80
394 value added 394 5 153.00 $153.00 $603 —
415–437 429 7 140.00–143.50 $142.36 $611 +7.36
465–490 476 10 130.00–142.00 $137.33 $654 +5.34
500–540 520 2 120.00–122.00 $120.96 $629 -14.06
500–545 524 5 130.00–142.00 $136.26 $714 +1.24
590 590 1 130.00 $130.00 $767 -2.67
610–645 628 4 110.00–120.00 $116.27 $730 -11.36
650 650 1 130.00 $130.00 $845 +20.00
720 720 1 122.50 $122.50 $882 —
825 825 3 112.00 $112.00 $924 +22.00
855 fancy 855 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,009 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 147.00 $147.00 $434 +7.00
330 thin fleshed 330 2 140.00–141.00 $140.50 $464 -4.50
350–390 thin fleshed 375 3 138.00–145.00 $142.48 $534 +2.48
370–395 383 4 122.00–135.00 $129.19 $495 -1.77
410–430 420 2 130.00 $130.00 $546 +2.35
415–435 thin fleshed 425 5 130.00–143.00 $138.04 $587 +0.57
455–495 thin fleshed 478 3 130.00–139.00 $134.63 $644 —
480–490 485 2 120.00–130.00 $125.05 $606 +1.67
520 520 1 115.00 $115.00 $598 —
585 585 1 119.00 $119.00 $696 -1.42
695 695 1 110.00 $110.00 $764 -5.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 thin fleshed 358 4 132.00 $132.00 $473 —
440 440 1 94.00 $94.00 $414 —
465–470 468 2 100.00–105.00 $102.51 $480 —
560–570 565 2 100.00–112.00 $106.05 $599 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 281 6 180.00–190.00 $182.13 $512 -5.87
390 390 1 158.00 $158.00 $616 -6.03
430–445 438 3 150.00–163.00 $154.40 $676 -6.64
460–485 476 5 155.00–162.00 $157.96 $752 +1.23
485 485 1 145.00 $145.00 $703 -11.73
500–535 515 3 140.00–154.00 $146.89 $756 -8.29
550–585 568 2 139.00–151.00 $144.81 $823 +1.05
765 765 1 110.00 $110.00 $842 —
830 830 1 110.00 $110.00 $913 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–345 332 3 140.00–160.00 $146.53 $486 -13.47
360–390 375 2 141.00–150.00 $145.68 $546 -1.79
430–449 440 2 148.00–150.00 $148.98 $656 +3.06
495 495 1 136.00 $136.00 $673 -3.17
505 505 2 125.00 $125.00 $631 -2.28
570 570 1 136.00 $136.00 $775 +2.79
625–645 635 2 120.00–122.00 $121.02 $768 -2.03
660–675 668 2 110.00–112.50 $111.26 $743 —
700 700 1 100.00 $100.00 $700 —
790 790 1 105.00 $105.00 $830 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
525–535 530 2 102.00–115.00 $108.44 $575 —
555–585 570 2 110.00–115.00 $112.43 $641 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1200 1016 85-90% 7 45.00–54.00 $50.48 $513 —
940–1165 1033 85-90% 9 54.00–62.50 $59.14 $611 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1270 1116 80-85% 10 60.00–67.50 $64.03 $715 —
1090–1415 1253 80-85% 2 52.00–54.00 $53.13 $666 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330 1330 75-80% 1 65.50 $65.50 $871 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1650 1401 5 75.00–85.00 $80.58 $1,129 —
1448–2010 1589 4 90.00–91.50 $91.03 $1,446 -1.50
1685 1685 1 72.50 $72.50 $1,222 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
885–1095 990 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 67.00–68.00 $67.45 $668

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–1300 1097 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 450.00–1,000.00 $834.10
1000–1250 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 660.00–880.00 $782.22
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
980–1390 1185 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 60.00–66.00 $63.52 $753

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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
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —
1000–1150 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 1,150.00–1,350.00 $1,286.51 —
1025–1200 1083 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 10 700.00–960.00 $814.15 —
1100–1150 1120 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 10 800.00–925.00 $851.34 —
850–1200 1121 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 45 750.00–1,400.00 $1,131.11 —
1250–1400 1313 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,225.00–1,650.00 $1,407.86 -92.14

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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.