Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 16, 2022

724 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 $185.37/cwt +4.92 vs last sale · ≈ $875/hd at 472 lb · 17 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.54/cwt +9.70 vs last sale · ≈ $690/hd at 427 lb · 13 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.50/cwt ≈ $912/hd at 590 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 724 718 444
Feeder cattle 604 648 303
Slaughter cattle 100 60 101
Replacement cattle 20 10 40

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 500 lbs were mostly uneven, steers over 500 lbs were 2.00 to 10.00 higher with some instances of quality hard weaned cattle as much as 15.00 higher. Feeder heifers traded 2.00 to 6.00 higher. Slaughter cows were 2.00 to 5.00 higher and slaughter bulls were unevenly steady.

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
390–396 395 6 190.00–203.00 $200.36 $791 —
410–445 419 7 180.00–200.00 $192.22 $805 -17.55
425 425 1 175.00 $175.00 $744 -34.77
438 value added 438 2 198.00 $198.00 $867 —
450–495 465 13 170.00–200.00 $183.94 $855 +1.63
496 value added 496 4 190.00 $190.00 $942 —
503 value added 503 2 191.00 $191.00 $961 +13.19
520 520 1 155.00 $155.00 $806 -0.05
555–598 577 2 184.00–191.00 $187.63 $1,083 +27.63
655 655 1 166.00 $166.00 $1,087 +3.99
710–735 727 3 153.00–156.00 $154.35 $1,122 —
785 785 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,217 —
825 value added 825 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,270 —
830 830 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,204 —
866 value added 866 9 159.50 $159.50 $1,381 —
925 925 1 162.00 $162.00 $1,498 +34.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 150.00 $150.00 $518 —
350 350 1 160.00 $160.00 $560 +1.69
420 420 1 150.00 $150.00 $630 -0.10
455 thin fleshed 455 1 170.00 $170.00 $774 —
466–495 483 5 142.00–160.00 $148.23 $716 +1.20
510–545 528 2 150.00–157.00 $153.38 $810 +8.19
570 570 1 151.00 $151.00 $861 +0.05
610–640 value added 625 2 155.00–157.00 $156.02 $975 +4.02
710 value added 710 1 159.00 $159.00 $1,129 —
795 795 1 111.00 $111.00 $882 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518 518 4 170.00 $170.00 $881 —
661 value added 661 5 165.00 $165.00 $1,091 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 120.00 $120.00 $558 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 150.00 $150.00 $555 —
370–380 377 6 159.00–166.00 $163.81 $618 —
405–445 422 3 144.00–169.00 $156.68 $661 +4.84
429 value added 429 10 163.00 $163.00 $699 —
455–495 472 10 141.00–165.00 $152.66 $721 +5.40
500–540 519 10 140.00–166.00 $149.28 $775 +9.28
565–590 575 5 140.00–152.00 $144.34 $830 -0.66
583–585 584 4 130.00–136.00 $131.50 $768 -13.50
600–615 608 2 136.00–143.00 $139.46 $848 +9.46
653 653 3 140.00 $140.00 $914 +6.00
700 value added 700 1 151.00 $151.00 $1,057 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–340 338 2 150.00–155.00 $152.52 $516 +2.52
380–390 385 6 130.00–155.00 $137.97 $531 +2.25
400–440 418 8 130.00–142.00 $135.90 $568 +4.04
450–470 456 6 126.00–136.00 $132.69 $605 +3.46
505–530 521 7 120.00–139.00 $132.33 $689 +3.27
600–630 612 6 120.00–135.00 $128.70 $788 -1.30
655 655 1 130.00 $130.00 $852 ±0.00
720 thin fleshed 720 1 130.00 $130.00 $936 —
750 750 2 125.00 $125.00 $938 ±0.00
890 890 1 110.00 $110.00 $979 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
466 value added 466 5 157.00 $157.00 $732 —
590 value added 590 13 154.50 $154.50 $912 —
774 value added 774 11 136.50 $136.50 $1,057 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 110.00 $110.00 $512 -5.08
505–545 525 2 100.00–110.00 $104.81 $550 +7.68

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 330 4 200.00–213.00 $206.70 $682 +16.70
355–380 368 2 170.00–200.00 $184.49 $679 -5.51
405 405 1 190.00 $190.00 $770 +13.06
455–490 473 2 155.00–180.00 $167.04 $790 +1.64
500–548 526 10 155.00–170.00 $161.15 $848 +8.15
550–580 568 6 140.00–165.00 $154.63 $878 +23.03
600–642 633 10 146.00–173.00 $152.65 $966 +8.80
655 655 1 136.00 $136.00 $891 -6.27
700 700 1 128.00 $128.00 $896 +6.00
775 775 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,038 —
865–880 873 2 120.00–132.00 $126.05 $1,100 —
995 995 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,094 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430–440 437 3 130.00–144.00 $139.40 $609 -7.92
475–490 482 5 140.00–150.00 $146.81 $708 +1.78
500–540 523 3 130.00–140.00 $133.69 $699 -1.08
570–580 575 2 132.00–146.00 $139.06 $800 +6.34
600–640 618 6 124.00–135.00 $129.18 $798 +6.69
660 660 1 135.00 $135.00 $891 +15.00
710 710 1 120.00 $120.00 $852 —
755–770 763 2 115.00–116.00 $115.50 $881 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 120.00 $120.00 $534 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1435 1288 80-85% 2 61.00–64.00 $62.67 $807 —
1110–1660 1355 80-85% 24 66.00–75.00 $70.07 $949 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1120 1078 85-90% 2 57.00–60.00 $58.56 $631 -3.21
915–1370 1133 85-90% 6 61.00–70.00 $66.20 $750 +13.10
1110–1290 1195 85-90% 3 44.50–49.00 $47.07 $562 -0.93
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1990 1565 75-80% 9 69.00–75.00 $72.53 $1,135 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1625 1465 3 52.00–75.00 $65.01 $952 —
1195–1920 1504 7 82.00–92.00 $87.61 $1,318 —
1550–2070 1848 3 93.50–104.00 $101.06 $1,868 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900–1100 975 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 750.00–925.00 $852.56
1000–1210 1070 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 750.00–875.00 $797.12
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1340–1480 1393 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 73.00–85.00 $77.22 $1,076

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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.