Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 27, 2021

4,356 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 $163.17/cwt ≈ $1,340/hd at 821 lb · 408 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $164.60/cwt ≈ $1,119/hd at 680 lb · 376 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $156.15/cwt ≈ $901/hd at 577 lb · 290 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	4,356	608	3,529
Feeder cattle	3,544	—	3,529
Slaughter cattle	812	608	0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Choice steers 3.00 higher and choice heifers 2.00 higher. No steer and heifer receipts reported 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
407–448	428	20	189.00–201.00	$195.73	$838	—
471–493	484	13	187.00–190.00	$188.41	$912	—
502–547	518	216	175.50–189.00	$185.19	$959	—
577–598	582	132	174.50–184.50	$177.76	$1,035	—
609–642	623	210	171.00–182.50	$175.34	$1,092	—
651–698	680	376	157.50–173.00	$164.60	$1,119	—
702–739	729	222	159.50–173.75	$164.23	$1,197	—
751–796	759	67	154.00–166.50	$162.48	$1,233	—
800–848	821	408	153.00–168.25	$163.17	$1,340	—
859–871	864	29	151.50–153.00	$152.13	$1,314	—
918–919	918	16	148.00–149.50	$149.03	$1,368	—
974	974	4	140.00	$140.00	$1,364	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1045–1391	1253	10	109.00–118.00	$114.22	$1,431	—
1265–1376	1352	6	130.50–138.00	$134.89	$1,824	—
1140–1615	1411	35	125.50–139.50	$136.25	$1,922	—
1253–1672	1446	220	134.00–150.50	$144.18	$2,085	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
446	446	31	187.50	$187.50	$836	—
524	524	22	178.00	$178.00	$933	—
590	590	9	165.00	$165.00	$974	—
620	620	9	166.00	$166.00	$1,029	—
680	680	22	164.00	$164.00	$1,115	—
672–698	681	14	155.00–161.00	$159.22	$1,084	—
720–728	722	15	154.00–156.50	$154.50	$1,115	—
782	782	5	152.00	$152.00	$1,189	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
406–449	413	72	167.00–182.50	$177.69	$734	—
454–498	484	177	161.00–179.00	$167.15	$809	—
514–539	522	115	159.00–171.00	$165.36	$863	—
552–599	577	290	151.75–164.00	$156.15	$901	—
600–645	631	176	151.75–156.00	$152.07	$960	—
652–698	675	166	142.50–157.50	$149.73	$1,011	—
715–746	729	201	145.50–151.50	$149.20	$1,088	—
754–781	762	236	141.00–154.00	$146.87	$1,119	—
804–847	822	22	144.00–149.00	$146.11	$1,201	—
1035	1035	3	140.50	$140.50	$1,454	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1085–1170	1137	3	91.00–113.00	$100.40	$1,142	-24.80
955–1293	1171	31	126.50–137.25	$131.60	$1,541	—
1280	1280	1	111.00	$111.00	$1,421	-18.19
1115–1507	1331	25	125.50–138.50	$133.86	$1,782	+32.86
1186–1590	1403	122	134.00–146.25	$141.55	$1,986	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
404–422	408	13	149.00–160.00	$151.62	$619	—
563–579	571	13	143.00–152.00	$146.04	$834	—
637	637	3	147.00	$147.00	$936	—
765	765	19	135.50	$135.50	$1,037	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
970–1850	1400	80-85%	80	53.00–67.00	$60.06	$841	—
1215–1580	1410	80-85%	13	44.00–54.00	$48.91	$690	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
840–1430	1104	85-90%	32	29.00–45.00	$39.06	$431	+7.23
895–1555	1215	85-90%	20	45.00–52.00	$48.81	$593	+1.70

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1205–1740	1553	75-80%	25	68.00–75.00	$70.31	$1,092	—
1485–1740	1606	75-80%	7	76.00–83.00	$77.98	$1,252	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1030–1485	1344	7	35.00–61.00	$48.94	$658	—
1330–2140	1680	19	69.00–86.00	$77.91	$1,309	—
2110	2110	1	97.00	$97.00	$2,047	—

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Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1205–1435	1364	5	90.00–93.50	$92.39	$1,260	—

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1160	1160	1	101.00	$101.00	$1,172	—
1215–1585	1341	12	87.00–99.00	$90.08	$1,208	—
1175–1670	1493	3	105.00–108.00	$106.62	$1,592	—
1305–1720	1536	11	111.50–117.00	$114.19	$1,754	—

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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.