Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 21, 2021

957 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $156.93/cwt +5.98 vs last sale · ≈ $742/hd at 473 lb · 26 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $144.22/cwt +4.21 vs last sale · ≈ $678/hd at 470 lb · 25 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $156.65/cwt +5.88 vs last sale · ≈ $816/hd at 521 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 957 673 575
Feeder cattle 638 573 500
Slaughter cattle 150 60 50
Replacement cattle 169 40 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 650 lb traded 5.00 to 10.00 higher, steers over 650 lb were mostly steady. Feeder bulls traded 6.00 to 10.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 550 lb traded mostly 2.00 to 7.00 higher, over 550 lb were steady. Slaughter cows were steady and slaughter bulls were steady to 2.00 lower. Supply was good today with several offerings of quality cattle. Demand was strong with the drier weather forecast over the next week after the long stretch of heavy rainfall in the area.

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
269 269 8 217.50 $217.50 $585 +23.68
340 340 2 179.00 $179.00 $609 -3.03
430–446 445 12 158.00–174.00 $172.26 $767 +8.47
450–490 481 6 153.00–164.00 $158.77 $764 +0.62
500–540 521 17 150.00–163.00 $156.65 $816 +4.77
565–585 572 8 147.00–159.50 $156.58 $896 +11.07
600 600 1 136.00 $136.00 $816 -5.94
602–645 622 10 140.00–148.00 $144.04 $896 +2.10
660–695 677 5 135.00–146.00 $141.01 $955 -1.23
700–715 706 7 128.00–132.00 $129.43 $914 -0.57
725 725 1 120.00 $120.00 $870 -10.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 140.00 $140.00 $476 -10.63
360–383 375 3 149.00–150.00 $149.68 $561 —
388 thin fleshed 388 2 163.00 $163.00 $632 -4.00
415–430 426 4 150.00–153.00 $152.27 $649 -1.31
460–475 470 3 145.00–149.00 $146.30 $688 +1.14
505–548 533 7 130.00–145.00 $134.57 $717 -2.17
535 thin fleshed 535 1 143.00 $143.00 $765 —
595 595 1 135.00 $135.00 $803 +3.69
600–610 605 2 120.00–132.00 $126.05 $763 -3.95
718 718 2 120.00 $120.00 $862 —
723 thin fleshed 723 5 128.00 $128.00 $925 —
750 thin fleshed 750 1 130.00 $130.00 $975 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 5 157.50 $157.50 $776 —
555 555 3 150.00 $150.00 $832 —
691 691 5 134.00 $134.00 $926 —
778 778 3 124.00 $124.00 $965 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 148.00 $148.00 $459 -3.98
355–390 362 6 138.00–146.00 $143.90 $521 +2.38
410–430 420 11 139.00–149.50 $147.70 $620 +5.81
450–490 470 25 137.00–148.50 $144.22 $678 +7.21
535 value added 535 1 141.00 $141.00 $754 —
540–546 545 8 129.00–137.00 $135.02 $736 +1.18
555–590 569 6 124.00–130.00 $125.87 $716 -0.75
605–640 615 7 121.00–124.50 $123.46 $759 +0.82
685–688 688 6 118.50–120.00 $118.75 $817 -2.02
717 value added 717 7 118.00 $118.00 $846 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
243 thin fleshed 243 3 154.00 $154.00 $374 —
305–330 318 2 130.00–131.00 $130.52 $415 +0.52
350 thin fleshed 350 1 141.00 $141.00 $494 -12.72
385 385 1 127.00 $127.00 $489 -5.69
410–440 415 6 123.00–136.00 $129.74 $538 +9.74
450–470 460 3 123.00–128.00 $126.37 $581 -0.49
514 thin fleshed 514 2 140.00 $140.00 $720 —
515 515 1 123.00 $123.00 $633 -1.03
555–565 560 2 115.00–122.00 $118.47 $663 -2.53
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
363 363 3 144.00 $144.00 $523 —
514 514 5 128.00 $128.00 $658 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 2 190.00 $190.00 $466 —
250 250 1 186.00 $186.00 $465 —
315–330 323 2 182.00–185.00 $183.47 $593 —
370–395 382 5 158.00–171.00 $166.71 $637 -9.66
425 425 2 159.00 $159.00 $676 +7.46
455–493 473 26 141.00–161.50 $156.93 $742 +5.98
505–545 523 3 136.00–153.00 $143.90 $753 +0.56
560–595 578 11 131.00–145.00 $139.16 $804 +6.22
625–635 633 4 131.00–134.00 $131.74 $834 +6.75
660 660 1 132.00 $132.00 $871 +17.00
765 765 1 116.00 $116.00 $887 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–305 303 2 150.00–155.00 $152.48 $462 —
420–445 440 6 138.00–146.00 $143.99 $634 +4.01
455–465 457 7 131.00–144.00 $140.70 $643 +5.70
535 535 5 127.00–129.00 $127.80 $684 +0.79
630–635 633 2 122.00–123.00 $122.50 $775 +7.50

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770 770 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $308 —
825–850 840 85-90% 3 45.00–52.00 $48.20 $405 +6.46
820–860 845 85-90% 3 54.00–55.00 $54.66 $462 +12.92
915–975 945 85-90% 2 42.00–43.00 $42.52 $402 —
905–1175 1020 85-90% 12 45.00–56.00 $49.47 $505 +6.12
920–1305 1075 85-90% 13 54.00–64.50 $60.31 $648 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 80-85% 1 57.50 $57.50 $543 —
1015–1455 1202 80-85% 7 62.50–68.00 $65.79 $791 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050 1050 75-80% 1 57.00 $57.00 $598 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1710 1530 2 74.00–75.00 $74.56 $1,141 —
1100–2270 1584 9 78.00–87.50 $84.02 $1,331 —
1785–2405 2058 3 90.00–93.00 $91.65 $1,886 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
830–985 933 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 71.50–86.50 $79.00 $737
950 950 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 65.00 $65.00 $618

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
850–1100 975 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 775.00–1,110.00 $963.97
1000 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 875.00 $875.00
1010 1010 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00
1050–1275 1176 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 35 600.00–985.00 $905.87
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1070–1165 1105 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 62.00–69.50 $66.35 $733
1015–1315 1165 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 65.00–65.50 $65.28 $761

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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 2 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —
1000–1200 1067 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 625.00–935.00 $869.77 -40.23
750–1275 1143 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 61 650.00–1,500.00 $1,236.97 —

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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.