heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers$255.50/cwt+0.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,477/hd at 578 lb · 466 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$249.17/cwt+4.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,415/hd at 568 lb · 207 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers$235.20/cwt-5.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,571/hd at 668 lb · 170 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
3,700
5,026
5,826
Feeder cattle
3,299
4,779
5,586
Slaughter cattle
259
180
159
Replacement cattle
142
67
81
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed. Steer calves under 450 lbs sold steady to 15.00 higher; Steers 450-599 lbs sold generally steady to weak; steer calves over 600 lbs sold mostly 8.00-10.00 lower. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold generally steady; heifer calves 500-650 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher; heifer calves over 650 lbs were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Demand was mostly moderate to good this sale. Quality today was mixed from plain to attractive with lots of variation seen. Large price spreads continue to be seen between plain/average quality calves and high quality calves. CME positions have been very volatile over the last week with sharply higher and sharply lower prices seen. CME contracts sold off sharply today with triple digit losses seen on all contracts. The January contracts sold 2.25 lower to settle at 219.95, The March contract closed at 222.575 1.70 lower. Package sizes were mixed this week. Demand was good for load lots and large packages, however small packages sold at a discount. Calves with fall preconditioning shots sold with the best demand. Most calves with only one round of shots sold with a 5.00-12.00 discount. A few weaned calves were seen this week however very few weaned calves sold with any premium to fresh, clean, bloomy calves straight off the cow. Market activity was mostly active today with a very large crowd on hand of both farmer feeders and order buyers noticed. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for mostly light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows and feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light demand today. Quality was mostly average to attractive. This class was too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however lower to sharply lower undertones were noticed.
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 were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Yearling heifers were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to lower undertones were noticed. Steer calves under 450 lbs sold steady to 15.00 higher; Steers 450-599 lbs sold generally steady to weak; steer calves over 600 lbs sold mostly 8.00-10.00 lower. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold generally steady; heifer calves 500-650 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher; heifer calves over 650 lbs were too lightly tested to trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Demand was mostly moderate to good this sale. Quality today was mixed from plain to attractive with lots of variation seen. Large price spreads continue to be seen between plain/average quality calves and high quality calves. CME positions have been very volatile over the last week with sharply higher and sharply lower prices seen. CME contracts sold off sharply today with triple digit losses seen on all contracts. The January contracts sold 2.25 lower to settle at 219.95, The March contract closed at 222.575 1.70 lower. Package sizes were mixed this week. Demand was good for load lots and large packages, however small packages sold at a discount. Calves with fall preconditioning shots sold with the best demand. Most calves with only one round of shots sold with a 5.00-12.00 discount. A few weaned calves were seen this week however very few weaned calves sold with any premium to fresh, clean, bloomy calves straight off the cow. Market activity was mostly active today with a very large crowd on hand of both farmer feeders and order buyers noticed. Weigh up cows sold on moderate to good demand for mostly light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows and feeding cows were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed on all offerings. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Weigh up conditions were mostly average to below average. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light demand today. Quality was mostly average to attractive. This class was too lightly tested last sale to develop an accurate market trend, however lower to sharply lower undertones were noticed.