Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 31, 2021

8,613 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 $141.58/cwt -0.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,165/hd at 823 lb · 590 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $147.83/cwt -2.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,141/hd at 772 lb · 461 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.29/cwt +4.80 vs last sale · ≈ $857/hd at 574 lb · 418 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 8,613 7,306 8,797
Feeder cattle 7,487 5,575 7,646
Slaughter cattle 1,126 1,731 1,151

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Choice steers and heifers steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder steers 400/749 lbs 2.00 to 8.00 higher, 750/849 lbs 1.00 to 2.00 lower, 850/949 lbs steady to 4.00 higher. Feeder heifers 400/ 499 lbs 3.00 to 4.00 lower, 500/699 lbs 1.00 to 8.00 higher, 700/749 lbs 2.00 lower, 750/849 lbs 2.00 to 6.00 higher.

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
275 275 4 202.50 $202.50 $557 —
348 348 8 197.00 $197.00 $686 —
384–398 390 17 177.00–185.00 $181.84 $709 -18.16
413–442 431 50 174.00–187.50 $179.05 $772 +1.94
435 unweaned 435 13 192.00 $192.00 $835 —
463–499 484 180 175.00–191.00 $182.19 $882 +2.19
506–543 unweaned 531 54 163.00–179.75 $177.42 $942 +7.42
501–548 532 155 173.50–189.00 $183.00 $974 +3.11
550–599 571 353 165.00–181.00 $172.98 $988 +1.95
576–578 unweaned 576 38 167.50–175.50 $168.98 $973 +11.98
602–649 625 363 159.00–173.50 $167.31 $1,046 +4.44
661 661 20 147.50 $147.50 $975 -5.69
650–697 669 354 154.50–170.00 $161.67 $1,082 +8.48
707–731 unweaned 710 48 136.00–150.50 $148.63 $1,055 —
701–748 718 291 147.00–162.25 $155.01 $1,113 +2.69
752–799 772 455 138.75–152.50 $148.04 $1,143 -2.03
775 775 6 132.00 $132.00 $1,023 -18.07
805–841 823 590 135.00–145.00 $141.58 $1,165 -0.87
866–894 883 220 130.00–144.50 $136.88 $1,209 +0.45
900–948 930 207 128.75–137.00 $133.76 $1,244 +4.01
958–967 963 152 124.00–130.25 $128.13 $1,234 -3.87
1065–1066 1065 23 106.50–118.75 $112.89 $1,202 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 9 186.00 $186.00 $547 —
358 358 7 178.00 $178.00 $637 —
431–432 432 24 165.00–168.00 $167.00 $721 -2.69
522–547 534 22 159.00–166.00 $163.80 $875 +4.89
576–583 unweaned 580 10 151.00–162.00 $156.47 $908 —
563–595 583 61 148.00–164.00 $157.43 $918 +7.27
620–633 627 80 143.50–155.50 $151.96 $953 -0.04
641 unweaned 641 9 154.50 $154.50 $990 —
674–696 685 69 138.00–153.25 $145.34 $996 +10.34
703–749 733 100 135.00–146.00 $142.23 $1,043 +4.23
780–791 783 28 130.25–136.00 $133.17 $1,043 -2.23
817–824 821 16 122.00–125.00 $123.51 $1,014 -3.49
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985–1045 1015 2 91.00–106.50 $98.98 $1,005 —
1110–1265 1220 6 110.50–122.00 $115.48 $1,409 —
1146–1565 1296 83 112.00–118.50 $116.89 $1,515 —
1304–1445 1356 13 113.00–118.00 $114.90 $1,558 -9.10
1305–1474 1434 30 120.00–131.50 $128.45 $1,842 +7.98
1251–1601 1440 212 119.00–125.75 $122.88 $1,769 —
1507–1637 1581 24 126.00–131.00 $128.75 $2,036 —
1543–1697 1663 9 113.00–114.00 $113.21 $1,883 —
1746–1870 1758 10 110.00–112.00 $111.79 $1,965 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 4 157.00 $157.00 $832 —
716 716 6 145.00 $145.00 $1,038 —
800 800 4 134.50 $134.50 $1,076 —
1035 1035 5 115.00 $115.00 $1,190 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 383 6 165.00 $165.00 $632 ±0.00
404–445 426 65 150.00–160.00 $154.60 $659 -3.14
428–441 unweaned 431 18 145.00–147.00 $145.45 $627 —
473 unweaned 473 4 141.00 $141.00 $667 -4.39
455–498 476 106 140.00–155.00 $149.38 $711 -3.91
520 unweaned 520 14 144.00 $144.00 $749 ±0.00
501–548 528 349 140.00–159.75 $151.56 $800 +0.78
550 unweaned 550 27 144.00 $144.00 $792 —
556–593 576 391 139.00–158.00 $149.66 $862 +5.17
606–610 unweaned 608 18 134.00–142.00 $137.99 $839 +4.71
600–642 616 306 137.00–154.50 $144.67 $891 +5.34
647 fancy 647 42 157.00 $157.00 $1,016 —
651–652 unweaned 652 50 137.00 $137.00 $893 —
652–699 675 348 135.00–146.00 $142.22 $960 +8.70
704–748 732 304 128.50–139.75 $134.24 $983 -2.19
740 unweaned 740 7 126.50 $126.50 $936 —
750–769 754 211 127.00–140.50 $135.46 $1,021 +1.97
800–828 805 98 119.00–130.00 $127.83 $1,029 +5.95
878 878 17 133.50 $133.50 $1,172 —
913 913 5 114.50 $114.50 $1,045 —
955–997 960 23 111.00–114.75 $114.24 $1,097 —
1008–1023 1013 42 104.75–108.00 $105.92 $1,073 —
1052 1052 6 100.00 $100.00 $1,052 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
392–393 392 12 141.00–144.00 $142.25 $558 -7.74
425–446 437 13 141.00–150.00 $146.87 $642 +2.64
439 unweaned 439 7 142.00 $142.00 $623 —
512 unweaned 512 6 128.00 $128.00 $655 —
525–542 533 23 132.00–142.00 $135.31 $721 -6.33
551–597 584 62 129.00–143.00 $135.68 $792 +0.95
605–648 621 111 122.00–139.00 $134.45 $835 +4.56
636 unweaned 636 5 120.00 $120.00 $763 —
659–681 672 37 123.00–132.00 $127.51 $857 +4.60
702 702 17 124.00 $124.00 $870 —
768 768 4 119.00 $119.00 $914 -1.50
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1195 1032 15 88.00–111.00 $98.09 $1,012 —
1065–1108 1091 5 105.00–106.00 $105.39 $1,150 —
1140–1180 1167 6 115.00–121.00 $116.95 $1,365 +2.73
1080–1436 1265 87 119.00–125.00 $121.50 $1,537 +0.69
1045–1485 1289 74 110.00–118.75 $116.85 $1,506 -3.96
1211–1361 1299 29 121.00–131.00 $127.20 $1,652 +6.39
1255–1380 1322 13 116.00–124.00 $118.99 $1,573 +11.66
1448–1470 1452 15 122.50–123.50 $122.70 $1,782 +45.63
1440–1485 1458 5 114.00–115.00 $114.59 $1,671 +37.52
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
673 673 10 121.00 $121.00 $814 —
823 823 4 121.50 $121.50 $1,000 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
453 453 4 182.00 $182.00 $824 —
510 510 2 149.00 $149.00 $760 —
678–693 684 7 111.00–125.00 $118.92 $813 -10.32
743 743 4 120.00 $120.00 $892 -12.00
875 875 4 103.00 $103.00 $901 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1955 1402 75-80% 62 70.00–79.00 $75.97 $1,065 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1440 1262 80-85% 7 74.00–79.00 $75.60 $954 —
825–2030 1429 80-85% 27 64.00–70.00 $67.49 $964 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1765 1481 65-75% 27 80.00–84.00 $81.70 $1,210 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1165 1128 85-90% 2 32.00–35.00 $33.55 $378 -21.66
925–1505 1209 85-90% 8 50.00–64.00 $60.43 $731 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1875 1525 3 90.00–97.00 $92.35 $1,408 —
1435–1675 1555 2 57.00–59.00 $57.92 $901 —
2200–2305 2237 5 102.00–109.00 $107.16 $2,397 —

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Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1470 1354 12 102.50–104.50 $103.33 $1,399 —
1345–1442 1401 36 102.00–104.50 $103.29 $1,447 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1293 1205 8 73.00–85.00 $79.69 $960 —
1045–1450 1246 17 75.00–85.00 $80.37 $1,001 —
1245–1840 1432 48 89.00–99.00 $96.57 $1,383 +10.50
1305–1709 1544 111 100.00–109.00 $104.40 $1,612 —

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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.