Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 12, 2023

324 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange report →

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $211.41/cwt +18.84 vs last sale · ≈ $987/hd at 467 lb · 19 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $217.79/cwt +11.82 vs last sale · ≈ $919/hd at 422 lb · 13 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $244.76/cwt +18.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,011/hd at 413 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 324 436 551
Feeder cattle 270 350 405
Slaughter cattle 45 71 132
Replacement cattle 9 15 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Special Note: Link to Video/Internet Auction Cattle sold during todays sale: https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/ams_3485.pdf Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 3.00 to 5.00 higher, while feeder cattle were mostly 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Trade and demand were moderate with moderate offerings. Quality of cattle 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
300–315 307 3 265.00–300.00 $284.97 $875 +17.13
350–395 374 8 255.00–305.00 $283.30 $1,060 +22.87
410–430 419 5 255.00–297.50 $281.43 $1,179 +2.75
450–495 480 4 262.50–290.00 $279.97 $1,344 +16.62
500–545 value added 517 3 267.50–280.00 $272.41 $1,408 —
525–545 535 4 222.50–257.50 $244.57 $1,308 -0.73
575–595 583 3 225.00–237.50 $232.17 $1,354 -3.14
635 635 4 203.00–210.00 $204.75 $1,300 +4.75
685 685 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,233 —
700–730 715 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,180 -10.78
860 860 1 163.00 $163.00 $1,402 +3.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–430 418 2 225.00 $225.00 $940 —
490 490 2 220.00–230.00 $225.00 $1,102 —
500–507 505 4 197.50–200.00 $199.38 $1,007 —
555–570 565 3 175.00–200.00 $183.19 $1,035 -1.81
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 175.00 $175.00 $788 —
530 530 1 145.00 $145.00 $768 ±0.00
580 580 1 140.00 $140.00 $812 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 225.00 $225.00 $472 +20.00
275–295 288 6 205.00–230.00 $217.57 $627 +17.57
305–345 319 6 205.00–235.00 $218.13 $696 +6.96
360–385 371 8 200.00–230.00 $215.67 $800 +7.35
400–445 422 13 200.00–230.00 $217.79 $919 +11.82
450–490 467 19 200.00–226.00 $211.41 $987 +18.84
500–545 530 4 190.00–212.50 $202.38 $1,073 +21.08
550–575 560 6 175.00–192.50 $182.92 $1,024 -7.07
600–615 608 5 140.00–167.50 $154.94 $942 -16.54
650–695 666 7 140.00–165.00 $158.48 $1,055 -13.93
700–745 721 5 127.50–150.00 $138.82 $1,001 -13.66
740 value added 740 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,221 —
755–780 770 3 125.00–145.00 $135.11 $1,040 -3.98
810 810 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,012 —
925 925 1 101.00 $101.00 $934 —
1085 1085 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,389 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 195.00 $195.00 $536 —
340–345 343 2 175.00 $175.00 $600 —
365–395 382 3 180.00–195.00 $188.23 $719 —
420–430 425 2 170.00–185.00 $177.41 $754 +0.85
465–495 478 5 180.00–195.00 $188.87 $903 +25.09
520–545 533 2 165.00 $165.00 $879 +4.81
575–595 585 5 145.00–167.50 $161.42 $944 -2.71
605–610 608 2 140.00–145.00 $142.49 $866 -2.51
650 650 1 130.00 $130.00 $845 -14.13
700–725 713 2 110.00–115.00 $112.54 $802 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 160.00 $160.00 $416 —
345 345 1 135.00 $135.00 $466 —
365–375 370 3 130.00–165.00 $143.49 $531 +18.49
440 440 1 125.00 $125.00 $550 —
450–490 470 2 125.00–155.00 $140.64 $661 +8.40
555 555 1 110.00 $110.00 $610 -22.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–335 325 2 225.00–260.00 $241.96 $786 +4.85
350–395 372 3 240.00–257.50 $249.92 $930 +21.67
400–430 413 10 230.00–267.50 $244.76 $1,011 +18.53
475–490 480 3 227.50–240.00 $234.18 $1,124 +1.91
500–540 515 6 212.50–247.50 $229.49 $1,182 +4.64
560–585 572 3 225.00–232.50 $229.11 $1,311 +38.72
605–645 630 4 185.00–205.00 $193.51 $1,219 +7.39
685–695 690 3 145.00–155.00 $149.98 $1,035 -12.71
700–730 714 4 141.00–165.00 $149.74 $1,069 -2.84
780 780 1 160.00 $160.00 $1,248 +10.05
885 885 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,106 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 220.00 $220.00 $627 +35.00
335 335 1 200.00 $200.00 $670 +15.00
390 390 1 220.00 $220.00 $858 +41.61
445 445 1 190.00 $190.00 $846 +15.08
450–485 475 4 182.50–200.00 $190.70 $906 +1.44
500–540 514 5 185.00–200.00 $190.17 $977 -1.48
555–580 569 5 175.00–200.00 $186.61 $1,062 +12.62
600–620 610 2 155.00–175.00 $164.84 $1,006 +5.66
665 665 1 125.00 $125.00 $831 -5.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 145.00 $145.00 $428 +9.71
315 315 1 170.00 $170.00 $536 +30.00
360–365 363 2 135.00–145.00 $140.03 $508 +5.03
435 435 1 160.00 $160.00 $696 +40.00
520 520 2 140.00–165.00 $152.50 $793 —
590 590 1 165.00 $165.00 $974 +35.17
610–630 618 3 140.00–165.00 $150.84 $932 +20.76

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1615 1271 80-85% 8 93.00–101.00 $97.40 $1,238 —
1350–1850 1537 80-85% 7 102.00–112.00 $105.66 $1,624 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795–1460 1024 85-90% 7 74.00–84.00 $78.61 $805 -6.93
1095 1095 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $690 —
865–1355 1138 85-90% 4 85.00–89.00 $87.11 $991 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1390–1780 1563 75-80% 3 90.00–103.00 $95.58 $1,494 +5.11

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770–1040 917 3 90.00–102.50 $95.39 $875 —
815–2190 1448 5 105.00–115.00 $111.59 $1,616 —
1640–2175 1872 3 118.00–120.00 $119.10 $2,230 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
990 990 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 930.00 $930.00
895–1325 1043 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 750.00–1,550.00 $1,120.64
1060 1060 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725 725 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 500.00 $500.00

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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
905 905 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00 —
1250 1250 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,675.00 $1,675.00 —
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
750 750 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–385 373 3 112.50–125.00 $120.76 $450 —

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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.