Cattle Market Pulse

Callaway Livestock Center Market Report

Kingdom City, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 28, 2020

2,298 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Callaway Livestock Center report →

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $139.80/cwt +10.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,243/hd at 889 lb · 402 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $148.30/cwt +0.95 vs last sale · ≈ $1,051/hd at 709 lb · 260 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $145.87/cwt +9.95 vs last sale · ≈ $1,174/hd at 805 lb · 192 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,298 2,741 2,330
Feeder cattle 2,133 2,581 2,150
Slaughter cattle 165 160 180

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to the last auction two weeks ago, too few steer and heifer calves were on offer to fully test the market, a light offering traded with a weak to lower undertone. Yearling steers weighing 650-800 lbs sold fully steady to firm, with yearling steers weighing 800-900 lbs were not well tested with two weeks ago on similar weights and quality but sold with a sharply higher undertone on a very active market. Feeder heifers over 600 lbs were lightly tested. Slaughter cows sold steady. A very nice offering of yearling steers sold in pot load and part load lots with very good quality, sorted up right for the buyers as they were eager to buy big yearlings while they still can. CME cattle futures continue to climb higher while fed cattle market also traded higher last week helping to support the market.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–448 435 9 179.00–181.00 $179.76 $782 -8.50
460 unweaned 460 4 169.00 $169.00 $777 —
518 518 7 162.00 $162.00 $839 -4.82
545 unweaned 545 22 153.00 $153.00 $834 —
574 unweaned 574 8 140.50 $140.50 $806 —
557–590 575 37 145.00–150.00 $146.63 $843 -12.95
616 616 12 143.00 $143.00 $881 -6.87
653 unweaned 653 6 134.00 $134.00 $875 —
661–663 663 91 149.50–154.00 $153.41 $1,017 +1.30
701–721 709 260 144.50–151.10 $148.30 $1,051 +0.65
761–797 783 103 139.50–142.00 $141.03 $1,104 -4.00
800–816 805 192 144.50–146.50 $145.87 $1,174 +9.95
870–896 889 402 139.25–140.35 $139.80 $1,243 +10.57
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 4 180.00 $180.00 $693 -12.00
405 405 3 176.00 $176.00 $713 +1.24
454–493 471 15 160.00–171.00 $165.27 $778 +0.02
567–593 583 26 142.00–146.00 $143.34 $836 —
641 641 4 132.00 $132.00 $846 -1.16
657–682 670 12 131.50–135.50 $133.46 $894 +0.55
679 679 27 144.75 $144.75 $983 +11.84
702 702 12 135.00 $135.00 $948 +3.98
795 795 16 130.50 $130.50 $1,037 +3.01
813–825 820 20 133.00–134.00 $133.55 $1,095 +5.82
904 904 12 125.00 $125.00 $1,130 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
549 549 8 137.00 $137.00 $752 —
582–595 590 12 133.00–135.50 $134.47 $793 —
682 682 30 130.00 $130.00 $887 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1294 1275 5 101.00–102.00 $101.81 $1,298 +10.81

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–373 367 6 164.00–169.00 $166.46 $611 —
516 516 16 136.00 $136.00 $702 -13.69
554 554 37 141.75 $141.75 $785 -5.78
601–638 633 59 140.00 $140.00 $886 +5.00
792 792 28 135.00 $135.00 $1,069 +8.00
835 835 6 112.50 $112.50 $939 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407–438 420 18 146.00–151.00 $149.30 $627 +6.32
471–495 481 7 139.00–143.00 $141.24 $679 +0.66
504–548 518 36 132.00–137.00 $134.35 $696 -5.34
560 560 7 121.00 $121.00 $678 -7.80
589 589 8 130.00 $130.00 $766 +1.20
615 unweaned 615 4 126.00 $126.00 $775 —
616–617 616 10 128.00–134.00 $129.80 $800 +0.04
675–677 677 45 131.00–134.50 $131.54 $891 +0.98
750 750 10 126.00 $126.00 $945 +8.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1345 1252 80-85% 28 50.00–56.50 $53.18 $666 +8.85
1155–1380 1273 80-85% 9 43.50–49.00 $45.78 $583 +1.45
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430–1690 1495 75-80% 7 44.00–50.00 $47.75 $714 —
1385–1685 1552 75-80% 8 58.50–64.50 $60.12 $933 +15.97
1405–1835 1572 75-80% 20 50.50–58.00 $54.97 $864 -8.35
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1220 1009 85-90% 10 44.00–49.50 $46.97 $474 +13.41
890–1120 1037 85-90% 7 35.00–43.50 $39.78 $413 +6.22

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–2030 1614 10 71.00–75.50 $73.44 $1,185 —
1350–2300 1757 9 77.00–83.00 $79.42 $1,395 —
1865–2195 2025 4 88.00–90.00 $88.47 $1,792 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

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.