Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, August 27, 2021

904 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 2 steers $140.57/cwt -0.54 vs last sale · ≈ $743/hd at 528 lb · 27 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.48/cwt ≈ $776/hd at 537 lb · 23 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $144.86/cwt -1.02 vs last sale · ≈ $759/hd at 524 lb · 22 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 904 951 597
Feeder cattle 904 786 597
Slaughter cattle — 100 —
Replacement cattle — 65 —

Compared to last week, feeder steers under 600 lbs were 3.00 to 10.00 lower, steers over 600 lbs did not have enough comparisons to gain a trend. Feeder heifers traded 2.00 to 6.00 lower, There was a limited offering of light weight thin fleshed heifers that brought a premium of 5.00 to 10.00 higher. There was a good supply of feeders this week and demand was moderate. Slaughter cows and bulls were not reported due to time issues.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 thin fleshed 385 1 200.00 $200.00 $770 —
418 thin fleshed 418 5 179.00 $179.00 $748 —
425–437 434 16 160.00–179.00 $167.82 $728 -9.29
460–490 478 7 150.00–172.00 $160.76 $768 -4.26
510–543 532 13 150.00–168.00 $158.22 $842 -3.43
555–575 563 5 150.00–158.00 $152.57 $859 -5.04
600–645 622 13 145.00–153.00 $148.61 $924 +6.61
650–660 655 2 149.00 $149.00 $976 +4.15
720 720 1 135.00 $135.00 $972 -6.10
760–775 768 2 130.00–134.00 $132.02 $1,014 -7.71
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 thin fleshed 250 2 192.50–210.00 $201.25 $503 —
295 295 1 173.00 $173.00 $510 —
345 345 1 150.00 $150.00 $518 —
370 370 1 150.00 $150.00 $555 -5.00
410–435 427 5 140.00–156.00 $149.19 $637 +1.95
475–485 480 3 140.00–142.00 $140.66 $675 -5.21
515 thin fleshed 515 1 150.00 $150.00 $772 -1.00
505–549 529 26 130.00–149.00 $140.21 $742 -0.08
575–585 578 3 138.00–140.00 $138.67 $802 +1.14
578 thin fleshed 578 3 145.00 $145.00 $838 —
600–640 621 4 121.00–132.00 $129.10 $802 -10.90
625 thin fleshed 625 1 140.00 $140.00 $875 —
665 665 4 131.00 $131.00 $871 +1.00
722–725 723 5 126.00–127.50 $127.20 $920 +7.20
765–780 773 2 120.00–123.00 $121.49 $939 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
427–435 430 13 155.00–165.00 $158.89 $683 —
518–549 537 23 140.00–151.00 $144.48 $776 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 120.00 $120.00 $462 —
555 555 1 120.00 $120.00 $666 —

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Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225–245 thin fleshed 240 4 162.00–177.00 $167.34 $402 —
255–295 280 4 140.00–155.00 $150.08 $420 —
270–295 thin fleshed 283 3 166.00–180.00 $171.79 $486 +11.79
300 thin fleshed 300 1 161.00 $161.00 $483 —
300–340 320 4 145.00–150.00 $147.03 $470 +7.03
360–390 thin fleshed 372 3 136.00–150.00 $143.49 $534 —
365–395 384 4 130.00–143.00 $138.38 $531 +8.30
400–449 415 6 130.00–142.00 $133.44 $554 -0.36
455 thin fleshed 455 1 147.00 $147.00 $669 +8.91
450–490 469 5 120.00–130.00 $126.97 $595 +0.55
500–535 522 5 120.00–130.00 $125.83 $657 -6.71
580–590 585 2 120.00–125.00 $122.48 $717 —
600–630 606 8 115.00–124.00 $121.65 $737 -7.35
634 thin fleshed 634 11 125.00 $125.00 $792 —
692 692 3 117.50 $117.50 $813 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 167.50 $167.50 $436 —
260 thin fleshed 260 1 185.00 $185.00 $481 —
315 thin fleshed 315 1 170.00 $170.00 $536 —
360–366 thin fleshed 365 7 156.00–170.00 $168.03 $613 —
385 385 1 148.00 $148.00 $570 -5.71
400–445 423 3 145.00–150.00 $147.42 $624 -2.11
450–495 468 11 140.00–150.00 $142.83 $668 -6.51
500–543 515 15 135.00–147.00 $143.53 $739 +8.53
525 525 1 134.00 $134.00 $704 -12.17
546 value added 546 6 150.00 $150.00 $819 —
560–565 563 2 139.00–140.00 $139.50 $785 +2.03
575 575 1 130.00 $130.00 $748 -7.47
605 605 1 140.00 $140.00 $847 -0.34
655 655 1 120.00 $120.00 $786 —
665–675 672 3 130.00–135.00 $132.01 $887 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503–525 509 14 137.50–141.50 $140.32 $714 —
597 597 11 130.00 $130.00 $776 —
669 thin fleshed 669 5 129.00 $129.00 $863 —

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Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 thin fleshed 240 1 182.50 $182.50 $438 —
245 245 1 174.00 $174.00 $426 —
250–280 thin fleshed 269 4 170.00–190.00 $177.40 $477 —
275 275 1 158.00 $158.00 $434 —
305–320 thin fleshed 313 3 160.00–170.00 $165.39 $518 —
330–335 333 2 140.00–155.00 $147.56 $491 -3.84
355–390 366 8 150.00–155.00 $151.15 $553 -4.87
430–445 440 10 130.00–145.00 $140.84 $620 -10.31
455 thin fleshed 455 1 144.00 $144.00 $655 —
490–495 495 10 135.00–140.00 $137.50 $681 +1.01
500–520 509 4 126.00–135.00 $129.26 $658 -1.50
550–570 560 4 122.00–133.00 $127.71 $715 -2.68
610 610 1 127.00 $127.00 $775 -0.99
735 735 1 110.00 $110.00 $808 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 160.00 $160.00 $544 —
360 360 1 170.00 $170.00 $612 +3.27
400–430 424 5 150.00–165.00 $152.83 $648 -10.57
475 475 1 156.00 $156.00 $741 -5.47
480 thin fleshed 480 1 146.00 $146.00 $701 —
505 505 1 135.00 $135.00 $682 -16.25
525 525 2 135.00–136.00 $135.50 $711 -15.75
535–540 538 3 140.00–145.00 $141.66 $762 -9.59
555–565 560 2 137.00–146.00 $141.54 $793 -4.29
570 570 1 133.00 $133.00 $758 -12.83
600 600 1 130.00 $130.00 $780 -7.48
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 5 170.00 $170.00 $648 —
501 501 9 150.00 $150.00 $752 —

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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.