Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Belen, New Mexico · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, February 26, 2021

1,285 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $151.33/cwt ≈ $806/hd at 532 lb · 111 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $164.88/cwt ≈ $713/hd at 432 lb · 55 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $141.04/cwt +10.38 vs last sale · ≈ $873/hd at 619 lb · 55 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,285 252 786
Feeder cattle 1,040 171 585
Slaughter cattle 161 36 113
Replacement cattle 84 45 88

Compared to last week, feeder and slaughter cattle have no comparison due to the very limited receipts offered last Friday. Trade was very active, demand very good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–332 325 4 189.00–195.00 $193.59 $629
341 thin fleshed 341 10 209.00 $209.00 $713
345 value added 345 2 210.50 $210.50 $726
350–395 376 5 175.00–192.00 $185.43 $697
405–430 424 28 185.00–191.00 $187.94 $797
455–495 470 28 165.00–179.00 $173.51 $815
505–535 511 52 179.00–187.00 $181.41 $927
555–595 579 47 154.00–165.00 $159.98 $926
600–640 620 4 135.00–157.50 $147.24 $913
655–680 661 13 134.00–143.50 $137.72 $910
700–748 708 19 130.00–136.50 $131.09 $928
757–796 778 25 122.00–131.00 $125.77 $978
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 2 175.00 $175.00 $385 ±0.00
305–325 313 4 170.00–182.50 $173.15 $542 +10.42
378–398 388 12 160.00–175.00 $168.34 $653 +6.24
400–445 405 36 167.00–180.00 $172.04 $697 +7.73
450–483 472 16 144.00–169.00 $154.64 $730 -2.22
503–540 517 21 152.00–165.00 $158.62 $820 +13.98
550–593 564 35 143.00–155.00 $151.76 $856 +9.88
601–648 619 55 135.00–149.00 $141.04 $873 +10.38
650–672 669 7 123.00–135.00 $124.67 $834 -9.83
725 725 3 116.00 $116.00 $841 -4.00
850–863 857 4 108.50–109.00 $108.75 $932
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 2 150.00 $150.00 $442 +8.00
365–370 368 2 150.00–151.00 $150.50 $554 +5.50
410–430 420 2 157.50–163.00 $160.32 $673 +20.32
450–470 460 2 135.00–139.00 $136.96 $630 +0.45
516 516 3 142.00 $142.00 $733
570–595 579 13 125.00–137.00 $133.21 $771
605–630 613 3 125.00–131.00 $127.05 $779
660–676 674 8 114.00–126.00 $124.53 $839 +16.48
750–775 758 3 113.00–114.00 $113.66 $862
855–885 864 7 105.00–115.00 $112.07 $968 +4.07
Small 4 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
300 300 2 375.00 $375.00
445 445 2 380.00 $380.00
453 453 2 235.00 $235.00 +25.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
155 155 2 370.00 $370.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 338 17 167.50–176.00 $173.34 $586
360–393 378 12 151.00–165.00 $157.53 $595
403–445 419 16 151.00–168.00 $154.85 $649
438 thin fleshed 438 39 169.00 $169.00 $740
465–495 485 6 146.00–157.00 $149.62 $726
530 fancy 530 58 155.00 $155.00 $822
505–545 535 53 137.00–154.00 $147.32 $788
551–583 558 14 133.00–148.50 $142.32 $794
609–644 622 25 129.50–134.00 $131.50 $818
650–679 664 19 129.00–135.00 $131.46 $873
705–741 732 8 127.50–128.00 $127.62 $934
845 845 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,149
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–245 235 3 165.00–177.50 $168.81 $397 +10.61
260–285 277 3 160.00–170.00 $163.13 $452 +7.13
305–335 324 5 159.00–167.50 $161.01 $522 +4.05
360–390 371 8 140.00–155.00 $147.42 $547 -0.01
430–445 438 2 146.00–149.00 $147.47 $646 +4.51
455–488 474 8 136.00–148.00 $141.91 $673 +0.91
500–540 524 13 132.50–147.00 $137.10 $718 +9.75
550–583 572 6 125.00–137.50 $130.24 $745 +3.82
650–695 680 3 123.00–132.00 $125.87 $856 +6.87
760 760 2 122.00 $122.00 $927
978 978 2 110.00 $110.00 $1,076
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328–340 332 3 135.00–147.00 $142.90 $474 +14.90
410 410 2 140.00 $140.00 $574 +15.17
460–497 491 6 122.00–127.00 $122.78 $603 -4.75
535–540 538 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $643 -1.50
733 733 4 117.00 $117.00 $858 +17.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
906 906 5 91.00 $91.00 $824

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–1200 839 85-90% 11 33.00–45.00 $40.29 $338 -2.28
730–1390 965 85-90% 46 45.00–56.50 $50.59 $488
800–1255 1005 85-90% 14 57.00–63.00 $59.46 $598
755–1131 1074 85-90% 20 57.00–64.00 $62.85 $675
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865 865 80-85% 1 53.50 $53.50 $463
1050–1195 1133 80-85% 3 62.00–68.00 $64.11 $726 +5.11
1140 1140 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $775 +9.00
920–1370 1196 80-85% 9 55.00–59.00 $56.65 $678
975–1515 1220 80-85% 14 61.00–66.00 $63.50 $775
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270 1270 75-80% 1 58.50 $58.50 $743
1335 1335 75-80% 1 68.00 $68.00 $908
1285–1500 1393 75-80% 2 57.00–62.00 $59.69 $831
1248–1575 1457 75-80% 10 61.50–67.00 $63.48 $925

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1520 1418 2 60.00–62.00 $61.07 $866
1110–1720 1438 13 71.00–85.00 $81.47 $1,172
1475–1980 1668 12 86.00–95.00 $90.41 $1,508
2025 2025 1 99.50 $99.50 $2,015

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Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
690–1035 813 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 575.00–700.00 $656.25
700–965 837 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 550.00–700.00 $656.67
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
880–970 934 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 725.00–890.00 $816.25
975–1295 1153 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 700.00–825.00 $750.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1255–1355 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 970.00–975.00 $972.50
1535 1535 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 975.00 $975.00

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1090 1090 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 810.00 $810.00
1190 1190 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
870 870 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 650.00 $650.00

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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.