light 7-weight N/N/A steers$135.00/cwt≈ $946/hd at 701 lb · 18 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
2,242
795
—
Feeder cattle
1,822
199
—
Slaughter cattle
420
246
—
Market comments — Decatur Livestock Market
With a week of nice weather, customers were able to get their cattle to town. We had a good market with lightweight calves being $12-$30/cwt higher; 6-8 weights were steady to $4/cwt higher. Bred cows and pairs were steady to $125 higher. Packer cows and bulls steady.
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.
With a week of nice weather, customers were able to get their cattle to town. We had a good market with lightweight calves being $12-$30/cwt higher; 6-8 weights were steady to $4/cwt higher. Bred cows and pairs were steady to $125 higher. Packer cows and bulls steady.