Cattle Market Pulse

Denison Livestock Feeder Cattle Market Report

Denison, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 1, 2024

2,377 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Denison Livestock Feeder Cattle report →

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $256.57/cwt +11.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,973/hd at 769 lb · 302 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $235.02/cwt -2.94 vs last sale · ≈ $1,720/hd at 732 lb · 194 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $261.06/cwt +16.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,647/hd at 631 lb · 181 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,377 2,089 2,123
Feeder cattle 2,377 2,089 2,123

Western Iowa Preconditioned Sale. CME feeder cattle futures 5.00 higher. Compared to the sale last Thursday, light steers 600-750 lbs were sharply higher, as supply is getting narrow. Light heifers 600-650 lbs were 2.00 to sharply higher. Heifers 700-750 lbs were steady to 1.00 lower. Several load lots of both steers and heifers in the offering today, including a couple loads of yearlings. Many smaller packages of mostly light cattle. Demand was good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 362 17 310.00 $310.00 $1,122
436 436 35 295.75 $295.75 $1,289 -54.30
450–488 466 17 270.00–295.00 $288.14 $1,343 -9.86
511–532 520 28 282.00–308.00 $301.85 $1,570 +5.10
566–599 582 57 280.00–310.50 $299.17 $1,741 +19.35
611–646 634 77 267.00–294.00 $283.71 $1,799 +22.41
652–692 666 156 259.00–291.50 $281.86 $1,877 +20.54
705–748 726 141 253.50–275.00 $263.27 $1,911 +10.23
756–776 769 302 240.00–260.00 $256.57 $1,973 +11.13
810–844 828 67 230.00–241.00 $235.87 $1,953 -4.19
850–891 867 135 221.00–240.00 $237.80 $2,062 +5.75
900–940 910 113 215.00–230.00 $226.90 $2,065 -1.07
992 992 9 205.00 $205.00 $2,034
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
542 542 3 266.00 $266.00 $1,442
653–691 668 19 251.25–254.50 $252.74 $1,688 +17.74
725 725 14 240.25 $240.25 $1,742
863 863 5 212.00 $212.00 $1,830

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
416–430 427 54 262.00–273.00 $267.71 $1,143 +4.71
505–535 522 87 255.00–271.00 $264.87 $1,383 +15.98
550–594 584 94 243.50–263.00 $256.43 $1,498 +9.75
606–649 631 181 248.00–268.50 $261.06 $1,647 +16.90
652–694 682 144 230.00–248.50 $239.94 $1,636 +1.80
717–742 732 194 223.00–239.75 $235.02 $1,720 -2.94
753–795 771 143 217.50–240.00 $226.26 $1,744 -2.14
814–834 818 39 215.50–222.75 $221.42 $1,811 -0.01
858–860 858 13 205.00 $205.00 $1,759 -6.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 3 261.00 $261.00 $1,091
466 466 9 250.00 $250.00 $1,165
525–546 537 7 242.00–243.00 $242.42 $1,302
590 590 6 238.00 $238.00 $1,404 +5.00
763 763 3 210.00 $210.00 $1,602

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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.