Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, May 3, 2024

401 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $274.71/cwt +10.79 vs last sale · ≈ $1,277/hd at 465 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 401 779 802
Feeder cattle 327 642 684
Slaughter cattle 67 116 97
Replacement cattle 7 21 21

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle was not well tested due low supply. Slaughter cattle sold 2.00 to 5.00 lower bulls sold steady but was lightly tested

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
325 325 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,235 +30.00
385 385 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,299 -2.17
410 410 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,332 +25.00
460–475 467 5 290.00–325.00 $309.00 $1,443 +29.00
505–540 515 7 287.50–315.00 $297.71 $1,533 -2.34
555–590 568 4 260.00–280.00 $270.14 $1,534 -9.56
605–630 618 2 240.00–265.00 $252.25 $1,559 -9.61
755 755 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,699 +5.00
890 890 4 222.50 $222.50 $1,980 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–315 308 2 340.00–360.00 $350.24 $1,079 —
365–380 370 3 305.00–310.00 $306.71 $1,135 -2.89
420–440 434 4 285.00–300.00 $293.70 $1,275 +31.20
470–485 478 2 285.00–305.00 $294.84 $1,409 —
540–545 543 2 270.50–272.50 $271.50 $1,474 -2.64
545 545 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,308 -34.14

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
311–315 312 7 310.00–325.00 $322.83 $1,007 +30.69
395 395 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,224 +18.69
405–430 421 4 260.00–295.00 $274.79 $1,157 -5.51
454–478 465 11 260.00–285.00 $274.71 $1,277 +10.79
500–515 507 5 232.50–257.50 $246.54 $1,250 +0.29
555–590 567 6 240.00–260.00 $249.00 $1,412 +2.03
625 625 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,438 -9.51
640 640 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,408 -19.51
720 720 1 217.50 $217.50 $1,566 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 330 3 270.00–300.00 $289.55 $956 —
350–380 368 3 265.00–290.00 $277.16 $1,020 +10.56
415–445 428 6 220.00–252.50 $243.54 $1,042 +16.04
450–495 470 6 240.00–255.00 $248.37 $1,167 -8.55
545 545 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,199 -6.37
555–575 565 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,243 -10.65

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–375 373 2 330.00–335.00 $332.52 $1,240 +12.23
400–430 419 5 290.00–315.50 $302.96 $1,269 -0.10
468 468 3 302.50 $302.50 $1,416 +13.93
505–525 515 2 255.00–260.00 $257.45 $1,326 -18.65
590–595 593 2 247.50–282.50 $264.93 $1,571 -4.68
620–625 623 2 240.00–265.00 $252.45 $1,573 -6.19
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–360 357 3 315.00–327.50 $322.46 $1,151 +15.66
420 420 1 285.50 $285.50 $1,199 +15.50
470 470 1 297.50 $297.50 $1,398 +22.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995 995 (<2 yrs)N/A 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,940 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,069 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1395 1169 80-85% 26 115.00–125.00 $121.41 $1,419 —
1085–1455 1215 80-85% 3 110.00–116.00 $113.00 $1,373 -10.35
1085–1405 1244 80-85% 7 127.00–135.00 $129.69 $1,613 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–960 922 85-90% 3 101.00–104.00 $102.65 $946 —
825–1075 950 85-90% 2 80.00–87.00 $83.96 $798 -15.69
900–1140 1013 85-90% 3 97.00–107.00 $103.66 $1,050 -7.96
1115 1115 85-90% 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,271 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1500 1428 75-80% 2 117.00–122.00 $119.63 $1,708 -5.82

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1780 1780 1 143.00 $143.00 $2,545 —
2270 2270 1 176.00 $176.00 $3,995 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
850–985 918 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 150.00–202.50 $174.32 $1,600

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
965–1100 1030 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,400.00–2,100.00 $1,774.11
1035 1035 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,525.00 $1,525.00

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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.