Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Belen, New Mexico · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 23, 2020

2,040 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $112.87/cwt -25.00 vs last sale · ≈ $605/hd at 536 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $106.36/cwt -14.47 vs last sale · ≈ $543/hd at 510 lb · 28 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $99.43/cwt -16.15 vs last sale · ≈ $523/hd at 526 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,040 1,843 2,370
Feeder cattle 1,341 1,271 1,572
Slaughter cattle 517 392 623
Replacement cattle 182 180 175

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: No accurate comparison with last week on steer and heifers due to no report issued but compared to two weeks ago calves were 10.00-20.00 lower. Demand and buyer participation hampered by limited pasture availability, unfavorable health conditions on calves already purchased and the threat of a winter storm prediction with much lower temperatures and possible moisture predicted next week. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 lower except thinner offerings 10.00 lower with many going back to feed. Bulls 3.00 lower. Trade and demand moderate to good on slaughter cows and bulls.

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
214 214 4 150.00 $150.00 $321 —
260–275 265 5 139.00–144.00 $142.16 $377 -33.95
300 300 1 142.50 $142.50 $428 —
402–415 408 6 126.00–136.00 $129.05 $527 -26.17
408–442 428 5 120.00 $120.00 $514 -35.22
458–492 475 7 120.00–130.00 $124.97 $594 -13.57
509–544 535 16 97.00–110.00 $104.22 $558 -33.65
510–545 537 15 120.00–125.00 $122.09 $656 -15.78
575–595 582 7 114.00–126.00 $116.48 $678 -18.05
603–638 613 24 114.50–127.00 $119.22 $731 -5.78
630 unweaned 630 1 112.00 $112.00 $706 -8.79
667–673 unweaned 669 7 96.00–108.00 $100.57 $673 -19.43
680 680 1 116.00 $116.00 $789 -8.00
715 unweaned 715 2 106.00 $106.00 $758 —
724 724 13 120.50 $120.50 $872 +9.00
766 766 5 110.50 $110.50 $846 ±0.00
865 865 1 112.50 $112.50 $973 —
927 927 3 94.00 $94.00 $871 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303–312 310 10 140.00 $140.00 $434 -16.20
325 325 2 121.00 $121.00 $393 -35.20
360 360 6 125.00–130.00 $127.50 $459 -15.68
419–448 424 11 110.00–112.00 $111.62 $473 -30.26
468–498 487 24 117.00–129.00 $122.89 $598 -7.11
500–532 510 10 111.50–117.00 $115.28 $588 -11.10
569–597 581 9 118.00–121.00 $119.82 $696 —
590 590 2 110.00 $110.00 $649 —
613–644 632 9 110.50–117.50 $114.72 $725 -0.28
737 737 3 118.00 $118.00 $870 +10.50
810 810 2 100.00 $100.00 $810 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–378 370 6 121.00–125.00 $123.72 $458 —
435 435 2 120.00 $120.00 $522 —
458–472 466 5 118.00–120.00 $119.21 $556 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413 413 3 100.00 $100.00 $413 —
507 507 3 100.00 $100.00 $507 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242–245 244 4 135.00–138.00 $136.51 $333 -13.49
309–318 313 7 125.00–132.00 $128.05 $401 -15.95
365–390 375 5 106.00–109.00 $107.25 $402 -27.84
426–430 427 10 114.00–127.00 $124.38 $531 -10.43
433 433 2 100.00 $100.00 $433 -22.00
451–490 477 12 106.00–115.00 $109.52 $522 -16.48
484 484 12 95.50 $95.50 $462 -30.50
503–540 510 26 104.50–111.50 $107.39 $548 -14.31
513 513 2 93.00 $93.00 $477 -28.70
559–595 575 21 101.00–113.00 $105.67 $608 -14.41
607–620 unweaned 617 12 97.00–104.00 $101.16 $624 -8.84
668–685 669 12 108.00 $108.00 $723 -7.00
793 793 3 90.00 $90.00 $714 —
809 809 7 92.00 $92.00 $744 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 6 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $304 —
257–288 277 9 120.00–139.00 $128.20 $355 —
319 319 4 105.00 $105.00 $335 -24.32
338 338 2 120.00 $120.00 $406 -9.32
365–383 377 6 118.00–120.00 $118.65 $447 -10.83
384 384 12 108.00 $108.00 $415 -21.48
405 405 7 108.00 $108.00 $437 -18.61
405 405 2 113.50 $113.50 $460 -13.11
500–518 505 9 90.00–100.00 $93.52 $472 -22.06
513–549 536 18 100.00–108.00 $102.39 $549 -13.19
582–589 586 11 100.00–108.50 $104.66 $613 -3.57
618 618 2 104.00 $104.00 $643 —
640–648 unweaned 643 6 90.00–95.00 $93.32 $600 —
681 681 4 104.00 $104.00 $708 —
730 730 2 89.00 $89.00 $650 -13.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 3 71.00 $71.00 $284 —
610 610 6 70.00 $70.00 $427 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518–547 533 6 74.00–75.00 $74.49 $397 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 2 110.00 $110.00 $460 —
508–540 527 5 79.00–80.00 $79.61 $420 —
608 608 2 88.00 $88.00 $535 —
693 693 2 80.00 $80.00 $554 —
725 725 2 66.50 $66.50 $482 —
912 912 3 66.00 $66.00 $602 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
548 548 4 70.00 $70.00 $384 —
693 693 3 97.00 $97.00 $672 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
735–909 849 85-90% 11 16.00–25.00 $17.38 $148 —
700–1000 872 85-90% 8 18.00–29.00 $24.32 $212 —
766–1190 892 85-90% 46 30.00–36.50 $33.72 $301 —
895–1209 994 85-90% 111 37.50–51.00 $41.79 $415 —
819–1405 1075 85-90% 99 37.00–47.00 $41.28 $444 -4.51
1305 1305 85-90% 7 48.75 $48.75 $636 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1180 1092 80-85% 5 40.00–43.50 $42.80 $467 —
990–1740 1266 80-85% 52 44.50–53.00 $48.12 $609 —
1452–1595 1486 80-85% 5 54.00–55.00 $54.31 $807 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395–1520 1451 75-80% 4 46.50–54.00 $51.50 $747 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1610 1427 11 50.00–67.00 $59.23 $845 —
1280–2455 1780 14 68.00–79.00 $73.76 $1,313 -5.01
1715–1940 1798 3 80.00–81.00 $80.36 $1,445 +1.59

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
870 870 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 66.00 $66.00 $574
700–1295 1049 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 49.00–56.50 $51.88 $544
1050 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 51.50 $51.50 $541
850–1250 1069 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 9 40.00–48.00 $44.06 $471
1100 1100 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 51.50 $51.50 $566
800–1232 1152 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 45.00–53.75 $52.35 $603
1350 1350 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 51.50 $51.50 $695
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750–1100 925 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 400.00–550.00 $475.00
950–1235 1076 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 600.00–750.00 $672.86
1250 1250 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 730.00 $730.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–800 745 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 400.00–550.00 $471.25
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750 750 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 48.00 $48.00 $360

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1000–1050 1017 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 800.00–940.00 $866.67 —
1050 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —
1250 1250 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 810.00 $810.00 -40.00

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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.