Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, March 18, 2022

807 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $171.85/cwt +22.85 vs last sale · ≈ $729/hd at 424 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $163.45/cwt ≈ $784/hd at 480 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $191.38/cwt ≈ $893/hd at 467 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 807 310 697
Feeder cattle 615 217 637
Slaughter cattle 142 73 40
Replacement cattle 50 20 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Very few comparisons are available from last weeks light run due to the winter weather but on feeder steers, they were 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Feeder heifers were trending much stronger with a lot of buyer interest on quality cattle with some some comparisons to last week as much as 15.00 to 20.00 higher with the average type cattle holding steady. Keep in mind there was not a lot of feeders tested last week. Slaughter bulls were 10.00 higher and slaughter cows were 5.00 to10.00 higher on a good supply and a good demand.

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
325–340 333 2 199.00–207.00 $203.09 $676 —
350–395 380 10 173.00–203.00 $189.78 $721 —
415 thin fleshed 415 2 190.00–200.00 $195.00 $809 —
400–445 418 12 170.00–205.00 $178.93 $748 —
450–490 464 8 170.00–195.00 $180.61 $838 —
469 value added 469 10 200.00 $200.00 $938 —
500–540 511 11 160.00–176.00 $165.87 $848 -2.81
550–590 559 7 163.00–180.00 $169.83 $949 —
565 565 1 155.00 $155.00 $876 —
615 615 1 146.00 $146.00 $898 -11.46
620–645 633 2 164.00–169.00 $166.55 $1,054 +9.09
685 685 1 156.00 $156.00 $1,069 +5.00
705–718 value added 716 14 151.00–154.00 $152.21 $1,090 —
750–755 753 2 139.00–143.00 $141.01 $1,062 +9.01
840 840 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,142 —
850 850 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,114 —
900 900 1 131.00 $131.00 $1,179 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–380 thin fleshed 373 2 179.00–180.00 $179.51 $670 —
380–385 382 3 150.00–160.00 $155.02 $592 -1.95
400 400 1 150.00 $150.00 $600 —
413 value added 413 4 163.00 $163.00 $673 —
465–480 473 2 155.00–161.00 $157.95 $747 —
510–540 520 4 150.00–155.00 $151.25 $786 +4.54
551 value added 551 6 151.00 $151.00 $832 +1.00
550–565 558 2 136.00–140.00 $137.97 $770 -7.03
600–645 629 6 140.00–145.00 $141.18 $888 +7.27
720 720 1 135.00 $135.00 $972 —
750 750 1 130.00 $130.00 $975 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 1 140.00 $140.00 $546 —
495 495 1 120.00 $120.00 $594 —
530 thin fleshed 530 3 139.00 $139.00 $737 —
535 535 1 120.00 $120.00 $642 —
585 585 1 120.00 $120.00 $702 +10.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650 value added 650 4 145.00 $145.00 $942 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 176.00 $176.00 $581 —
350–390 365 5 155.00–179.00 $170.00 $620 —
400–445 420 11 154.00–176.00 $165.32 $694 +16.32
418–435 value added 428 13 172.00–183.00 $177.38 $759 —
450–495 476 18 150.00–170.00 $158.16 $753 —
480–493 value added 491 6 179.00–181.00 $179.33 $881 —
520 value added 520 1 181.00 $181.00 $941 —
540 540 1 148.00 $148.00 $799 +11.00
555–585 568 5 139.00–145.00 $141.01 $801 —
600–620 608 3 143.00 $143.00 $869 +13.00
643 value added 643 9 145.00 $145.00 $932 —
665 665 3 130.00 $130.00 $864 —
695 value added 695 2 134.00 $134.00 $931 —
701 value added 701 6 136.00 $136.00 $953 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 140.00 $140.00 $490 +2.00
365–385 thin fleshed 375 2 155.00–159.00 $157.05 $589 —
425–445 430 6 130.00–148.00 $137.13 $590 +14.57
465–480 470 3 131.00–148.00 $139.67 $656 +19.16
505–515 value added 508 9 137.00–139.00 $138.32 $703 —
510–525 518 2 135.00–146.00 $140.42 $727 +15.56
575 575 1 135.00 $135.00 $776 +15.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 value added 458 5 158.00 $158.00 $724 —
599 value added 599 6 142.00 $142.00 $851 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–375 365 2 120.00 $120.00 $438 —
425 thin fleshed 425 2 130.00 $130.00 $552 —
427 427 5 125.00 $125.00 $534 —
540 540 1 120.00 $120.00 $648 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–390 378 2 162.00–166.00 $163.93 $620 —
400–410 405 2 170.00–180.00 $174.94 $709 +16.57
500–545 518 6 159.00–168.00 $162.98 $844 +7.43
550–575 563 2 143.00–149.00 $145.93 $822 +9.11
645 645 1 140.00 $140.00 $903 —
655 655 1 143.00 $143.00 $937 —
735–740 738 2 125.00 $125.00 $922 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–385 373 2 140.00–155.00 $147.25 $549 -3.82
380 thin fleshed 380 1 167.00 $167.00 $635 —
430 430 2 140.00–150.00 $145.00 $624 +2.53
525 525 1 140.00 $140.00 $735 +10.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 120.00 $120.00 $378 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1735 1465 75-80% 17 87.00–98.50 $92.38 $1,353 —
1405–1755 1580 75-80% 2 86.50–88.50 $87.61 $1,384 +2.04
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720 720 85-90% 1 68.00 $68.00 $490 +38.00
855–885 868 85-90% 3 45.00–52.50 $49.02 $425 +4.40
890 890 85-90% 1 30.00 $30.00 $267 -14.62
925–985 955 85-90% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.48 $520 —
960–1115 1014 85-90% 4 65.00–76.00 $70.43 $714 +23.69
1055–1475 1210 85-90% 5 74.50–85.00 $79.40 $961 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1340 1220 80-85% 6 78.00–85.00 $82.01 $1,001 -0.62
1020–1390 1265 80-85% 10 82.00–93.00 $87.72 $1,110 +14.31

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1850 1550 4 70.00–85.50 $78.95 $1,224 —
1200–1995 1649 9 94.00–107.50 $102.75 $1,694 —
1745–2040 1896 5 111.00–125.00 $116.78 $2,214 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 800.00–850.00 $825.00
950–1200 1063 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 700.00–950.00 $864.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 86.00 $86.00 $989
1158 1158 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 79.00 $79.00 $915
1080–1250 1191 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 83.00–91.00 $86.68 $1,032
1215 1215 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,094
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1185 1185 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 990.00 $990.00

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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
850–1000 925 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 730.00–825.00 $781.35 —
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 +375.00
1000 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,550.00 $1,550.00 —
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,425.00 $1,425.00 —

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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.