Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Belen, New Mexico · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, December 18, 2020

1,272 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 $152.47/cwt +1.75 vs last sale · ≈ $775/hd at 509 lb · 164 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $132.80/cwt ≈ $722/hd at 544 lb · 83 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $148.56/cwt +7.66 vs last sale · ≈ $650/hd at 438 lb · 70 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,272 1,436 0
Feeder cattle 961 1,007 0
Slaughter cattle 153 255 0
Replacement cattle 158 174 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: No comparison due to reporters absence last week but a much higher undertone from two weeks ago on all classes. Trade very active, demand very good.

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
320–345 328 4 183.00–194.00 $190.28 $624 —
353 value added 353 9 183.00 $183.00 $646 —
375–397 384 7 186.00 $186.00 $714 +51.00
395 395 1 150.00 $150.00 $592 +15.00
410 fancy 410 2 168.00 $168.00 $689 —
424 value added 424 38 166.00 $166.00 $704 —
500 value added 500 97 156.00 $156.00 $780 +3.00
505–540 521 67 140.00–149.00 $147.37 $768 +21.17
567 value added 567 55 148.00 $148.00 $839 +8.00
555–573 570 6 142.00–145.00 $144.51 $824 +27.51
659 659 35 136.50 $136.50 $900 +0.50
734 734 8 123.50 $123.50 $906 -0.60
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 thin fleshed 285 3 180.00 $180.00 $513 —
338 338 4 197.00 $197.00 $666 +57.00
365 365 3 191.00 $191.00 $697 +50.00
421 421 8 160.00 $160.00 $674 +11.00
452–483 462 7 141.00–153.50 $149.23 $689 +5.23
603–623 607 14 133.00–140.00 $134.74 $818 —
808 808 7 124.50 $124.50 $1,006 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 2 144.00 $144.00 $598 —
595 595 2 128.00 $128.00 $762 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 2 165.00 $165.00 $512 —
370–380 373 3 155.00–157.00 $155.68 $581 +13.90
384 value added 384 26 161.00 $161.00 $618 +20.50
410 410 1 153.00 $153.00 $627 +12.10
438 value added 438 69 148.50 $148.50 $650 —
480 480 2 137.00 $137.00 $658 +17.00
525 525 2 145.00 $145.00 $761 —
544 value added 544 81 132.50 $132.50 $721 —
600–640 622 7 119.00–123.00 $121.59 $756 —
717 717 14 123.50 $123.50 $885 +4.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–393 376 10 141.00–149.00 $143.05 $538 —
427 427 3 151.50 $151.50 $647 +33.50
468 468 6 148.00 $148.00 $693 +10.68
528 528 3 120.00 $120.00 $634 -2.00
510–548 534 11 124.00–132.00 $127.90 $683 +5.90
559–572 563 10 129.00–130.50 $130.04 $732 —
625 625 3 124.00 $124.00 $775 -0.98
655 655 2 119.00 $119.00 $779 —
680 680 3 100.00 $100.00 $680 —
718 718 2 113.00 $113.00 $811 -3.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 2 131.00 $131.00 $567 +26.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 2 139.00 $139.00 $751 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660–1050 878 85-90% 22 33.50–43.50 $38.70 $340 —
735–1105 910 85-90% 10 34.00–40.00 $37.49 $341 —
825–1220 973 85-90% 4 33.50–51.00 $45.48 $443 +4.07
870–1445 1080 85-90% 45 44.50–53.00 $48.28 $521 +1.78
1160–1270 1215 85-90% 3 54.50–57.00 $55.51 $674 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1230 1053 80-85% 5 40.00–49.50 $46.56 $490 —
882–1345 1133 80-85% 13 50.00–56.50 $53.32 $604 —
1165–1495 1315 80-85% 4 57.00–59.50 $57.90 $761 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240 1240 75-80% 1 54.50 $54.50 $676 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1080 1073 2 65.00–69.00 $67.01 $719 —
1065–1420 1243 2 70.50–73.00 $71.57 $890 —
1090–1660 1422 12 60.00–70.50 $66.19 $941 —
1310–2080 1754 11 72.00–83.50 $75.92 $1,332 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 68.00 $68.00 $680
950–1150 1067 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 50.00–59.00 $54.33 $580
1150 1150 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 66.00 $66.00 $759
1100–1400 1154 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 14 52.00–78.00 $71.43 $824
1050–1350 1200 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 59.00–64.00 $61.50 $738
1250 1250 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 12 56.00 $56.00 $700
950–1550 1351 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 21 51.00–56.50 $53.50 $723
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725–950 838 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 825.00–1,000.00 $912.50
900 900 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
900–950 925 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 800.00–925.00 $862.50
950–1200 1034 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 14 735.00–935.00 $872.86
900–1465 1087 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 775.00–925.00 $833.50

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
765 765 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 675.00 $675.00

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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
700 700 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 775.00 $775.00 +115.00
800–850 825 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 985.00–1,050.00 $1,017.50 —
900 900 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 950.00 $950.00 —
950 950 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —
1000–1100 1067 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 3 700.00–800.00 $733.33 -89.17
1100 1100 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 2 800.00 $800.00 —
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1400 1400 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00 —

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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.