Cattle Market Pulse

Empire Livestock Sale Market Report

Bath, New York · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 26, 2026

215 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Empire Livestock Sale report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 215 300 273
Feeder cattle 18 27 5
Slaughter cattle 75 158 114

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week's sale slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 13.00 lower. Holstein bull calves sold 140.00 to 150.00 higher. Beef cross bull calves sold 20.00 to 55.00 lower.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
62 62 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 $620 -760.00
65 65 1 200.00 $200.00 $130 -1,560.00
69 69 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 $966 -360.00
76 76 1 1,890.00 $1,890.00 $1,436 +130.00
81–87 84 3 1,400.00–1,700.00 $1,503.16 $1,263 -415.08
84–86 85 2 1,970.00–2,040.00 $2,004.59 $1,704 +86.35
87 87 1 1,800.00 $1,800.00 $1,566 -118.24
90–94 92 4 1,700.00–1,760.00 $1,729.81 $1,591 +1,349.81
94–96 95 4 1,200.00–1,400.00 $1,275.26 $1,211 -492.42
96 96 1 800.00 $800.00 $768 -860.21
102 102 1 1,320.00 $1,320.00 $1,346 +1,090.00
101–105 103 4 1,660.00–1,700.00 $1,672.51 $1,723 +1,442.51
111 111 1 1,550.00 $1,550.00 $1,720 -70.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252 252 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,260 —
312–330 321 4 405.00–425.00 $414.72 $1,331 —
424–438 431 3 300.00–340.00 $319.78 $1,378 —
994 994 1 215.00 $215.00 $2,137 —

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Feeder Bulls

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
64 64 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00 $768 +920.00
75 75 1 1,480.00 $1,480.00 $1,110 -598.37
77 77 1 2,010.00 $2,010.00 $1,548 -68.37
79 79 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 $869 -978.37
83–87 85 3 890.00–1,200.00 $1,032.13 $877 +106.67
81–89 86 8 1,300.00–1,510.00 $1,427.92 $1,228 -513.48
87 87 2 1,700.00–1,890.00 $1,795.00 $1,562 -146.40
87 87 1 1,920.00 $1,920.00 $1,670 -21.40
92 92 2 480.00–500.00 $490.00 $451 -92.96
93 93 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00 $1,534 +452.08
90–97 94 20 1,260.00–1,420.00 $1,344.84 $1,264 +146.92
94–99 97 4 900.00–1,140.00 $1,051.60 $1,020 -208.40
96–99 98 3 1,740.00–1,780.00 $1,756.86 $1,722 +496.86
100–108 104 10 1,050.00–1,260.00 $1,164.56 $1,211 +14.94
100–108 104 4 1,200.00–1,550.00 $1,366.31 $1,421 +216.69
103–106 105 4 1,640.00–1,710.00 $1,664.96 $1,748 +70.17
110–116 113 4 1,040.00–1,140.00 $1,096.91 $1,240 +3.33
112–117 114 3 1,440.00–1,550.00 $1,502.40 $1,713 +408.82
115 115 1 860.00 $860.00 $989 +110.00
121 121 1 1,010.00 $1,010.00 $1,222 -470.00
124–125 125 2 1,300.00–1,350.00 $1,325.10 $1,656 -154.90
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256–292 274 3 365.00–430.00 $392.90 $1,077 —
346 346 1 365.00 $365.00 $1,263 —
374 374 1 405.00 $405.00 $1,515 —
456 456 1 320.00 $320.00 $1,459 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1350 1105 80-85% 2 140.00–142.00 $141.22 $1,560 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1262 1262 85-90% 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,262 —
1318 1318 85-90% 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,516 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1314–1474 1394 75-80% 2 130.00–139.00 $134.76 $1,879 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1616 1616 1 165.00 $165.00 $2,666 —

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Beef/Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
922 922 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,890 —

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Dairy Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
858–1748 1187 85-90% 9 70.00–80.00 $75.23 $893 -29.16
1156–1522 1352 85-90% 13 110.00–120.00 $115.39 $1,560 -24.03
1134–1848 1397 85-90% 6 100.00–105.00 $101.52 $1,418 -61.80
1178–1722 1485 85-90% 8 125.00–129.00 $126.31 $1,876 -18.20
1542 1542 80-85% 1 145.00 $145.00 $2,236 -14.00
1348–1676 1545 75-80% 3 139.00–140.00 $139.71 $2,159 -19.29
1510–1662 1558 80-85% 5 131.00–135.00 $133.82 $2,085 +3.82
1522–1600 1561 80-85% 2 122.00–125.00 $123.46 $1,927 -6.54
1682–1864 1784 75-80% 6 145.00–151.00 $148.38 $2,647 —
1592–2098 1792 75-80% 3 155.00–164.00 $158.41 $2,839 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 438 1 210.00 $210.00 $920 —
492 492 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,255 —
1008 1008 1 230.00 $230.00 $2,318 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1462 1462 1 197.00 $197.00 $2,880 —

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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.