Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 23, 2022

6,625 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $176.07/cwt +13.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,186/hd at 674 lb · 436 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.77/cwt +5.52 vs last sale · ≈ $914/hd at 526 lb · 430 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $196.69/cwt -3.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,119/hd at 569 lb · 386 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 6,625 4,032 7,306
Feeder cattle 5,099 3,852 5,575
Slaughter cattle 1,526 180 1,731

Compared to last week, slaughter choice steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Feeder steers under 800 lbs sold 1.00 to 3.00 higher; over 800 lbs sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower . Feeder heifers overall sold 5.00 to 8.00 higher.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
321 321 5 232.50 $232.50 $746 +5.00
358–390 373 39 207.00–237.50 $221.85 $828 —
405 unweaned 405 4 209.00 $209.00 $846 —
403–435 421 22 213.00–244.00 $230.33 $970 +3.33
453–499 476 158 209.00–227.00 $218.19 $1,039 +23.24
513–515 unweaned 513 25 188.00–212.00 $208.15 $1,068 —
504–547 527 249 199.00–220.00 $210.70 $1,110 +1.03
552–590 569 381 189.00–206.00 $197.09 $1,121 -2.88
581 unweaned 581 5 166.00 $166.00 $964 —
608 unweaned 608 3 176.00 $176.00 $1,070 —
604–649 636 259 167.00–205.00 $183.84 $1,169 -1.57
664–668 thin fleshed 666 131 180.00 $180.00 $1,199 —
668 unweaned 668 4 161.00 $161.00 $1,075 —
650–695 677 301 154.00–183.75 $174.56 $1,182 +12.29
700–748 718 158 159.00–174.00 $169.29 $1,216 +5.96
762 fancy 762 70 166.75 $166.75 $1,271 —
753–797 766 104 140.75–168.00 $162.82 $1,247 +1.84
811–833 822 128 148.50–154.50 $154.27 $1,268 -2.78
854 854 5 150.25 $150.25 $1,283 -1.37
953 953 90 142.85 $142.85 $1,361 -2.31
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
978–1285 1125 98 138.50–143.50 $139.83 $1,573 —
1136–1235 1153 7 127.50–134.00 $132.48 $1,527 —
920–1380 1156 5 104.00–129.00 $115.63 $1,337 —
1165–1590 1354 105 126.00–144.50 $141.06 $1,910 —
1405 1405 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,574 —
1260–1615 1425 213 138.00–152.00 $147.04 $2,095 -2.83
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 298 3 209.00 $209.00 $623 —
325–330 328 2 200.00–205.00 $202.52 $664 —
350–395 367 6 187.50–200.00 $193.17 $709 —
405–448 433 39 190.00–202.00 $196.99 $853 —
462–496 487 37 187.00–207.00 $201.95 $983 —
504–537 513 43 177.00–194.00 $185.57 $952 +4.57
566–598 585 31 168.50–180.00 $175.95 $1,029 -4.26
617–643 625 19 160.00–181.00 $168.73 $1,055 -2.33
668–678 674 5 144.00–149.50 $147.32 $993 -8.71
783–792 788 6 149.00–180.00 $164.41 $1,296 +17.40
893 893 3 132.00 $132.00 $1,179 -8.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–346 328 17 169.00–198.00 $186.17 $611 -14.72
351–398 378 48 157.00–192.00 $181.37 $686 —
351–398 unweaned 382 3 180.00–185.00 $183.47 $701 —
427 unweaned 427 6 168.00 $168.00 $717 —
404–447 431 142 153.00–202.00 $181.87 $784 -1.03
457–498 480 142 169.00–187.00 $180.65 $867 +4.54
480 thin fleshed 480 6 171.50 $171.50 $823 —
507–542 unweaned 515 43 161.00–171.50 $166.70 $859 —
502–546 527 387 153.00–186.00 $174.56 $920 +6.31
551–598 573 277 151.50–185.00 $172.53 $989 +8.19
603–644 620 290 146.50–175.50 $163.69 $1,015 +5.27
659–688 673 64 142.25–171.00 $158.29 $1,065 +12.37
702–747 717 65 135.00–164.00 $150.28 $1,078 +4.20
750–788 763 251 135.50–152.25 $151.13 $1,153 +8.20
810–816 815 10 127.50–128.50 $128.30 $1,046 -19.18
853–883 875 107 134.00–145.00 $134.56 $1,177 -3.65
903 903 6 137.00 $137.00 $1,237 +6.90
1073 1073 5 122.00 $122.00 $1,309 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
928–1200 1050 32 121.00–133.50 $126.38 $1,327 —
885–1315 1086 22 103.00–128.00 $117.56 $1,277 —
1030–1190 1136 53 135.00–143.60 $141.98 $1,613 —
1050–1455 1258 132 130.00–144.50 $141.54 $1,781 —
1147–1560 1326 174 137.75–150.75 $145.46 $1,929 -4.35
1333–1435 1375 6 115.00–121.25 $117.28 $1,613 -25.72
1488–1682 1546 10 116.50–123.50 $121.22 $1,874 —
1490–1680 1565 3 101.00–111.00 $106.32 $1,664 —
1463–1800 1609 27 114.00–137.00 $128.68 $2,070 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–388 372 7 160.00–172.00 $164.90 $613 -1.10
453–495 473 8 150.00–160.00 $156.02 $738 —
567–597 582 16 146.50–166.00 $155.48 $905 +4.88
640–641 641 8 155.00–157.00 $156.25 $1,002 +7.90
665–690 678 44 143.00–152.00 $150.13 $1,018 +22.13
713–748 733 11 121.00–141.00 $127.72 $936 -8.78

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–365 358 3 170.00–187.00 $181.23 $649 —
410–437 430 4 157.50–191.00 $183.02 $787 —
515–521 520 5 153.00–182.00 $176.25 $916 —
565 565 1 149.00 $149.00 $842 —
610 610 1 137.00 $137.00 $836 —
705 705 2 130.00 $130.00 $916 —
790 790 2 124.00 $124.00 $980 —
803 803 3 124.00 $124.00 $996 —
878 878 2 121.00 $121.00 $1,062 —
975 975 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,053 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
648 648 2 146.00 $146.00 $946 —
650 650 2 133.50 $133.50 $868 —
819 819 7 116.00 $116.00 $950 —

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Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1920 1428 75-80% 156 79.75–89.50 $85.11 $1,215 -3.89
1255–1975 1537 75-80% 48 88.00–98.00 $91.56 $1,407 +7.60
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
840–1550 1079 85-90% 24 30.00–56.00 $45.50 $491 —
645–1755 1196 85-90% 38 59.00–71.00 $66.30 $793 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1760 1309 80-85% 62 71.00–80.00 $76.22 $998 —

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1800 1458 5 75.00–81.00 $79.11 $1,153 —
1200–2405 1801 37 83.00–110.00 $100.49 $1,810 —
995–2295 1804 8 110.50–117.00 $113.86 $2,054 —
YG3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1330 1130 4 104.00–119.00 $110.87 $1,253 —
1430–1445 1438 2 108.00–118.00 $113.03 $1,625 —

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1467 1368 4 75.00–86.00 $83.85 $1,147 —

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1665 1449 5 111.00–121.00 $117.57 $1,704 —
1300–1655 1475 37 122.00–134.00 $126.78 $1,870 —
1600 1600 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,824 —

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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.