Slightly higher run than last week for today's regular sale, lighter offering of Feeders while the increase was made up in Slaughter Cattle and Replacements as the result of two herd reductions. Not a good market test on Feeders, a better snapshot of market sentiment for this week can be found on yesterday's Special Graded Sale report. Firm support for the quality but not necessarily in numbers by weight break to establish trends. More Feeder Bulls today of desirable quality and interest for those seeking fresh cutting Bulls. Firm demand as well for the return to farm Replacements, running towards the slightly aged side of things but bred to hit the later part of next Spring's calving season. The largest trend of interest for today is the drop in Slaughter Cow prices, outliers in lower dressing Cows taking the biggest hit, especially moving down the quality from Breakers to Boners to Lean. However, average dressing Cows didn't see as big a downturn; Breakers lower by $1.75 per cwt, Boners by $4.50 and Lean by $5.50, still a trend worth noting as the first dip in demand for these types for some time. Slaughter Bulls seemed to be immune to this trend though, selling steady to $1.00 per cwt higher today.
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
Slightly higher run than last week for today's regular sale, lighter offering of Feeders while the increase was made up in Slaughter Cattle and Replacements as the result of two herd reductions. Not a good market test on Feeders, a better snapshot of market sentiment for this week can be found on yesterday's Special Graded Sale report. Firm support for the quality but not necessarily in numbers by weight break to establish trends. More Feeder Bulls today of desirable quality and interest for those seeking fresh cutting Bulls. Firm demand as well for the return to farm Replacements, running towards the slightly aged side of things but bred to hit the later part of next Spring's calving season. The largest trend of interest for today is the drop in Slaughter Cow prices, outliers in lower dressing Cows taking the biggest hit, especially moving down the quality from Breakers to Boners to Lean. However, average dressing Cows didn't see as big a downturn; Breakers lower by $1.75 per cwt, Boners by $4.50 and Lean by $5.50, still a trend worth noting as the first dip in demand for these types for some time. Slaughter Bulls seemed to be immune to this trend though, selling steady to $1.00 per cwt higher today.