Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 15, 2023

473 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $200.29/cwt +9.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,124/hd at 561 lb · 13 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $198.12/cwt +9.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,030/hd at 520 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 473 970 724
Feeder cattle 368 823 604
Slaughter cattle 85 121 100
Replacement cattle 20 26 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers were lightly tested. No trend established. Feeder heifers sold 4.00-6.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower. Slaughter bulls sold steady to 5.00 lower. Demand good for all classes.

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
330–335 333 2 250.00–270.00 $259.92 $866 -14.98
355–365 358 3 263.00–290.00 $277.86 $995 +51.08
465–480 475 3 237.00–257.00 $249.59 $1,186 +10.42
500–515 504 4 230.00–249.00 $238.78 $1,203 +7.62
557–595 562 7 231.00–235.00 $231.60 $1,302 +3.95
610 610 1 223.00 $223.00 $1,360 -1.50
650–665 655 3 217.00–231.00 $221.74 $1,452 +11.87
1110 1110 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,243 —
1215 1215 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,336 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 250.00 $250.00 $962 +50.00
435 435 1 220.00 $220.00 $957 -12.37
485 485 1 201.00 $201.00 $975 -1.56
535–545 540 2 200.00–224.00 $212.11 $1,145 +22.11
580–585 583 2 190.00–210.00 $200.04 $1,166 -8.58
650 650 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,300 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 336 7 215.00–239.00 $233.99 $786 +27.60
350–395 369 6 219.00–235.00 $225.96 $834 +20.73
400–415 410 9 212.00–225.00 $215.42 $883 +11.02
450–490 468 3 204.00–221.00 $211.19 $988 +14.04
505–545 520 11 190.00–206.00 $198.12 $1,030 +9.12
550–570 561 13 193.00–203.00 $200.29 $1,124 +9.44
615–620 618 2 169.00–187.00 $177.96 $1,100 -6.62
675–685 680 2 178.00–180.00 $179.01 $1,217 -7.30
760 760 1 176.00 $176.00 $1,338 +18.00
800 800 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,200 -4.89
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 200.00 $200.00 $630 +24.45
395 395 1 209.00 $209.00 $826 +25.90
405–440 425 4 182.00–200.00 $192.91 $820 +14.87
485–495 490 3 170.00–187.00 $179.71 $881 +3.17
515–530 523 2 181.00–186.00 $183.54 $960 +10.54
550–595 578 5 176.00–182.00 $178.79 $1,033 +1.32
640 640 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,056 -5.51
660 660 1 173.00 $173.00 $1,142 +12.38
720–735 728 2 157.00–160.00 $158.48 $1,154 +18.48
755 755 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,261 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 171.00 $171.00 $633 +1.00
510 510 1 160.00 $160.00 $816 +5.00
565 565 1 160.00 $160.00 $904 —
665 665 1 150.00 $150.00 $998 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–340 333 3 255.00–270.00 $264.90 $882 +12.26
350–365 355 3 230.00–250.00 $236.85 $841 -9.85
405–433 426 7 250.00–272.00 $267.34 $1,139 +21.96
450–485 472 3 252.00–268.00 $257.75 $1,217 +27.87
505 fancy 505 1 244.00 $244.00 $1,232 —
505–545 519 8 209.00–232.00 $221.53 $1,150 -2.12
579 579 7 208.00 $208.00 $1,204 -26.28
610–645 628 2 200.00–221.00 $210.21 $1,320 +18.96
680–685 683 2 190.00–193.00 $191.49 $1,308 +0.32
700–715 708 2 176.00–178.00 $177.01 $1,253 -22.99
770 770 1 167.00 $167.00 $1,286 —
845 845 1 168.00 $168.00 $1,420 —
990 990 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,307 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 245.00 $245.00 $772 +30.00
385–390 388 2 200.00 $200.00 $776 -7.55
400–425 415 4 225.00–247.00 $236.45 $981 +46.45
450–485 473 4 207.00–230.00 $214.20 $1,013 +7.13
500–535 518 6 190.00–204.00 $196.82 $1,020 -5.95
570 570 2 179.00–185.00 $182.00 $1,037 -17.99
620 620 1 186.00 $186.00 $1,153 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 2 200.00 $200.00 $620 —
400 400 2 220.00 $220.00 $880 —
475 475 1 204.00 $204.00 $969 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1520 1339 75-80% 20 89.00–100.00 $92.49 $1,238 -2.38
1270–1740 1409 75-80% 10 83.00–88.00 $86.09 $1,213 +1.05
1775 1775 75-80% 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,757 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1100 1048 80-85% 5 80.00–81.00 $80.42 $843 -2.37
1025–1300 1171 80-85% 9 85.00–88.00 $86.44 $1,012 -1.44
980–1335 1197 80-85% 6 74.00–79.00 $77.04 $922 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935 935 85-90% 1 71.00 $71.00 $664 -1.69
950–1205 1053 85-90% 5 55.00–66.00 $62.06 $653 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1370 1198 2 84.00–90.00 $87.43 $1,047 —
1300–1895 1628 3 94.00–98.00 $95.55 $1,556 —
1540–2105 1852 3 100.00–104.00 $101.93 $1,888 —

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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)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
800–1100 933 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 975.00–1,230.00 $1,131.43
975–1375 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 800.00–1,325.00 $1,183.52
1000–1315 1186 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,000.00–1,250.00 $1,101.84
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1375 1375 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,251
1440 1440 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,253

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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
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —

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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.