Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

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

Sale of Tuesday, September 1, 2026

297 head sold ·Official USDA report · Past reports (273)

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $310.83/cwt -23.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,501/hd at 483 lb · 18 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $290.77/cwt -14.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,643/hd at 565 lb · 15 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $272.63/cwt -28.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,701/hd at 624 lb · 15 head
Shelby, NC 4-weight heifers sold at $315/cwt, $36/cwt below the NC average ($351) and $68/cwt under North Wilkesboro, NC ($383). NC 4-weight heifers are down $55/cwt from their early August peak of $374. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 297 423 553
Feeder cattle 253 373 435
Slaughter cattle 42 41 92
Replacement cattle 2 9 26

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 4.00 to 6.00 lower, while feeder cattle were 20.00 to 25.00 lower. Trade and demand were moderate with moderate offerings. Quality of cattle was average. 2 head Baby Calves: 485.00 - 675.00

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
305–335 320 2 450.00–510.00 $478.59 $1,531 —
380 380 2 350.00–370.00 $360.00 $1,368 -76.03
415–440 430 6 325.00–357.50 $339.18 $1,458 -43.81
485–495 486 12 335.00–360.00 $357.88 $1,739 -16.23
520–545 538 4 317.50–362.50 $344.05 $1,851 +10.35
565 value added 565 2 367.50 $367.50 $2,076 —
560–595 579 5 320.00–357.50 $341.52 $1,977 -9.09
600–645 617 10 300.00–340.00 $318.31 $1,964 +12.46
650–698 671 7 270.00–310.00 $291.65 $1,957 -23.39
700–725 715 5 285.00–320.00 $307.64 $2,200 +0.80
750 750 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,875 -32.55
813 value added 813 6 322.50 $322.50 $2,622 —
815 815 5 280.00 $280.00 $2,282 —
940 940 1 235.00 $235.00 $2,209 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 1 267.50 $267.50 $1,485 -12.50
730 730 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,314 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630 630 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,071 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 400.00 $400.00 $980 —
250–280 265 2 400.00–410.00 $404.72 $1,073 +29.72
300–310 307 3 360.00–390.00 $380.22 $1,167 +30.22
350–390 366 5 320.00–335.00 $328.85 $1,204 -33.14
400–445 425 9 302.50–335.00 $322.36 $1,370 -6.59
450–495 483 18 287.50–327.50 $310.83 $1,501 -23.34
500–545 520 7 280.00–315.00 $291.71 $1,517 -21.90
550–595 565 15 270.00–312.50 $290.77 $1,643 -14.54
610–645 624 15 250.00–287.50 $272.63 $1,701 -10.72
650–695 667 7 255.00–285.00 $269.68 $1,799 -8.57
720–745 733 2 250.00–282.50 $265.97 $1,950 +0.97
790 790 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,896 -27.67
815 815 1 250.00 $250.00 $2,038 +9.57
990 990 1 232.50 $232.50 $2,302 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,410 +20.00
585 585 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,316 -45.96
660–685 673 2 200.00–235.00 $217.83 $1,466 —
700 700 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,400 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 200.00 $200.00 $920 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–295 288 3 420.00–450.00 $439.94 $1,267 -36.70
310–345 328 2 370.00–400.00 $384.20 $1,260 -81.67
360–390 378 5 360.00–400.00 $375.85 $1,421 -41.35
400–445 431 6 330.00–370.00 $341.62 $1,472 -44.32
450–495 466 12 320.00–340.00 $327.56 $1,526 -40.24
500–545 517 9 300.00–327.50 $311.80 $1,612 -14.05
560–590 574 6 290.00–320.00 $302.89 $1,739 -16.05
600–645 613 4 280.00–300.00 $289.41 $1,774 -2.93
650–695 670 11 230.00–250.00 $239.50 $1,605 -3.91
700–720 707 3 240.00–255.00 $245.09 $1,733 -4.90
755–795 772 7 230.00–265.00 $240.76 $1,859 -40.35
805–845 825 2 230.00–232.50 $231.28 $1,908 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 340.00 $340.00 $731 —
360–375 368 2 320.00–350.00 $335.31 $1,234 -54.69
525 525 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,470 -13.26
590 590 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,475 -20.68
630–645 638 5 220.00–255.00 $233.94 $1,493 -13.67
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 328 2 200.00–250.00 $224.05 $735 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–1145 1012 85-90% 3 105.00–125.00 $117.86 $1,193 —
960–1455 1176 85-90% 9 130.00–140.00 $134.15 $1,578 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1725 1522 75-80% 7 138.00–149.00 $142.75 $2,173 -5.83
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 80-85% 1 187.50 $187.50 $2,259 —
1015–1485 1355 80-85% 5 154.00–171.00 $162.78 $2,206 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600 1600 1 146.00 $146.00 $2,336 —
1500–1970 1712 5 170.00–185.00 $179.07 $3,066 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825 825 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00

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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
1400 1400 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 3,600.00 $3,600.00 —

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Price trend

high 474.50 low 333.70 Sep 2025 Sep 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 (Aug 25, 2026)

Markets near Shelby