light 5-weight M&L 1 steers$196.47/cwt-2.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,068/hd at 543 lb · 183 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$155.02/cwt-0.87 vs last sale · ≈ $884/hd at 570 lb · 179 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers$166.18/cwt+3.41 vs last sale · ≈ $1,098/hd at 661 lb · 162 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
3,231
4,492
3,469
Feeder cattle
2,520
3,607
2,355
Slaughter cattle
484
588
933
Replacement cattle
227
297
181
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers sold with steady undertones in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week. Demand for yearlings remains good to very good. Feeder steers less than 450 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Steer calves 450-599 lbs sold mostly steady to weak, steers over 600 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves under 450 lbs sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower, heifers over 450 lbs sold steady to weak. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Calves varied greatly in quality again this week and buyers were more selective due to large quality variation. Trucking has also become tight again as many truckers are ready for the holiday break. Many trucks also got held up in the storm that swept across the country as high winds kept many trucks from getting on the road. Demand for calves was mixed, with good demand seen on high quality calves. Calves were mostly sold in moderate size packages this sale. Demand for small packages or singles was noticeably light. Demand did improve as the sale progressed with noticeably stronger demand after lunch and late in the sale as buyers pushed to fill loads. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand and offerings. Packers were not as aggressive in buying cows for immediate harvest and opted to send most cows to feed this sale. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Feeding cow demand remains good as a good size buyer pool was seen for this class of cows. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Cow quality this sale was mostly plain to average. Cows sold late in the day and most were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Feeding bull buyers kept bull prices near steady despite lighter demand for all slaughter cattle. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold fully steady. Demand for this class of cows was mostly light to moderate. Quality was mostly plain to average again this week.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to last week: Yearling steers and heifers sold with steady undertones in a narrow comparison. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week. Demand for yearlings remains good to very good. Feeder steers less than 450 lbs sold 5.00-10.00 lower. Steer calves 450-599 lbs sold mostly steady to weak, steers over 600 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower. Heifer calves under 450 lbs sold mostly 2.00-5.00 lower, heifers over 450 lbs sold steady to weak. Quality this week was mixed from plain to attractive. Calves varied greatly in quality again this week and buyers were more selective due to large quality variation. Trucking has also become tight again as many truckers are ready for the holiday break. Many trucks also got held up in the storm that swept across the country as high winds kept many trucks from getting on the road. Demand for calves was mixed, with good demand seen on high quality calves. Calves were mostly sold in moderate size packages this sale. Demand for small packages or singles was noticeably light. Demand did improve as the sale progressed with noticeably stronger demand after lunch and late in the sale as buyers pushed to fill loads. Market activity was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on moderate demand and offerings. Packers were not as aggressive in buying cows for immediate harvest and opted to send most cows to feed this sale. Slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower on boning and lean cows. Breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed. Feeding cow demand remains good as a good size buyer pool was seen for this class of cows. Feeding cows sold fully steady. Cow quality this sale was mostly plain to average. Cows sold late in the day and most were pushing heavy amounts of fill. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady. Feeding bull buyers kept bull prices near steady despite lighter demand for all slaughter cattle. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold fully steady. Demand for this class of cows was mostly light to moderate. Quality was mostly plain to average again this week.