Cattle Market Pulse

Cleveland County Agriculture & Livestock Exchange Market Report

Shelby, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 25, 2026

423 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $350.61/cwt -41.40 vs last sale · ≈ $1,981/hd at 565 lb · 25 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 bulls $325.85/cwt -23.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,691/hd at 519 lb · 20 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $334.17/cwt -30.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,604/hd at 480 lb · 18 head
Shelby, NC 5-weight steers sold at $341/cwt, running $12/cwt below the NC average ($353) and $57/cwt under North Wilkesboro, NC ($398). NC 5-weight steers are down $56/cwt from their mid-July peak of $399. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 423 226 579
Feeder cattle 373 203 493
Slaughter cattle 41 17 78
Replacement cattle 9 6 8

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. 1 head Baby Calves: 400.00

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
295 295 1 440.00 $440.00 $1,298 -90.00
360–390 371 4 417.50–465.00 $436.03 $1,618 -48.97
405–445 428 7 350.00–407.50 $382.99 $1,639 -25.76
450–480 470 6 350.00–387.50 $374.11 $1,758 -4.54
500–545 517 12 310.00–357.50 $333.70 $1,725 -44.46
555–580 565 25 320.00–356.00 $350.61 $1,981 -32.77
600–615 607 6 300.00–310.00 $305.85 $1,857 -56.52
614 value added 614 12 348.50 $348.50 $2,140 —
650–670 660 2 312.50–317.50 $315.04 $2,079 -24.99
705–711 710 9 297.50–308.00 $306.84 $2,179 +36.84
755–775 763 3 255.00–297.50 $282.55 $2,156 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,485 —
530–540 535 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,605 -42.50
590 590 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,652 -44.87
605 605 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,512 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 380.00 $380.00 $779 —
275 275 1 375.00 $375.00 $1,031 —
340 340 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,190 -37.29
350–390 365 4 350.00–380.00 $361.99 $1,321 -40.71
400–445 422 13 310.00–347.50 $328.95 $1,388 -61.52
450–495 480 18 320.00–342.50 $334.17 $1,604 -30.76
502–505 value added 502 7 337.50 $337.50 $1,694 —
510–545 532 9 300.00–327.00 $313.61 $1,668 -34.41
550–595 568 8 290.00–320.00 $305.31 $1,734 -45.77
600–632 616 6 280.00–290.00 $283.35 $1,745 —
617 value added 617 9 312.50 $312.50 $1,928 —
650–695 663 12 265.00–285.00 $278.25 $1,845 —
700–715 708 2 265.00 $265.00 $1,876 -40.00
770–785 778 2 250.00–285.00 $267.67 $2,082 -7.33
805–840 823 2 220.00–260.00 $240.43 $1,979 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 360.00 $360.00 $864 +50.00
325 325 1 300.00 $300.00 $975 -50.00
355–385 372 3 320.00–335.00 $328.54 $1,222 -41.46
410–420 415 2 260.00–280.00 $269.88 $1,120 -75.31
495 495 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,386 —
530 530 1 292.50 $292.50 $1,550 —
565–595 584 5 260.00–280.00 $270.96 $1,582 +30.96
615–635 625 2 240.00–255.00 $247.62 $1,548 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 280.00 $280.00 $840 —
395 395 2 232.50–267.50 $250.00 $988 —
400–410 407 3 225.00–265.00 $238.11 $969 —
685 685 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,028 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–245 228 2 510.00–550.00 $528.46 $1,205 -11.54
250–285 268 2 450.00–500.00 $476.64 $1,277 -13.36
315–345 330 4 455.00–490.00 $465.87 $1,537 -49.10
350–390 377 5 400.00–440.00 $417.20 $1,573 -57.15
410–440 421 9 370.00–407.50 $385.94 $1,625 -21.53
450–485 465 12 350.00–382.50 $367.80 $1,710 -3.92
500–545 519 20 310.00–352.50 $325.85 $1,691 -23.20
555–580 570 5 315.00–325.00 $318.94 $1,818 -20.07
600–625 612 10 280.00–315.00 $292.34 $1,789 -45.18
655–690 677 7 235.00–275.00 $243.41 $1,648 -61.63
700–730 713 9 230.00–265.00 $249.99 $1,782 -20.01
770–796 791 5 265.00–285.00 $281.11 $2,224 +27.92
910–945 927 3 220.00–230.00 $226.73 $2,102 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 3 360.00–400.00 $380.00 $1,292 -29.78
370 370 1 390.00 $390.00 $1,443 —
420–430 426 6 335.00–350.00 $346.70 $1,477 -23.56
450–480 464 4 305.00–335.00 $315.96 $1,466 -16.51
500–545 517 3 290.00–300.00 $293.26 $1,516 +12.95
555–595 576 8 260.00–285.00 $270.68 $1,559 -37.13
610–635 621 4 225.00–260.00 $247.61 $1,538 -7.23
665–674 673 6 230.00 $230.00 $1,548 -20.19
755 755 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,699 +45.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–395 383 4 305.00–320.00 $313.61 $1,201 —
415–445 425 4 250.00–270.00 $263.88 $1,121 —
455–495 480 5 250.00–280.00 $268.17 $1,287 —
505 505 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,364 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1090 995 85-90% 2 105.00–120.00 $111.78 $1,112 —
830–1375 1108 85-90% 16 132.50–154.00 $143.94 $1,595 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1380 1244 80-85% 6 149.00–169.00 $157.39 $1,958 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365–1915 1549 75-80% 6 145.00–155.00 $148.58 $2,302 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
970 970 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 2,300.00 $2,300.00
1140–1265 1187 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,600.00–1,950.00 $1,805.48

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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
880–1145 1025 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 2,450.00–3,150.00 $2,776.95 —
1355 1355 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 2,950.00 $2,950.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 250.00 $250.00 $925 —
445 445 1 155.00 $155.00 $690 —
970 970 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,310 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
635 635 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,524 —

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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.