Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report, Shelby, NC

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock · usually sells Tuesdays

Sale of Tuesday, October 20, 2026

391 head sold ·Official USDA report · Price history in the app

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $309.14/cwt -28.72 vs last sale · ≈ $1,611/hd at 521 lb · 25 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $372.69/cwt -7.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,953/hd at 524 lb · 16 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $323.75/cwt -37.41 vs last sale · ≈ $1,515/hd at 468 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 391 227 435
Feeder cattle 324 186 359
Slaughter cattle 49 39 67
Replacement cattle 18 2 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 2.00 to 4.00 lower, while feeder cattle were 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Trade and demand were moderate with moderate offerings. Quality of cattle was average.

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
250 250 1 490.00 $490.00 $1,225 —
315 315 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,575 +35.00
350–370 359 5 420.00–455.00 $435.04 $1,562 -16.33
400–440 424 5 430.00–445.00 $433.04 $1,836 +38.99
450–495 478 6 405.00–432.50 $418.10 $1,999 -19.40
520–540 533 4 330.00–377.50 $347.92 $1,854 -11.51
560–590 576 8 330.00–375.00 $362.15 $2,086 +4.51
600–645 622 6 320.00–367.50 $342.82 $2,132 +11.31
650–695 670 4 325.00–352.50 $339.29 $2,273 -2.02
700–725 713 2 320.00–330.00 $325.09 $2,318 +27.59
755–795 775 4 280.00–325.00 $299.68 $2,323 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 320.00 $320.00 $880 —
415 415 1 377.50 $377.50 $1,567 —
530 530 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,643 —
690 690 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,863 —
780 780 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,716 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–280 273 2 390.00–400.00 $395.14 $1,079 -34.86
320–345 339 8 385.00–430.00 $410.18 $1,391 -1.54
350–395 373 8 370.00–395.00 $378.91 $1,413 -33.98
400–445 423 9 330.00–380.00 $359.27 $1,520 -13.49
450–495 468 15 300.00–352.50 $323.75 $1,515 -37.41
500–545 521 25 280.00–325.00 $309.14 $1,611 -28.72
550–595 570 13 280.00–330.00 $308.95 $1,761 -6.49
600–645 614 15 270.00–305.00 $283.13 $1,738 +0.18
650–695 671 7 260.00–300.00 $286.42 $1,922 +26.53
700–740 717 3 285.00–295.00 $288.30 $2,067 +48.30
750 750 1 295.00 $295.00 $2,212 —
815 815 1 265.00 $265.00 $2,160 +42.50
850 850 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,955 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 365.00 $365.00 $1,241 —
450–495 476 4 280.00–299.00 $291.00 $1,385 +3.66
550–580 563 4 257.50–275.00 $268.00 $1,509 -15.28
620–645 633 2 250.00–260.00 $255.10 $1,615 +25.10
650–685 670 3 237.50–260.00 $249.21 $1,670 +29.21
700–710 705 2 200.00–210.00 $205.04 $1,446 —
750–765 758 2 200.00–210.00 $205.05 $1,554 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 315.00 $315.00 $898 —
390 390 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,092 —
400–445 423 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,058 —
555 555 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,193 —
680 680 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,292 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–295 285 4 480.00–510.00 $500.61 $1,427 -49.39
300–340 330 5 450.00–490.00 $475.64 $1,570 -20.84
350–390 372 12 410.00–460.00 $435.59 $1,620 -9.26
400–445 420 10 400.00–447.50 $431.67 $1,813 -2.39
455–495 478 14 395.00–437.50 $413.82 $1,978 +7.39
505–540 524 16 350.00–402.50 $372.69 $1,953 -7.68
565–595 582 10 320.00–362.50 $339.62 $1,977 -16.83
625–645 629 8 290.00–335.00 $314.76 $1,980 -4.10
650–690 669 5 285.00–315.00 $300.09 $2,008 +3.44
720–740 730 2 235.00–250.00 $242.60 $1,771 -52.30
750–775 767 3 215.00–245.00 $235.22 $1,804 —
845 845 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,859 —
905–915 910 2 180.00–200.00 $189.95 $1,729 —
955 955 1 215.00 $215.00 $2,053 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 328 2 350.00–400.00 $374.81 $1,229 -25.19
380 380 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,330 —
420–445 429 6 340.00–370.00 $352.51 $1,512 -16.22
465–490 484 6 330.00–365.00 $348.27 $1,686 +8.27
500–545 529 5 310.00–345.00 $325.95 $1,724 +8.45
570–595 580 6 250.00–300.00 $280.67 $1,628 -7.67
615 615 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,691 —
850 850 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,530 —
915 915 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,510 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–280 265 2 310.00–350.00 $331.13 $877 —
480–490 485 2 255.00–265.00 $260.05 $1,261 +0.05
520 520 1 277.50 $277.50 $1,443 +13.66
670 670 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,474 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1485 1212 80-85% 11 132.00–145.00 $136.12 $1,650 -2.31
1335–1385 1360 80-85% 2 155.00–160.00 $157.45 $2,141 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880–1365 1097 85-90% 8 119.00–126.00 $123.19 $1,351 -3.81
1150 1150 85-90% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,472 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1685 1468 75-80% 3 123.00–128.00 $125.48 $1,842 -5.28

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1570 1392 3 157.00–175.00 $165.62 $2,305 —
1570–2115 1862 3 132.00–147.00 $140.76 $2,621 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
805 805 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,550.00 $2,550.00
940 940 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,500.00 $2,500.00
805–1425 1081 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,100.00–2,450.00 $2,258.09
1125–1155 1140 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,550.00–1,850.00 $1,701.97
1175–1200 1188 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,600.00–1,900.00 $1,751.58
1065–1500 1283 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,800.00–2,200.00 $2,033.92
1295 1295 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00
1515 1515 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,650.00 $2,650.00

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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
1020 1020 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 3,550.00 $3,550.00 —
1035–1060 1045 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 2,700.00–2,800.00 $2,733.81 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 265.00 $265.00 $543 —
665 665 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,164 -155.00

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Price trend

high 474.50 low 328.78 Oct 2025 Oct 2026

500–549 lb Medium and Large 1 steers — head-weighted average $/cwt by sale date, last 12 months.

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.

← Previous sale (Oct 13, 2026)

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