Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Belen, New Mexico · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, March 26, 2021

623 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $167.00/cwt +8.64 vs last sale · ≈ $648/hd at 388 lb · 37 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $155.13/cwt +4.68 vs last sale · ≈ $718/hd at 463 lb · 21 head
light 3-weight M&L 1 steers $201.96/cwt +15.32 vs last sale · ≈ $610/hd at 302 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 623 756 0
Feeder cattle 411 500 0
Slaughter cattle 102 139 0
Replacement cattle 110 117 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, steer and heifer calves sold 1.00-2.00 higher. Feeder steers and heifers 2.00-3.00 higher on comparable sales. Trade moderate to active, demand moderate to good. Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00-4.00 lower.

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
301–310 fancy 302 15 201.00–215.00 $201.96 $610 —
355 fancy 355 2 210.50 $210.50 $747 —
410–425 413 6 172.00–179.00 $177.80 $734 +7.34
420 thin fleshed 420 3 184.00 $184.00 $773 —
450–490 461 5 159.00–167.00 $162.14 $747 -1.94
470 thin fleshed 470 2 176.00 $176.00 $827 —
505–545 522 6 160.50–171.00 $168.42 $879 +5.21
580 580 2 160.00 $160.00 $928 -6.04
590 thin fleshed 590 2 177.00 $177.00 $1,044 —
620 620 2 145.00 $145.00 $899 -4.83
670–680 673 11 142.00–145.00 $142.46 $959 +2.97
700–740 728 6 127.00–130.00 $127.82 $931 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 2 175.00 $175.00 $429 —
345 345 3 164.00 $164.00 $566 +3.88
365 365 2 158.00 $158.00 $577 -3.27
409–435 412 10 149.00–158.00 $157.05 $647 -4.66
450–495 477 11 145.00–158.00 $151.98 $725 +0.06
500–545 524 4 148.00–158.00 $151.93 $796 -7.33
575–598 596 13 142.00–151.00 $144.37 $860 -1.65
608–640 619 3 137.00–139.00 $137.69 $852 +6.35
670 670 1 127.00 $127.00 $851 -3.00
715 715 2 129.00 $129.00 $922 +7.50
760 760 1 124.00 $124.00 $942 ±0.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 148.00 $148.00 $318 —
315–340 328 2 139.00–151.00 $145.23 $476 —
375–390 383 2 139.00–152.00 $145.63 $558 -0.37
435 435 2 135.00 $135.00 $587 —
450–490 469 7 135.00–144.00 $137.46 $645 -0.97
535–543 541 5 121.00–128.00 $126.62 $685 —
550 550 3 125.00 $125.00 $688 -5.97
605–615 610 2 125.00–133.00 $128.97 $787 +7.81
720 720 1 112.00 $112.00 $806 -1.98

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 6 171.00 $171.00 $419 —
257–295 267 4 167.00–178.50 $175.32 $468 —
385–389 388 37 167.00 $167.00 $648 +6.73
452–492 463 21 148.00–158.00 $155.13 $718 +4.68
515–535 529 6 140.00–146.00 $144.34 $764 +0.85
585 585 2 142.50 $142.50 $834 -16.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 2 156.00 $156.00 $367 —
295 295 2 152.00 $152.00 $448 -0.20
330–335 333 3 150.00–158.00 $155.32 $517 +8.52
345 thin fleshed 345 2 161.00 $161.00 $555 —
400–427 420 13 146.00–150.00 $146.74 $616 -0.65
478–495 483 5 132.00–143.00 $139.56 $674 +4.56
500–543 531 7 131.00–140.00 $136.39 $724 +3.00
550 550 1 128.00 $128.00 $704 -7.14
620 620 1 130.00 $130.00 $806 +6.93
675–690 682 3 115.00–124.00 $121.01 $825 -0.90
765–775 772 3 110.00–119.00 $112.97 $872 —
820 820 1 100.00 $100.00 $820 -12.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 142.00 $142.00 $454 —
380 380 2 136.00–138.00 $137.00 $521 +2.00
405–440 423 2 125.00–136.00 $130.73 $553 -4.27
467–495 475 5 114.00–120.00 $116.26 $552 -13.73
525–545 535 2 120.00 $120.00 $642 -3.94

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468 468 6 160.00 $160.00 $749 —
623 623 5 127.00 $127.00 $791 —
736 736 4 120.00 $120.00 $883 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 85-90% 1 25.00 $25.00 $220 —
670–1095 908 85-90% 6 40.00–46.00 $43.28 $393 —
725–969 927 85-90% 17 30.00–39.00 $38.47 $357 —
705–1230 976 85-90% 5 50.00–63.00 $55.17 $538 +9.36
770–1250 1010 85-90% 34 41.00–52.50 $46.12 $466 -15.21
950–1275 1058 85-90% 7 50.50–60.00 $54.51 $577 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1595 1115 80-85% 17 49.00–64.50 $57.53 $641 —
960–1355 1132 80-85% 24 56.00–61.50 $58.82 $666 —
1140–1290 1189 80-85% 4 54.50–56.50 $55.59 $661 -1.29
1355–1455 1407 80-85% 3 64.00–65.50 $64.68 $910 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795–875 835 2 53.00–65.00 $58.71 $490 —
1185 1185 1 61.00 $61.00 $723 —
1095–1640 1397 11 69.00–79.00 $74.28 $1,038 +13.60
1640–1945 1828 5 82.00–86.00 $84.21 $1,539 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 1 790.00 $790.00
790–1305 1040 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 7 770.00–1,025.00 $906.43
905–1275 1101 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 800.00–1,080.00 $995.00
900–1640 1247 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 9 750.00–950.00 $832.22
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
730 730 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 550.00 $550.00
755–760 757 Young (2-4 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 3 500.00–620.00 $580.00
825 825 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 600.00 $600.00
895–980 939 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 550.00–675.00 $608.75

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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
1279–1540 1346 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 6 1,060.00–1,100.00 $1,071.67 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
859 859 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 670.00 $670.00 —

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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.