Compared to last week: Extreme cold has been seen over the last week, with actual temperatures well below 0 and wind chills 40-60 below 0. Today and yesterday saw warmer temperatures but some light snowfall across the region. This has slowed the volume of cattle being marketed. Very light receipts were seen today. Not enough feeder cattle sold to develop any market trend. Demand was light to moderate for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average and mostly offered in small groups or as singles. Market activity was mostly moderate to active today. A small crowd was on hand for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Packers showed very good demand for slaughter cows. Many sales were canceled in the upper planes this past week due to weather and extreme cold. This had packers searching for offerings for immediate harvest as offerings available to the packer have been tight. Slaughter cows sold mostly 6.00-10.00 higher on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 10.00-12.00 higher. Feeding cow buyers were aggressive as well. They bit aggressively against packer buyers in a search to fill loads for the week. Feeding cows sold mostly 8.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00-4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand, no comparisons are available due to light receipts.
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: Extreme cold has been seen over the last week, with actual temperatures well below 0 and wind chills 40-60 below 0. Today and yesterday saw warmer temperatures but some light snowfall across the region. This has slowed the volume of cattle being marketed. Very light receipts were seen today. Not enough feeder cattle sold to develop any market trend. Demand was light to moderate for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average and mostly offered in small groups or as singles. Market activity was mostly moderate to active today. A small crowd was on hand for todays sale. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Packers showed very good demand for slaughter cows. Many sales were canceled in the upper planes this past week due to weather and extreme cold. This had packers searching for offerings for immediate harvest as offerings available to the packer have been tight. Slaughter cows sold mostly 6.00-10.00 higher on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 10.00-12.00 higher. Feeding cow buyers were aggressive as well. They bit aggressively against packer buyers in a search to fill loads for the week. Feeding cows sold mostly 8.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00-4.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold on light to moderate demand, no comparisons are available due to light receipts.