Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report, Belen, NM

Belen, New Mexico · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, November 6, 2020

1,744 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 3-weight M&L 1 steers $179.57/cwt +39.90 vs last sale · ≈ $556/hd at 310 lb · 44 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.00/cwt +41.95 vs last sale · ≈ $652/hd at 405 lb · 40 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $136.19/cwt +22.28 vs last sale · ≈ $763/hd at 560 lb · 38 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,744 797 1,848
Feeder cattle 1,319 350 1,340
Slaughter cattle 326 339 343
Replacement cattle 99 108 165

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer and heifer calves under 600 lbs. 10.00-20.00 higher, steers over 600 lbs. 9.00 higher on comparable quotes heifers over 600 lbs. 1.00-3.00 higher on comparable quotes, no comparison on feeders but a much higher undertone noted. Slaughter cows steady to 1.00 higher, bulls 2.00 higher. Trade active, demand good to very good with increased buyer activity. Quality average to attractive with a good selection of weaned calves.

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
265 265 1 175.00 $175.00 $464 —
258–281 value added 267 13 167.00–174.00 $169.84 $453 —
308 value added 308 41 181.00 $181.00 $557 —
335 335 3 160.00 $160.00 $536 +20.33
365 value added 365 24 174.50 $174.50 $637 —
385 385 1 154.00 $154.00 $593 —
400–435 428 17 149.00–160.50 $157.81 $675 +18.68
480 value added 480 1 148.00 $148.00 $710 —
488–498 494 5 131.00–131.50 $131.30 $649 -4.61
500–543 520 18 131.00–142.50 $135.81 $706 +25.81
527 value added 527 9 148.50 $148.50 $783 —
550 550 2 126.00 $126.00 $693 +12.09
555–587 561 36 133.00–138.00 $136.76 $767 +22.85
633 unweaned 633 3 119.50 $119.50 $756 +9.50
615–645 640 12 132.50–134.50 $134.18 $859 —
660–670 667 9 118.50–122.00 $119.66 $798 +9.66
693 unweaned 693 2 116.50 $116.50 $807 +11.50
700–710 703 4 121.00–127.00 $124.61 $876 +15.26
790 790 2 110.00 $110.00 $869 —
800 800 2 100.00 $100.00 $800 —
825 825 1 115.00 $115.00 $949 —
945 945 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,040 —
978–985 980 4 106.00–111.00 $107.26 $1,051 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
331 331 4 166.00 $166.00 $549 +27.00
425–435 430 4 153.00–157.00 $155.02 $667 +18.02
443 443 2 135.00 $135.00 $598 -2.00
453–498 473 8 134.00–144.00 $138.84 $657 —
510–528 520 11 131.00–134.00 $132.34 $688 —
593 593 2 122.00 $122.00 $723 —
693 693 2 118.50 $118.50 $821 +5.50
707 707 3 115.00 $115.00 $813 —
750 750 3 109.00 $109.00 $818 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–373 369 4 143.00–146.00 $144.52 $533 —
505 505 4 126.00 $126.00 $636 —
555 555 2 114.00 $114.00 $633 —
635 635 1 121.00 $121.00 $768 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–245 229 5 154.00–156.00 $154.72 $354 —
325 value added 325 14 155.00 $155.00 $504 —
369 value added 369 7 145.00 $145.00 $535 —
399 399 7 131.00 $131.00 $523 +10.00
405 value added 405 40 161.00 $161.00 $652 —
489–494 491 11 119.00–126.00 $122.20 $600 +1.20
515 515 2 110.00 $110.00 $566 +0.03
505–521 520 26 118.50–123.50 $119.18 $620 +9.21
545 545 3 114.00 $114.00 $621 +4.03
552–585 560 4 115.00–116.00 $115.26 $645 +0.26
596 596 4 111.00 $111.00 $662 -4.00
600–638 unweaned 619 12 106.00–109.00 $107.45 $665 —
652–664 unweaned 658 12 100.00–106.00 $103.03 $678 +1.40
660 660 1 127.00 $127.00 $838 +21.00
727 727 3 109.50 $109.50 $796 +7.50
793 793 2 103.00 $103.00 $817 -3.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
288 thin fleshed 288 6 144.00 $144.00 $415 —
367–397 386 8 130.00–130.50 $130.18 $502 —
430–435 431 13 120.00–122.50 $122.11 $526 —
503–548 526 4 113.00–120.00 $116.35 $612 —
553–575 561 27 100.00–117.00 $102.00 $572 —
688 688 2 95.00 $95.00 $654 -2.00
730 730 2 102.00 $102.00 $745 —
763 763 2 106.00 $106.00 $809 —
803 803 3 112.00 $112.00 $899 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 2 146.00 $146.00 $453 —
440 440 2 110.00 $110.00 $484 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423–425 424 8 128.00–133.00 $131.75 $559 —
478–488 485 6 110.00–130.00 $123.43 $599 +19.43
714 714 6 105.00 $105.00 $750 —
903 903 2 91.00 $91.00 $822 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408 408 2 141.00 $141.00 $575 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
755–888 829 85-90% 6 32.00–42.00 $38.35 $318 —
700–1020 875 85-90% 3 20.00–25.00 $21.68 $190 -5.71
865–1020 943 85-90% 2 28.00–30.00 $28.92 $273 —
705–1145 965 85-90% 32 35.00–43.50 $41.15 $397 -2.97
830–1145 1000 85-90% 6 43.00–50.00 $47.46 $475 +9.13
925–1225 1075 85-90% 2 53.50–54.50 $54.07 $581 +7.70
845–1320 1086 85-90% 99 44.00–51.50 $47.02 $511 +0.65
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1305 1089 80-85% 4 45.00 $45.00 $490 —
1230–1305 1268 80-85% 2 55.00–56.25 $55.64 $706 —
975–1745 1274 80-85% 40 47.00–54.50 $52.06 $663 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300 1300 75-80% 1 42.00 $42.00 $546 -10.31
1255–1750 1423 75-80% 3 49.00–54.50 $51.07 $727 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1720 1369 10 60.00–70.00 $65.00 $890 +1.25
1330–2395 1708 30 72.00–83.00 $77.23 $1,319 -8.01
1680–2100 1831 4 84.00–86.00 $85.25 $1,561 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 1 47.00 $47.00 $494
1100 1100 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 49.00 $49.00 $539
1050–1200 1117 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 52.00–54.50 $53.50 $598
900–1200 1150 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 50.00–55.50 $52.11 $599
1050–1300 1175 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 49.50–56.00 $52.75 $620
1100–1400 1281 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 46.00–54.00 $51.25 $657
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850 850 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 575.00–650.00 $596.25
1050–1200 1117 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 625.00–790.00 $730.00
1335 1335 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 725.00 $725.00

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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
800 800 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 540.00 $540.00 —
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 920.00 $920.00 —
950–1050 1000 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 910.00–925.00 $917.50 -22.50
1050 1050 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 775.00 $775.00 —
1200 1200 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —

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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.