Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 16, 2022

4,032 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $151.62/cwt +4.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,325/hd at 874 lb · 540 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $150.14/cwt +7.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,389/hd at 925 lb · 412 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $157.05/cwt +0.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,297/hd at 826 lb · 369 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,032 9,083 10,349
Feeder cattle 3,852 8,657 7,930
Slaughter cattle 180 426 2,419

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter choice steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder steers under 650 lbs sold 6.00 to 10.00 higher; 650 to 800 lbs 1.00 to 3.00 lower; over 800 lbs 4.00 to 7.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 750 lbs sold 1.00 to 5.00 lower; over 750 lbs sold on a light test with a firm undertone.

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
349 349 4 227.50 $227.50 $794 +13.41
443 443 17 227.00 $227.00 $1,006 +10.65
456–475 464 14 185.00–201.00 $194.95 $905 -16.50
503–546 527 43 195.00–218.00 $209.67 $1,105 +3.26
553–589 572 72 191.00–214.00 $199.97 $1,144 +6.04
607–647 628 110 176.00–193.00 $185.41 $1,164 +6.20
651–699 690 64 158.00–174.50 $162.27 $1,120 -15.09
703–736 724 69 153.00–175.25 $163.33 $1,183 -3.19
761–799 781 284 150.50–169.25 $160.98 $1,257 -0.71
806–845 826 369 144.00–160.25 $157.05 $1,297 +0.15
853–895 874 540 147.00–158.25 $151.62 $1,325 +4.65
900–939 925 412 146.25–156.00 $150.14 $1,389 +7.14
980–996 984 134 142.25–148.00 $145.16 $1,428 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 5 181.00 $181.00 $914 -0.38
575–599 593 12 179.00–184.00 $180.21 $1,069 +2.62
644–647 647 31 170.50–174.00 $171.06 $1,107 +3.71
653–696 678 7 155.00–156.75 $156.03 $1,058 +9.17
728 728 3 160.00 $160.00 $1,165 +12.00
783–795 790 10 142.00–151.50 $147.01 $1,161 —
842 842 3 146.00 $146.00 $1,229 —
894 894 8 140.00 $140.00 $1,252 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1035 1013 2 113.00–125.00 $118.87 $1,204 —
1240–1415 1324 8 130.00–145.00 $137.19 $1,816 -1.15
1220–1670 1449 60 146.00–154.00 $149.87 $2,172 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1044 1044 22 133.00 $133.00 $1,389 -1.57
1098 1098 10 135.00 $135.00 $1,482 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
312–337 328 8 200.00–202.50 $200.89 $659 +8.58
416–428 422 6 176.00–190.00 $182.90 $772 +2.49
455–499 476 31 170.00–188.00 $176.11 $838 -2.40
501–548 531 77 160.00–174.50 $168.25 $893 -6.10
558–589 576 53 159.00–176.00 $164.34 $947 -4.47
600–645 623 97 154.00–170.50 $158.42 $987 -5.12
658–688 670 92 142.50–151.50 $145.92 $978 -11.80
700–745 716 207 140.50–151.00 $146.08 $1,046 -0.76
751–781 768 138 138.50–148.00 $142.93 $1,098 +1.78
812–846 838 285 140.00–150.75 $147.48 $1,236 +12.39
857–892 865 99 133.00–140.00 $138.21 $1,196 +8.72
907–931 916 8 128.00–133.50 $130.10 $1,192 —
974–985 978 8 127.50–128.00 $127.81 $1,250 -0.44
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012–1031 1017 40 114.00–128.00 $118.22 $1,202 —
1062–1070 1067 29 114.00–118.00 $115.51 $1,232 —
1153 1153 7 105.00 $105.00 $1,211 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353 353 3 166.00 $166.00 $586 -3.55
440 440 3 157.00 $157.00 $691 -9.45
503–545 529 8 150.00–161.00 $157.08 $831 -3.03
580–582 582 15 150.00–153.00 $150.60 $876 -1.35
606–647 632 27 147.00–151.00 $148.35 $938 +3.05
677 677 4 128.00 $128.00 $867 -10.00
703 703 7 136.50 $136.50 $960 —
815 815 3 134.00 $134.00 $1,092 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990 990 1 124.00 $124.00 $1,228 —
1210–1415 1304 17 149.25–150.50 $149.81 $1,954 —
1362 1362 5 143.00 $143.00 $1,948 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
217 217 3 400.00 $400.00 —
259 259 8 600.00 $600.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
392 392 3 750.00 $750.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1635 1403 75-80% 15 87.00–93.00 $89.00 $1,249 —
1225–1745 1526 75-80% 21 80.00–86.50 $83.96 $1,281 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1580 1361 80-85% 17 70.00–79.00 $74.85 $1,019 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1365 1203 85-90% 3 50.00–57.50 $54.07 $650 —
1150–1325 1246 85-90% 4 63.00–69.00 $65.59 $817 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1770–1920 1845 2 112.00–115.00 $113.56 $2,095 —
1615–2260 1978 8 85.00–110.00 $100.26 $1,983 —

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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.