Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 19, 2023

357 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 $196.54/cwt -14.87 vs last sale · ≈ $932/hd at 474 lb · 14 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $229.00/cwt -0.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,198/hd at 523 lb · 11 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $214.70/cwt -0.97 vs last sale · ≈ $805/hd at 375 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 357 324 551
Feeder cattle 260 270 405
Slaughter cattle 95 45 132
Replacement cattle 2 9 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Special Note: There will be no sales on 12/26/23 and 1/2/24 in observance of the Christmas and New Years holidays. Compared to last week slaughter cattle were mostly steady, while feeder cattle were mostly 4.00 to 6.00 lower. 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
250 250 1 255.00 $255.00 $638 —
310–330 321 4 275.00–290.00 $285.52 $917 +0.55
350–390 365 3 235.00–257.50 $247.09 $902 -36.21
400–440 421 4 245.00–270.00 $260.09 $1,095 -21.34
450–495 471 5 235.00–257.50 $243.85 $1,149 -36.12
505–530 516 4 225.00–250.00 $241.83 $1,248 -2.74
570–590 580 4 195.00–220.00 $210.68 $1,222 -21.49
600–640 619 4 199.00–213.00 $205.39 $1,271 +0.64
665 665 1 206.00 $206.00 $1,370 +26.00
715 715 1 212.00 $212.00 $1,516 +47.00
925 925 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,295 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 225.00 $225.00 $731 —
385–390 388 2 200.00–225.00 $212.58 $825 —
430 430 1 225.00 $225.00 $968 ±0.00
475–495 485 2 190.00–200.00 $194.90 $945 -30.10
550 550 1 165.00 $165.00 $908 -18.19
640 640 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,152 —
660 660 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,089 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–385 373 2 155.00–185.00 $169.50 $632 —
400 400 1 145.00 $145.00 $580 —
565 565 1 130.00 $130.00 $734 -10.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–290 280 3 230.00–240.00 $234.91 $658 +17.34
300–340 325 4 215.00–240.00 $226.23 $735 +8.10
360–395 375 11 197.50–230.00 $214.70 $805 -0.97
400–440 415 10 200.00–230.00 $211.09 $876 -6.70
450–485 474 14 190.00–215.00 $196.54 $932 -14.87
505–545 526 11 165.00–187.50 $178.58 $939 -23.80
560–580 567 5 160.00–187.00 $170.84 $969 -12.08
600–640 624 4 146.00–160.00 $155.14 $968 +0.20
675 675 1 140.00 $140.00 $945 -18.48
710 710 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,030 +6.18
755–780 768 2 125.00–140.00 $132.62 $1,019 -2.49
800 800 1 120.00 $120.00 $960 -5.00
985 985 1 142.50 $142.50 $1,404 —
1005 1005 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,075 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 272 5 165.00–185.00 $174.32 $474 -20.68
340 340 1 190.00 $190.00 $646 +15.00
365–390 375 3 185.00–187.50 $185.82 $697 -2.41
425–445 433 4 175.00–192.50 $187.14 $810 +9.73
455–495 481 11 160.00–187.50 $174.60 $840 -14.27
505–545 527 5 145.00–160.00 $154.92 $816 -10.08
550–575 560 6 135.00–157.50 $147.95 $829 -13.47
645 645 1 135.00 $135.00 $871 —
725 725 1 125.00 $125.00 $906 +12.46
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 272 3 135.00–150.00 $143.01 $389 -16.99
345 345 1 140.00 $140.00 $483 +5.00
395 395 1 150.00 $150.00 $592 +6.51
445 445 1 135.00 $135.00 $601 +10.00
485 485 1 150.00 $150.00 $728 +9.36
500 500 1 125.00 $125.00 $625 —
635 635 1 123.00 $123.00 $781 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 290.00 $290.00 $812 —
300–335 316 4 240.00–275.00 $254.09 $803 +12.13
360–385 374 4 235.00–267.50 $249.00 $931 -0.92
405–440 421 5 210.00–230.00 $223.22 $940 -21.54
455–495 484 9 210.00–245.00 $224.52 $1,087 -9.66
500–545 523 11 210.00–245.00 $229.00 $1,198 -0.49
550–590 575 5 195.00–221.00 $207.95 $1,196 -21.16
600–630 618 4 185.00–212.50 $196.11 $1,212 +2.60
790 790 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,106 -20.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 190.00 $190.00 $532 -30.00
310–330 320 2 170.00–200.00 $184.53 $590 -15.47
360–395 381 4 205.00–225.00 $214.80 $818 -5.20
415–425 420 4 175.00–205.00 $188.66 $792 -1.34
455 455 1 175.00 $175.00 $796 -15.70
615 615 1 155.00 $155.00 $953 -9.84
655–665 660 2 145.00 $145.00 $957 +20.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 130.00 $130.00 $377 -15.00
350 350 1 125.00 $125.00 $438 -15.03
415–425 420 2 132.50–155.00 $143.88 $604 -16.12
470–475 473 2 165.00 $165.00 $780 —
545 545 1 165.00 $165.00 $899 +12.50
555–580 568 2 140.00–150.00 $145.11 $824 -19.89
635 635 1 120.00 $120.00 $762 -30.84

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1200 1144 80-85% 4 103.00–107.00 $105.20 $1,203 —
890–1770 1174 80-85% 34 87.00–100.00 $93.32 $1,096 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 85-90% 1 45.00 $45.00 $290 —
600–1180 931 85-90% 6 60.00–70.00 $65.76 $612 —
650–1545 1031 85-90% 20 76.00–85.00 $82.94 $855 +4.33
1075–1370 1216 85-90% 7 87.00–90.00 $88.26 $1,073 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1685 1496 75-80% 10 89.00–97.00 $92.39 $1,382 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215 1215 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,251 —
1275–2310 1768 5 106.00–117.00 $111.40 $1,970 —
2135 2135 1 121.00 $121.00 $2,583 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
900 900 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00
1115 1115 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 990.00 $990.00

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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.