Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 16, 2021

2,348 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $165.12/cwt +3.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,275/hd at 772 lb · 501 head

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $163.53/cwt +3.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,352/hd at 827 lb · 250 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $159.44/cwt +7.75 vs last sale · ≈ $1,368/hd at 858 lb · 118 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	2,348	4,468	6,038
Feeder cattle	1,201	4,261	3,534
Slaughter cattle	1,147	207	2,504

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Choice steers 2.00 lower and choice heifers steady. Feeder steers 650 to 949 lbs 3.00 to 7.00 higher on light receipts. Feeder heifers to few receipts last week for a market test.

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
655	655	78	176.60	$176.60	$1,157	+6.56
744	744	5	162.00	$162.00	$1,205	-5.60
753–787	772	501	158.60–167.75	$165.12	$1,275	+3.10
822–832	827	250	162.10–165.10	$163.53	$1,352	+3.78
857–859	858	118	156.50–162.10	$159.44	$1,368	+7.75
906	906	60	155.00	$155.00	$1,404	+3.37

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
980–1240	1089	11	86.00–130.00	$108.84	$1,185	—
950–1335	1180	19	116.00–127.50	$123.02	$1,452	—
1120–1290	1225	3	100.00–108.00	$103.10	$1,263	-20.26
1155–1645	1316	37	114.50–124.50	$120.53	$1,586	—
1207–1805	1433	395	121.50–136.00	$128.13	$1,836	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
401	401	4	174.00	$174.00	$698	—
625	625	9	158.00	$158.00	$988	+4.79
663–680	676	13	146.00–160.00	$156.83	$1,060	+10.33

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Feeder Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
800–1085	949	7	105.00–115.00	$111.21	$1,055	—
705–1205	1075	18	84.00–120.00	$103.55	$1,113	-19.09
800–1328	1159	125	118.00–138.50	$126.90	$1,471	+17.19
1030–1580	1288	19	101.00–124.00	$118.85	$1,531	-7.70
1300–1320	1310	2	95.50–97.00	$96.26	$1,261	—
1033–1600	1321	220	116.00–134.00	$127.45	$1,684	—
1435	1435	1	80.00	$80.00	$1,148	—
1655–1673	1667	3	115.00	$115.00	$1,917	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
611	611	18	147.50	$147.50	$901	-13.20
653–695	691	84	141.00–156.85	$154.43	$1,067	-1.03
759–783	772	10	129.00–132.50	$130.36	$1,006	-15.49
914	914	30	133.00	$133.00	$1,216	-1.96

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
450	450	4	141.00	$141.00	$634	—
587	587	11	133.00–138.00	$136.18	$799	-14.02

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1290–1625	1462	75-80%	18	73.00–79.00	$75.41	$1,102	—
1150–2025	1654	75-80%	20	80.00–84.00	$82.01	$1,356	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
840–1185	1014	85-90%	7	21.00–45.00	$38.39	$389	—
935–1520	1148	85-90%	10	48.00–61.00	$53.36	$613	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1065–1565	1356	80-85%	7	63.00–71.00	$66.37	$900	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1620–1740	1689	65-75%	4	85.00–86.00	$85.51	$1,444	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–2240	1707	18	70.00–86.00	$80.79	$1,379	—
1522–2305	1827	23	89.00–101.00	$94.05	$1,718	—

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1200–1380	1315	3	71.00–75.00	$73.44	$966	—
995–2455	1520	17	79.00–114.00	$90.59	$1,377	—

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Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1189	1189	4	94.00	$94.00	$1,118	—
1245–1312	1308	16	108.00–109.00	$108.94	$1,425	—

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1321–1362	1350	31	107.00–109.50	$107.71	$1,454	—
1415–1798	1605	35	112.00–117.50	$114.18	$1,833	—

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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.