Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 21, 2020

3,735 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $141.87/cwt +4.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,155/hd at 814 lb · 335 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $151.86/cwt +6.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,024/hd at 674 lb · 266 head

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $140.31/cwt +0.61 vs last sale · ≈ $1,082/hd at 771 lb · 252 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,735	11,445	3,403
Feeder cattle	3,355	8,836	3,126
Slaughter cattle	380	2,609	277

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
350–392	376	20	185.00–195.00	$191.49	$720	+2.24
396 unweaned	396	4	171.00	$171.00	$677	—
419–435	424	12	175.00–179.00	$176.37	$748	-7.09
461–484	477	21	171.00–181.00	$177.42	$846	-1.51
465–487 unweaned	478	66	172.00–175.25	$174.01	$832	+10.49
517–546	533	91	158.50–181.00	$174.42	$930	-0.04
551–596	569	122	149.00–177.00	$166.06	$945	+3.85
583–595 unweaned	587	44	153.50–161.00	$156.95	$921	-0.51
610–644	623	102	154.00–163.50	$159.57	$994	+5.28
651–698	674	262	143.50–156.75	$152.19	$1,026	+6.51
696 unweaned	696	4	130.00	$130.00	$905	—
700–738	714	178	131.00–153.75	$147.42	$1,053	+5.00
750–791	771	252	117.50–145.00	$140.31	$1,082	+0.48
800–844	814	335	134.75–144.50	$141.87	$1,155	+4.25
852–880	867	53	134.00–144.60	$142.88	$1,239	+4.19
914	914	14	136.00	$136.00	$1,243	+0.91
967–982	973	8	121.00	$121.00	$1,177	-7.63

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
838–1145	989	4	85.00–93.00	$89.86	$889	—
1180–1440	1291	8	96.50–102.00	$99.76	$1,288	+1.78
1283–1733	1508	136	103.75–109.35	$107.22	$1,617	—
1750–1825	1797	3	95.00–100.75	$98.23	$1,765	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
430–443	436	9	164.00–180.00	$169.32	$738	+6.32
543–545	544	8	158.50–161.00	$159.75	$869	+1.97
600–647	623	28	135.00–151.00	$143.63	$895	-6.48
652–693	674	16	139.00–147.50	$142.08	$958	+3.67
880–889	886	13	128.50–130.00	$129.43	$1,147	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
269	269	4	167.50	$167.50	$451	-17.50
341	341	4	158.00	$158.00	$539	-24.50
360 unweaned	360	4	153.00	$153.00	$551	-4.00
414 unweaned	414	6	148.00	$148.00	$613	+4.41
403–439	421	49	145.00–174.00	$160.11	$674	+0.25
458–477 unweaned	462	57	147.00–160.00	$156.94	$725	+8.77
450–493	472	111	145.00–171.00	$160.10	$756	+6.10
500–546	526	89	134.00–160.50	$145.93	$768	+0.16
549 unweaned	549	11	137.00	$137.00	$752	-2.93
554–567 unweaned	564	28	131.00	$131.00	$739	-8.07
556–599	569	102	125.00–161.00	$148.05	$842	+6.12
611–627	620	54	148.00–148.50	$148.23	$919	+10.24
627 unweaned	627	12	126.00	$126.00	$790	-7.57
601–647	628	123	133.00–141.50	$137.84	$866	-0.15
650–698	679	208	128.00–136.50	$133.91	$909	+0.98
702–748	719	154	131.50–138.00	$135.58	$975	+2.44
763–773	766	170	130.00–133.30	$131.44	$1,007	+3.89
813	813	8	126.00	$126.00	$1,024	+1.87
889	889	9	124.50	$124.50	$1,107	-1.16
1052	1052	10	112.00	$112.00	$1,178	+0.50

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1065–1330	1120	8	98.00–102.00	$101.22	$1,134	—
1205–1620	1421	136	103.00–108.75	$107.10	$1,522	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
355–399	383	8	160.00–168.00	$162.78	$623	+4.68
407	407	3	150.00	$150.00	$610	-5.21
474–481 unweaned	478	11	140.00–145.00	$141.80	$678	—
498–499	499	13	152.00–157.00	$153.15	$764	+7.34
525	525	3	142.00	$142.00	$746	-3.06
572–595	584	45	120.00–144.00	$135.86	$793	-5.16
602–605	604	7	123.00–130.00	$125.99	$761	+0.10
674 unweaned	674	4	117.00	$117.00	$789	—
718	718	9	124.50	$124.50	$894	+5.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
409–448	431	9	153.00–155.00	$154.16	$664	+4.16
459 unweaned	459	5	148.00	$148.00	$679	—
539	539	7	139.00	$139.00	$749	—
578	578	3	126.00	$126.00	$728	—
603–617	611	5	118.00–130.00	$122.73	$750	-6.27
673	673	3	119.00	$119.00	$801	-10.70

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1130–1735	1394	80-85%	23	46.00–57.00	$52.31	$729	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1000–1485	1172	85-90%	13	30.00–35.00	$31.94	$374	—
1055–1450	1250	85-90%	8	38.00–45.00	$42.88	$536	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1305–1715	1544	75-80%	10	59.00–68.00	$63.35	$978	—
1825–1850	1838	75-80%	2	69.00–70.00	$69.50	$1,277	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
895–1205	1047	3	56.00–64.00	$59.27	$621	—
1465–1825	1631	4	66.00–81.00	$73.93	$1,206	—

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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.