Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, April 22, 2022

586 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $178.01/cwt -3.04 vs last sale · ≈ $858/hd at 482 lb · 32 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $156.70/cwt +2.38 vs last sale · ≈ $661/hd at 422 lb · 27 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.40/cwt -6.55 vs last sale · ≈ $704/hd at 474 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 586 630 626
Feeder cattle 513 469 543
Slaughter cattle 43 100 63
Replacement cattle 30 61 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and and heifers were steady to uneven on a light test. Slaughter cows and bulls were mostly steady. Supply was light with an unexpected flash folood event in the area on the previous day. Demand was good on quality weaned cattle as always.

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
360 360 1 200.00 $200.00 $720 +8.48
400–440 419 14 170.00–200.00 $188.74 $791 -1.26
450–495 482 32 165.00–189.00 $178.01 $858 -3.04
500–540 516 10 167.00–188.00 $177.14 $914 +5.81
500–530 value added 518 3 174.00–187.00 $179.53 $930 —
515–545 530 2 144.00–150.00 $146.92 $779 -24.41
560–595 573 6 157.00–171.00 $166.27 $953 —
575 value added 575 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,012 —
600–620 611 5 157.00–167.00 $161.79 $989 +6.28
620 620 1 142.00 $142.00 $880 -13.51
655–680 668 2 147.00–159.00 $153.11 $1,023 —
700 700 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,085 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 170.00 $170.00 $502 —
345 345 2 160.00 $160.00 $552 —
345 thin fleshed 345 1 183.00 $183.00 $631 —
355 thin fleshed 355 1 173.00 $173.00 $614 —
400–415 409 4 145.00–155.00 $151.28 $619 —
460–490 478 3 130.00–150.00 $140.03 $669 -4.97
545 545 1 155.00 $155.00 $845 +9.00
620 620 1 140.00 $140.00 $868 —
655 655 1 140.00 $140.00 $917 —
700 700 1 138.00 $138.00 $966 +10.52
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 120.00 $120.00 $504 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–345 327 3 167.00–171.00 $169.65 $555 —
347 347 3 150.00 $150.00 $520 —
350–391 386 12 160.00–165.00 $161.72 $624 -0.59
405–445 422 25 150.00–161.00 $157.59 $665 +3.27
410–435 423 2 144.00–147.00 $145.54 $616 -8.78
450–490 466 9 148.00–156.00 $150.87 $703 -4.08
450–496 484 8 144.00–146.00 $145.63 $705 -9.32
500–540 523 8 140.00–148.00 $143.84 $752 -2.16
522–545 528 4 140.00 $140.00 $739 -6.00
560–575 568 2 145.00–149.00 $146.97 $835 +1.96
580 580 1 125.00 $125.00 $725 -20.01
610 610 1 140.00 $140.00 $854 +20.00
600–640 620 2 115.00–125.00 $119.84 $743 -0.16
715 715 1 130.00 $130.00 $930 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 160.00 $160.00 $520 +14.69
360–395 373 5 130.00–151.00 $136.73 $510 -0.01
400 thin fleshed 400 1 141.00 $141.00 $564 —
405–435 423 7 130.00–145.00 $134.71 $570 -5.29
450–490 466 6 129.00–145.00 $138.06 $643 +3.95
545 545 2 125.00–130.00 $127.50 $695 -4.38
570–595 580 4 120.00–135.00 $126.21 $732 -2.13
605–640 623 2 121.00–133.00 $126.83 $790 -2.17
715 715 1 110.00 $110.00 $786 ±0.00
765 765 1 110.00 $110.00 $842 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 115.00 $115.00 $540 +8.59

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 150.00 $150.00 $502 -13.42
370 370 1 140.00 $140.00 $518 -5.17
385 thin fleshed 385 1 155.00 $155.00 $597 —
450 thin fleshed 450 1 146.00 $146.00 $657 —
520–530 527 3 130.00–144.00 $134.94 $711 -5.06
670 670 1 110.00 $110.00 $737 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 171.00 $171.00 $675 -15.57
445 thin fleshed 445 1 182.00 $182.00 $810 —
505 505 1 154.00 $154.00 $778 -3.89
565 565 1 159.00 $159.00 $898 +10.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825 825 1 80.00 $80.00 $660 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–870 840 85-90% 3 40.00–53.00 $46.08 $387 —
835–880 855 85-90% 3 60.00–65.00 $61.66 $527 +15.62
820–895 858 85-90% 2 70.00–75.00 $72.39 $621 +26.35
940–985 963 85-90% 2 45.00–52.50 $48.66 $469 —
1005 1005 85-90% 1 25.00 $25.00 $251 -26.17
945–1310 1128 85-90% 2 64.00–65.00 $64.42 $727 -13.42
970–1440 1164 85-90% 10 68.50–78.00 $73.42 $855 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200 1200 80-85% 1 70.00 $70.00 $840 —
1195–1400 1283 80-85% 5 78.00–86.50 $84.19 $1,080 -0.34
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1410 1392 75-80% 3 82.00–85.00 $83.99 $1,169 —
1460 1460 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $949 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,062 —
1290–1735 1533 7 90.00–105.00 $98.24 $1,506 —
1375–2045 1710 2 110.00–120.00 $114.02 $1,950 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1000 950 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 1,075.00–1,125.00 $1,101.32
950–1200 1098 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 10 700.00–975.00 $866.24
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930 930 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 90.00 $90.00 $837
1050 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 84.00 $84.00 $882
1165–1185 1172 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 76.00–82.00 $78.02 $914
930–1455 1177 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 64.50–84.00 $78.54 $924

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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
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —

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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.