Cattle Market Pulse

Ash Flat Livestock Auction Market Report

Ash Flat, Arkansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, August 16, 2024

347 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 $236.68/cwt -5.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,322/hd at 559 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 347 490 782
Feeder cattle 287 408 662
Slaughter cattle 45 67 90
Replacement cattle 15 15 30

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder cattle this week sold unevenly with offerings of planer fleshy calves on a light test. Feeder steers 500lb to 600lb sold $9.00 to $10.00 lower and feeder heifers sold $4.00 to $5.00 lower. No test on feeder bulls. Slaughter cattle sold $3.00 to $4.00 higher

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
350–380 365 2 300.00–325.00 $311.99 $1,139 -10.51
430 430 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,333 —
520–540 534 7 285.00–300.00 $287.09 $1,533 -20.41
560–595 571 4 280.00–288.00 $284.45 $1,624 -7.18
575 575 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,552 -21.63
610 610 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,434 -34.50
600–620 618 8 252.50–270.00 $265.62 $1,642 -3.88
670–680 675 2 240.00–263.00 $251.41 $1,697 -1.12
700–720 710 2 245.00–250.00 $247.46 $1,757 -10.04
725–735 730 2 231.00–234.00 $232.51 $1,697 -24.99
750–775 760 4 230.00–245.00 $239.19 $1,818 —
788 788 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,734 —
880 880 1 212.00 $212.00 $1,866 -14.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 323 2 310.00–320.00 $315.35 $1,019 +45.35
350–370 thin fleshed 360 2 300.00–310.00 $304.86 $1,097 -0.72
370–395 383 2 270.00–280.00 $274.84 $1,053 -25.16
435–445 440 3 250.00–275.00 $265.09 $1,166 -13.83
460–475 470 4 255.00–276.00 $261.53 $1,229 -18.39
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520 520 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,352 -25.00
528 thin fleshed 528 4 300.00 $300.00 $1,584 —
573 573 4 257.50 $257.50 $1,475 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 336.00 $336.00 $974 —
465–493 484 3 240.00–250.00 $246.80 $1,195 -0.78
500–545 523 4 247.50–260.00 $252.01 $1,318 +12.01
523–540 529 4 235.00–240.00 $238.47 $1,262 -1.53
554–570 557 5 230.00–235.00 $233.98 $1,303 +5.12
550–595 559 19 230.00–240.00 $237.39 $1,327 +8.53
615 615 1 236.00 $236.00 $1,451 -2.92
640 640 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,421 -16.92
700 700 2 222.50–225.00 $223.75 $1,566 +11.28
830 830 1 196.00 $196.00 $1,627 —
918 918 4 180.00 $180.00 $1,652 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–340 330 4 250.00–275.00 $266.00 $878 -17.64
335 thin fleshed 335 2 286.00 $286.00 $958 —
360–375 368 2 270.00 $270.00 $994 -5.00
420 420 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,008 -20.22
450–495 465 4 220.00–240.00 $231.48 $1,076 -5.99
500–520 509 4 210.00–230.00 $224.89 $1,145 -0.55
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403–445 428 5 265.00–270.00 $268.12 $1,148 -21.28
465 465 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,139 -17.98
520–525 523 3 231.00–250.00 $243.71 $1,275 -6.12

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 300.00 $300.00 $960 +10.00
410–420 415 2 270.00–280.00 $274.94 $1,141 -7.81
435 thin fleshed 435 1 297.00 $297.00 $1,292 —
455 thin fleshed 455 2 291.00 $291.00 $1,324 —
450–475 465 3 260.00–275.00 $268.46 $1,248 +10.32
505 505 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,262 -10.70
525 thin fleshed 525 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,444 —
560–595 thin fleshed 580 3 250.00–260.00 $253.36 $1,469 —
600 thin fleshed 600 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,500 —
620 620 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,376 +2.83
1005 1005 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,508 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276–290 279 5 342.50–355.00 $345.10 $963 —
300–320 310 2 334.00–342.50 $338.39 $1,049 —
390 390 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,170 —
410 410 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,230 -3.32
515 515 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,416 -5.00
595 595 1 254.00 $254.00 $1,511 -1.00
655–660 658 2 247.00–250.00 $248.51 $1,635 —
675–680 678 2 220.00–230.00 $224.98 $1,525 —
800 800 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,600 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1260 1131 80-85% 4 137.50–144.00 $140.61 $1,590 +19.34
1040–1560 1224 80-85% 7 127.50–135.00 $132.16 $1,618 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–1580 1515 75-80% 2 120.00–122.50 $121.30 $1,838 -2.70
1335–1680 1518 75-80% 3 138.00–139.00 $138.71 $2,106 +14.71
1355–1750 1553 75-80% 2 142.00–157.00 $150.45 $2,336 —
1610–1720 1665 75-80% 2 135.00 $135.00 $2,248 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1060 952 85-90% 3 90.00–97.50 $93.88 $894 —
995 995 85-90% 1 112.50 $112.50 $1,119 —
1110 1110 85-90% 1 123.00 $123.00 $1,365 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180 1180 1 155.00 $155.00 $1,829 —
1260–2015 1571 5 165.00–177.50 $172.62 $2,712 -7.38
1340–2245 1723 3 180.00–191.00 $186.31 $3,210 +18.66

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,700.00 $1,700.00
955–1455 1205 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,450.00–2,200.00 $1,902.80
1330 1330 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1210 1210 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,706

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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
1000 1000 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,950.00 $1,950.00 —
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 2,350.00 $2,350.00 —

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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.