Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 2, 2022

1,125 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $141.29/cwt -9.25 vs last sale · ≈ $748/hd at 530 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $151.58/cwt -7.52 vs last sale · ≈ $722/hd at 476 lb · 17 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $131.91/cwt -5.99 vs last sale · ≈ $563/hd at 427 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,125 1,025 1,968
Feeder cattle 942 807 1,769
Slaughter cattle 133 218 199
Replacement cattle 50 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Comapared to last week: There was no sale last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, so no comparison is available this week. Supply was good and demand was good on all ranges of cattle. Quality was average with a large offering of unweaned cattle.

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
355–375 365 2 185.00–191.00 $187.92 $686 -3.58
404 404 5 200.00 $200.00 $808 +8.03
455–485 468 5 175.00–186.00 $180.17 $843 +30.17
500–525 508 6 165.00–180.00 $170.90 $868 +3.57
507–540 514 7 160.00 $160.00 $822 -7.33
568–575 570 7 165.00–171.00 $169.99 $969 +9.49
616–628 value added 619 13 170.00–175.00 $173.83 $1,076 +3.78
625–645 635 4 155.00–162.00 $158.47 $1,006 -1.48
680 680 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,020 -4.81
705 value added 705 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,128 +6.50
735 735 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,029 -4.95
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 170.00 $170.00 $672 +13.99
430 thin fleshed 430 1 163.00 $163.00 $701 —
450–483 471 11 140.00–155.00 $147.14 $693 —
505 thin fleshed 505 1 155.00 $155.00 $783 —
530–545 538 2 140.00–150.00 $145.07 $780 +0.28
570–580 575 2 140.00–155.00 $147.57 $849 +2.30
600–620 609 4 140.00–145.00 $143.74 $875 -4.26
680 680 1 145.00 $145.00 $986 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308 308 2 156.00 $156.00 $480 -7.00
380–390 388 8 150.00–171.00 $165.71 $643 +24.71
400–443 424 10 150.00–167.00 $159.30 $675 +6.33
450–498 474 12 142.00–155.00 $149.16 $707 -4.64
468–492 value added 482 5 151.00–167.50 $157.40 $759 -8.60
505–535 522 6 130.00–135.00 $133.21 $695 +0.72
505–545 530 6 135.00–140.00 $139.21 $738 +6.72
525–545 value added 536 7 150.00 $150.00 $804 -5.13
550–565 557 3 130.00–140.00 $135.01 $752 -10.61
600–610 603 5 135.00–140.00 $136.41 $823 -3.59
610–630 620 5 130.00–134.00 $130.80 $811 -9.20
660 thin fleshed 660 1 147.00 $147.00 $970 —
653–675 663 4 130.00–133.00 $131.48 $872 -18.52
719 719 6 138.00 $138.00 $992 +0.95
755–763 760 3 120.00–123.00 $120.99 $920 -8.01
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 374 5 130.00–140.00 $132.03 $494 -2.09
380 thin fleshed 380 1 150.00 $150.00 $570 —
410–445 427 14 125.00–140.00 $129.03 $551 -7.50
425–430 thin fleshed 428 3 142.00–150.00 $145.34 $622 +3.34
460–480 472 10 130.00–135.00 $131.31 $620 +0.08
500–545 520 9 120.00–140.00 $130.59 $679 +5.68
525 value added 525 1 140.00 $140.00 $735 —
550–590 566 11 120.00–132.00 $127.51 $722 +3.83
605–645 625 2 120.00–126.00 $122.90 $768 -7.10
665 665 1 125.00 $125.00 $831 -2.47
680 680 1 110.00 $110.00 $748 -17.47
715 715 1 120.00 $120.00 $858 —
755–760 758 3 115.00–120.00 $118.34 $897 —
800–810 807 3 110.00–120.00 $113.31 $914 +3.31
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 6 138.00 $138.00 $683 —
550 550 6 135.00 $135.00 $742 —
601 value added 601 10 135.00 $135.00 $811 —
693 value added 693 8 130.00 $130.00 $901 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 126.00 $126.00 $410 +8.04
375–395 387 3 110.00–125.00 $115.11 $445 —
400 400 1 110.00 $110.00 $440 -3.47
475–490 483 4 110.00–120.00 $112.54 $544 -7.46

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 200.00 $200.00 $690 +20.19
350–395 370 6 187.00–200.00 $192.00 $710 +20.15
410–430 420 2 159.00–180.00 $169.75 $713 -11.66
455–488 476 8 152.00–160.00 $155.27 $739 -8.80
480 480 1 150.00 $150.00 $720 -14.07
500–540 518 14 140.00–170.00 $160.33 $831 -2.29
560–580 573 5 140.00–155.00 $149.99 $859 -3.65
600–635 611 4 134.00–140.00 $136.06 $831 -5.93
664–670 665 7 134.00–138.00 $134.58 $895 -5.83
755–785 772 3 115.00–129.00 $123.99 $957 —
850 850 1 116.00 $116.00 $986 +2.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 160.00 $160.00 $536 +10.08
375 375 1 155.00 $155.00 $581 +4.33
400–440 425 8 130.00–158.00 $145.81 $620 +10.50
450–495 472 14 130.00–150.00 $136.96 $646 +4.47
505–545 528 10 130.00–150.00 $136.88 $723 +1.80
565–598 588 5 120.00–140.00 $133.46 $785 +0.82
600–620 608 5 112.00–139.00 $124.34 $756 -7.37
670 670 2 120.00 $120.00 $804 —
705–735 718 4 115.00–126.00 $119.81 $860 -2.19

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750 750 85-90% 1 67.00 $67.00 $502 —
810 810 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $446 —
605–890 818 85-90% 5 35.00–42.50 $39.46 $323 —
815–878 847 85-90% 2 34.00–38.00 $36.07 $306 —
910–915 913 85-90% 2 30.00–35.00 $32.51 $297 —
935–1125 1051 85-90% 7 51.00–59.00 $56.62 $595 —
900–1325 1055 85-90% 5 42.00–46.00 $44.45 $469 —
1010–1290 1113 85-90% 6 61.00–70.00 $65.99 $734 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1400 1117 80-85% 11 61.00–67.50 $64.30 $718 —
1080–1455 1286 80-85% 9 69.00–73.00 $70.40 $905 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1420 1310 75-80% 2 68.00–69.00 $68.46 $897 —
1210–1980 1478 75-80% 7 70.00–77.00 $73.71 $1,089 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080 1080 6 69.00 $69.00 $745 —
1030–1440 1226 6 60.00–79.00 $71.47 $876 —
1270–1515 1420 4 82.50–94.00 $88.87 $1,262 —
1625–1895 1748 4 97.00–102.00 $99.45 $1,738 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750–1000 888 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 650.00–1,085.00 $863.54
900–980 940 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 700.00–725.00 $711.97
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1050 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 75.00 $75.00 $788
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 70.00 $70.00 $805
1105–1370 1207 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 65.00–72.00 $69.03 $833

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
850–1050 938 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 775.00–975.00 $868.67 —
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 650.00 $650.00 —
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 725.00 $725.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.