Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 26, 2026

312 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $457.42/cwt +5.91 vs last sale · ≈ $2,374/hd at 519 lb · 24 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $401.85/cwt -2.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,507/hd at 375 lb · 14 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $421.99/cwt -26.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,988/hd at 471 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 312 377 341
Feeder cattle 232 299 234
Slaughter cattle 68 55 65
Replacement cattle 12 23 42

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were mostly steady, while feeder cattle were mostly steady to 2.00 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
365–380 373 2 490.00–500.00 $494.90 $1,846 -30.67
410–445 425 5 420.00–485.00 $446.52 $1,898 -33.26
450–493 474 9 420.00–475.00 $443.58 $2,103 -19.75
500–545 519 24 420.00–470.00 $457.42 $2,374 +5.91
550–598 577 10 420.00–450.00 $429.62 $2,479 +9.62
600–605 603 2 370.00 $370.00 $2,231 +4.16
685–690 688 2 310.00–320.00 $315.02 $2,167 +15.02
710 710 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,272 -10.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 289 4 420.00–450.00 $442.99 $1,280 +29.19
305–345 317 9 400.00–420.00 $408.28 $1,294 -2.67
350–395 375 14 380.00–427.50 $401.85 $1,507 -2.47
405–445 429 6 380.00–430.00 $405.46 $1,739 +12.47
455–495 474 11 375.00–427.50 $401.10 $1,901 +2.20
500–540 526 7 340.00–370.00 $351.33 $1,848 -42.88
565–595 576 4 320.00–340.00 $330.09 $1,901 -23.01
600–635 618 4 325.00–345.00 $333.93 $2,064 +13.58
665 665 1 330.00 $330.00 $2,194 +24.92
700–705 703 4 300.00–327.50 $314.97 $2,214 —
765 765 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,448 —
810 810 1 270.00 $270.00 $2,187 -25.00
855 855 1 310.00 $310.00 $2,650 +5.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–270 260 2 390.00–410.00 $400.38 $1,041 +30.38
330–335 333 2 350.00–380.00 $364.89 $1,215 +1.15
350–395 375 6 350.00–375.00 $360.85 $1,353 +5.91
400–430 414 4 355.00–370.00 $363.78 $1,506 +23.78
495 495 3 300.00–340.00 $323.33 $1,600 -13.89
525 525 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,732 -17.50
700 700 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,330 +15.00
770 770 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,386 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 250.00 $250.00 $850 -40.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,175 -96.69
280–285 281 4 450.00–500.00 $464.98 $1,307 -66.52
315–345 330 4 450.00–510.00 $487.61 $1,609 -48.12
355–395 383 9 450.00–495.00 $479.72 $1,837 -17.42
400–445 424 7 420.00–460.00 $434.38 $1,842 -42.25
450–495 471 11 390.00–440.00 $421.99 $1,988 -26.60
502–545 513 9 390.00–440.00 $415.34 $2,131 -22.71
550–555 553 2 360.00–415.00 $387.62 $2,144 -6.76
620 620 2 325.00–360.00 $342.50 $2,124 +0.27
675 675 1 330.00 $330.00 $2,228 +19.89
750 750 1 310.00 $310.00 $2,325 -5.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–345 324 6 370.00–440.00 $416.27 $1,349 -20.33
350–380 363 5 390.00–430.00 $402.40 $1,461 +12.90
400–440 418 5 320.00–395.00 $365.24 $1,527 -53.54
450–460 455 2 350.00–380.00 $364.84 $1,660 -19.03
515–530 523 4 300.00–370.00 $343.61 $1,797 -24.82
660 660 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,815 +20.00
750 750 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,800 +0.13
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,172 +50.00
470 470 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,175 +25.13

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705–915 810 85-90% 2 170.00–172.50 $171.41 $1,388 —
830–1350 999 85-90% 11 122.00–135.00 $129.50 $1,294 —
870–1365 1078 85-90% 26 138.00–166.00 $151.74 $1,636 -0.14
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1350 1175 80-85% 5 169.00–183.00 $175.51 $2,062 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1540 1435 75-80% 2 162.00–166.00 $163.85 $2,351 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1845 1509 8 189.00–205.00 $195.41 $2,949 —
1595 1595 1 227.00 $227.00 $3,621 +24.54

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
775 775 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,250.00 $2,250.00
870 870 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
910 910 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,400.00 $2,400.00
745–1095 920 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 1,300.00–2,100.00 $1,776.09
1150 1150 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,650.00 $2,650.00
975–1455 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,700.00–2,950.00 $2,448.46

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
595–1110 795 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,550.00–3,600.00 $3,045.81 +49.21
1225 1225 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 3,600.00 $3,600.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 260.00 $260.00 $897 —
395 395 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,066 -100.00
465 465 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,070 —
509 509 5 380.00 $380.00 $1,934 +50.00

↑ Back to top

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.