Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 12, 2026

510 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $406.89/cwt -8.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,734/hd at 426 lb · 37 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $407.08/cwt +21.11 vs last sale · ≈ $2,135/hd at 524 lb · 28 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $406.92/cwt +14.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,900/hd at 467 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 510 591 298
Feeder cattle 442 490 207
Slaughter cattle 59 74 71
Replacement cattle 9 27 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 1.00 to 2.00 higher, while feeder cattle were mostly steady. 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
220–235 228 2 580.00–590.00 $585.16 $1,334 —
250–295 265 7 560.00–620.00 $592.68 $1,571 -27.32
300–316 314 8 520.00–550.00 $546.42 $1,716 -12.79
350–395 369 5 505.00–540.00 $520.69 $1,921 -8.19
415–445 432 14 450.00–505.00 $488.16 $2,109 +13.54
450–495 478 8 430.00–469.00 $455.67 $2,178 +7.38
505–545 527 16 430.00–462.50 $448.47 $2,363 +3.70
550–584 576 17 390.00–442.50 $425.62 $2,452 -9.68
615 615 1 420.00 $420.00 $2,583 +1.76
650–695 659 9 372.50–403.00 $394.82 $2,602 -5.75
720 720 1 370.00 $370.00 $2,664 -1.18
750–755 753 2 335.00–352.50 $343.78 $2,589 -15.28
810 810 1 345.00 $345.00 $2,794 +27.29
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,552 -1.60
355 355 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,598 —
505–515 510 2 350.00–390.00 $369.80 $1,886 -2.66
615 615 1 330.00 $330.00 $2,030 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 335.00 $335.00 $1,625 -15.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–220 208 3 550.00–640.00 $591.52 $1,230 +63.03
250–295 274 8 500.00–550.00 $524.74 $1,438 +43.04
315–345 326 12 440.00–490.00 $461.40 $1,504 -1.46
350–395 376 16 400.00–457.50 $440.57 $1,657 -12.00
400–445 426 31 370.00–422.50 $401.25 $1,709 -13.90
427 value added 427 6 436.00 $436.00 $1,862 —
452 value added 452 5 440.00 $440.00 $1,989 —
450–495 471 19 370.00–430.00 $398.21 $1,876 +6.06
500–545 518 14 370.00–412.50 $392.87 $2,035 +6.90
530–531 value added 531 14 421.00–425.00 $421.29 $2,237 —
550–595 573 14 320.00–370.00 $347.22 $1,990 -15.70
605–640 624 10 300.00–337.50 $316.01 $1,972 -3.63
651 value added 651 4 330.00 $330.00 $2,148 —
650–685 668 2 300.00–305.00 $302.43 $2,020 -15.77
705–720 713 2 260.00–280.00 $269.89 $1,924 -44.65
750–780 760 3 272.50–280.00 $277.43 $2,108 —
820 820 1 267.50 $267.50 $2,194 —
870 870 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,088 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,000 —
300–335 317 3 410.00–435.00 $421.97 $1,338 +7.90
360–390 378 5 350.00–395.00 $373.11 $1,410 -31.59
405–435 421 5 310.00–367.50 $341.13 $1,436 -31.29
460–495 478 4 340.00–365.00 $348.93 $1,668 +28.90
500–515 508 4 330.00–335.00 $331.26 $1,683 -8.75
550–595 581 4 300.00–310.00 $302.54 $1,758 +2.98
610–620 615 2 270.00–300.00 $285.12 $1,753 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 375 2 320.00–330.00 $325.20 $1,220 -34.80
410 410 2 290.00–320.00 $305.00 $1,250 +85.00
495 495 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,534 +120.00
520 520 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,560 —
660–670 665 2 230.00–260.00 $245.11 $1,630 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–245 236 4 560.00–630.00 $602.70 $1,422 -14.21
260–265 262 3 560.00–590.00 $576.75 $1,511 -11.78
300–345 330 10 480.00–530.00 $503.14 $1,660 -56.15
350–395 370 15 480.00–520.00 $506.68 $1,875 -8.30
400–440 421 14 450.00–510.00 $484.73 $2,041 +27.26
455–495 471 16 425.00–485.00 $450.12 $2,120 +8.70
500–545 519 17 405.00–455.00 $435.34 $2,259 -7.95
550–590 574 9 400.00–445.00 $425.04 $2,440 +1.10
605–640 630 4 320.00–350.00 $334.50 $2,107 -81.15
735 735 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,352 -31.18
855 855 1 235.00 $235.00 $2,009 —
945 945 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,268 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–245 235 3 500.00–530.00 $510.43 $1,200 -9.24
275 275 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,375 +24.12
330–345 338 2 409.00–450.00 $429.04 $1,450 -41.43
360 360 1 410.00 $410.00 $1,476 -49.50
405–435 415 5 420.00–440.00 $430.90 $1,788 +52.76
460–490 475 3 375.00–415.00 $389.95 $1,852 +30.37
515–535 525 2 335.00–382.50 $358.30 $1,881 -16.04
560–595 579 4 330.00–385.00 $360.13 $2,085 +11.35
680 680 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,632 -60.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–295 282 3 360.00–400.00 $374.64 $1,056 —
305 305 1 290.00 $290.00 $884 —
375–390 383 2 350.00 $350.00 $1,340 -50.00
410 410 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,148 -70.00
475 475 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,662 —
555 555 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,776 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895 895 85-90% 1 164.00 $164.00 $1,468 —
895–1060 961 85-90% 5 110.00–130.00 $119.31 $1,147 -0.17
735–1250 1014 85-90% 17 132.00–160.00 $149.12 $1,512 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230 1230 80-85% 1 180.00 $180.00 $2,214 +11.85
1030–1385 1255 80-85% 13 161.00–176.00 $168.18 $2,111 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1535 1413 75-80% 5 154.00–165.00 $159.87 $2,259 +8.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1010 980 3 157.50–175.00 $163.89 $1,606 —
1120–1930 1525 2 198.00 $198.00 $3,020 —
1785 1785 1 224.00 $224.00 $3,998 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
980 980 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,450.00 $1,450.00
990 990 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,700.00 $2,700.00
980–1030 1005 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,450.00–1,500.00 $1,475.62
1135 1135 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,150.00 $2,150.00
1470 1470 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,850.00 $2,850.00

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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
820 820 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,900.00 $1,900.00 -1,304.41
790–1000 895 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 2,550.00–2,900.00 $2,745.53 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720 720 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,332 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555 555 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,526 —
665 665 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,762 —
785–790 788 2 260.00–267.50 $263.74 $2,078 —
840 840 1 265.00 $265.00 $2,226 —
920–930 925 2 240.00–255.00 $247.54 $2,290 —
995 995 1 240.00 $240.00 $2,388 —

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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.