Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Lakeland, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 28, 2026

502 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Cattlemen's Livestock Auction report →

light 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $595.52/cwt -7.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,870/hd at 314 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 2 steers $449.52/cwt -1.49 vs last sale · ≈ $2,355/hd at 524 lb · 15 head
light 3-weight M&L 2 steers $598.90/cwt -5.09 vs last sale · ≈ $1,905/hd at 318 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 502 482 333
Feeder cattle 447 366 286
Slaughter cattle 55 116 47

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady to 2.00 lower. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers mostly steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 277 9 600.00–640.00 $616.71 $1,708 —
300–335 318 14 580.00–620.00 $598.90 $1,905 -5.09
360–385 374 9 540.00–570.00 $552.84 $2,068 -1.77
415–435 425 8 480.00–510.00 $494.65 $2,102 -3.26
450–485 466 11 450.00–470.00 $459.46 $2,141 -1.60
515–535 524 15 440.00–460.00 $449.52 $2,355 -1.49
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 277 7 650.00–710.00 $674.12 $1,867 -12.23
310–335 323 10 630.00–670.00 $649.22 $2,097 -5.12
350–390 372 11 580.00–610.00 $592.84 $2,205 -11.48
415–440 428 10 520.00–560.00 $540.58 $2,314 +2.46
455–475 466 9 480.00–510.00 $493.02 $2,297 -6.13
510–535 524 7 465.00–490.00 $475.42 $2,491 -3.66
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–320 316 9 540.00–570.00 $553.10 $1,748 -14.39
365–380 371 7 500.00–520.00 $511.23 $1,897 -9.11
410–435 423 6 440.00–460.00 $449.70 $1,902 -11.64

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–275 263 10 580.00–640.00 $611.43 $1,608 -5.82
305–325 314 19 570.00–620.00 $595.52 $1,870 -7.18
350–380 365 10 520.00–570.00 $543.97 $1,985 +9.93
410–440 425 12 460.00–490.00 $474.47 $2,016 -0.28
460–485 472 13 430.00–470.00 $451.01 $2,129 -3.25
505–535 518 9 405.00–435.00 $421.24 $2,182 -5.55
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–290 270 10 520.00–550.00 $533.89 $1,442 -18.56
315–335 325 12 530.00–560.00 $544.54 $1,770 +3.09
360–380 370 12 450.00–500.00 $475.68 $1,760 -9.93
410–435 424 7 420.00–440.00 $428.28 $1,816 -6.42
460–470 465 8 405.00–425.00 $414.89 $1,929 -1.31
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 325 6 500.00–520.00 $510.46 $1,659 +31.13
360–375 368 6 430.00–440.00 $435.10 $1,601 -11.44

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1355 1212 80-85% 18 161.00–177.00 $169.20 $2,051 -7.22
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1025 1014 85-90% 7 153.00–164.00 $154.47 $1,566 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1640 1328 4 205.00–225.00 $215.92 $2,867 —
1210–1505 1358 4 183.00–195.00 $188.35 $2,558 —

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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.