Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, January 21, 2022

500 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $167.22/cwt +4.60 vs last sale · ≈ $974/hd at 582 lb · 17 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $151.52/cwt -2.75 vs last sale · ≈ $719/hd at 474 lb · 14 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $173.90/cwt +3.58 vs last sale · ≈ $923/hd at 531 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 500 1,522 0
Feeder cattle 441 1,360 0
Slaughter cattle 38 112 0
Replacement cattle 21 50 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last weeks good run: feeder steers were mostly steady feeder heifers traded 5.00 to 7.00 lower. Supply was limited with temps not reaching above freezing in the last few days. Demand was still good on the few comparisons from last week on quality weaned cattle. Trade was strong on the slaughter cows with trading 2.00-8.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were not well tested.

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
400–410 403 3 162.00–188.00 $177.03 $713 +2.25
475–480 478 3 168.00–179.00 $172.34 $824 -0.16
490 value added 490 1 183.00 $183.00 $897 —
515–545 value added 531 12 173.00–179.00 $173.90 $923 -0.04
555 555 1 145.00 $145.00 $805 -20.34
552–598 584 16 155.00–173.00 $168.61 $985 +19.59
665 665 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,084 +5.99
865 865 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,150 —
918 918 6 128.00 $128.00 $1,175 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302 thin fleshed 302 3 178.00 $178.00 $538 —
385 385 4 150.00–168.00 $163.50 $629 +10.18
400 thin fleshed 400 1 150.00 $150.00 $600 —
545 thin fleshed 545 1 150.00 $150.00 $818 -7.00
565 565 1 145.00 $145.00 $819 -0.48
675 675 1 143.00 $143.00 $965 +1.53
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
741 741 8 144.00 $144.00 $1,067 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
289 289 4 124.00 $124.00 $358 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 150.00 $150.00 $578 -6.57
400–420 410 2 145.00–150.00 $147.44 $605 -9.23
469 value added 469 8 150.00 $150.00 $704 -7.30
455–490 478 3 140.00–147.00 $144.10 $689 -7.85
485 fancy 485 3 163.00 $163.00 $791 —
563–590 568 6 135.00–144.00 $142.44 $809 +0.80
645 645 1 130.00 $130.00 $838 -4.58
655 fancy 655 2 142.00 $142.00 $930 —
655–685 660 6 135.50–139.00 $136.11 $898 +8.78
701 value added 701 10 137.50 $137.50 $964 —
777 777 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,057 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 thin fleshed 300 5 150.00 $150.00 $450 —
310–340 325 2 130.00–140.00 $134.77 $438 -5.37
385 385 2 123.00–135.00 $129.00 $497 -6.84
407–445 417 4 120.00–129.00 $122.40 $510 -6.67
468–472 470 7 121.00–130.00 $124.88 $587 -4.63
530–545 thin fleshed 538 2 133.00–134.00 $133.51 $718 —
570–595 575 5 120.00–125.00 $123.97 $713 +0.34
588 thin fleshed 588 2 120.00 $120.00 $706 -18.00
740 740 1 120.00 $120.00 $888 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
431 431 8 130.00 $130.00 $560 -10.00
631 631 4 133.00 $133.00 $839 -0.24
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 115.00 $115.00 $374 —
390 390 1 116.00 $116.00 $452 +3.45
415 415 2 115.00 $115.00 $477 —
450–455 453 2 110.00 $110.00 $498 -5.03
525–540 533 2 100.00–110.00 $105.07 $560 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 6 131.00 $131.00 $485 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 thin fleshed 370 6 183.00 $183.00 $677 —
435 435 2 170.00–176.00 $173.00 $753 +4.78
770 770 4 140.00 $140.00 $1,078 —
945 945 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,115 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 160.00 $160.00 $520 +7.26
370 370 1 140.00 $140.00 $518 +9.00
415–430 thin fleshed 423 2 156.00–166.00 $160.91 $681 +11.91
405–445 433 6 135.00–145.00 $136.70 $592 -1.65
485 485 1 145.00 $145.00 $703 -1.46
565 565 1 130.00 $130.00 $734 -7.19

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
830 830 85-90% 1 42.00 $42.00 $349 —
835 835 85-90% 1 45.50 $45.50 $380 —
805–1005 917 85-90% 7 35.00–46.00 $42.74 $392 —
1060 1060 85-90% 1 58.00 $58.00 $615 -0.95
1000–1235 1093 85-90% 5 61.00–73.00 $65.98 $721 +7.03
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1565 1359 80-85% 9 70.50–75.00 $73.28 $996 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1770 1461 75-80% 7 67.00–79.00 $74.66 $1,091 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1335 1335 1 91.50 $91.50 $1,222 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1220–1595 1408 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 68.50–73.50 $70.86 $998
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1150 1025 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 600.00–810.00 $717.80

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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
980–1300 1193 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 675.00–1,410.00 $1,208.80 —

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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.