Compared to last week: Feeder cattle were not tested this week due to the annual Northland stock cow sale. Todays sale featured a heavy offering of bred cows and heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good for heavy offerings as over 4,000 offerings were preg checked for todays sale. Quality was mixed from plain to very attractive. A limited offering of young cows were seen this sale as the offering was heavy to the 7 years old cows and older. Demand for older cows was mostly good as several buyers were competitive as they bid on solid and broken mouth cows. Many sets of cows had been on feed and were in mostly moderate flesh. Demand for heifers was moderate to good. Most heifers were pasture bred as AI'ed offerings were light this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold 3.00-4.00 lower on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold unevenly steady. High quality feeding cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on a lower quality offering. Short term feeding cows sold unevenly steady from 1.00 lower to 2.00 higher. Demand was uneven as prices started the sale higher and ended the sale lower as feeding buyers filled loads and exited the market. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was not as attractive as last week and fewer takers were seen for this class of cows.
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: Feeder cattle were not tested this week due to the annual Northland stock cow sale. Todays sale featured a heavy offering of bred cows and heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good for heavy offerings as over 4,000 offerings were preg checked for todays sale. Quality was mixed from plain to very attractive. A limited offering of young cows were seen this sale as the offering was heavy to the 7 years old cows and older. Demand for older cows was mostly good as several buyers were competitive as they bid on solid and broken mouth cows. Many sets of cows had been on feed and were in mostly moderate flesh. Demand for heifers was moderate to good. Most heifers were pasture bred as AI'ed offerings were light this sale. Weigh up cows sold on mostly light demand for light to moderate offerings. Slaughter cows sold 3.00-4.00 lower on breaking cows, boning and lean cows sold unevenly steady. High quality feeding cows were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed on a lower quality offering. Short term feeding cows sold unevenly steady from 1.00 lower to 2.00 higher. Demand was uneven as prices started the sale higher and ended the sale lower as feeding buyers filled loads and exited the market. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, however lower undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Quality this week was not as attractive as last week and fewer takers were seen for this class of cows.