Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 25, 2024

2,898 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 heifers $247.56/cwt -10.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,703/hd at 688 lb · 269 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $269.26/cwt +1.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,669/hd at 620 lb · 167 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $290.24/cwt -7.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,945/hd at 670 lb · 149 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,898 16,061 5,781
Feeder cattle 1,957 14,777 4,171
Slaughter cattle 941 1,284 1,610

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Too few feeders steers and heifers offered to allow a good market comparison. Much lighter auction receipts, as is usual for this time of year as most auction markets are hosting feeder cattle sales on an every other week basis. Cash fed cattle market, up to 191.00 in the country at late week, is helping to support the feeder cattle market regardless of the futures contracts. April Live Cattle futures at 184.00, 6.00-7.00 lower than the cash trade is causing cattle producers to pay little attention to the board and instead focus on the market fundamentals.

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
340 340 3 340.00 $340.00 $1,156 -50.00
350–358 352 10 345.00–352.50 $350.21 $1,233 -42.33
421 unweaned 421 6 341.00 $341.00 $1,436 -18.71
426–441 434 37 340.00–361.00 $347.48 $1,508 -38.62
455–498 473 16 301.00–345.00 $323.21 $1,529 -39.32
516–540 527 78 310.00–352.50 $340.70 $1,795 -5.68
563–595 569 76 285.00–331.00 $319.13 $1,816 -11.54
588 fancy 588 15 322.50 $322.50 $1,896 —
603–637 624 25 301.00–310.00 $306.32 $1,911 -9.19
653–691 670 149 270.00–300.00 $290.24 $1,945 -7.99
703 fancy 703 36 288.50 $288.50 $2,028 —
702–749 733 59 260.00–287.00 $282.36 $2,070 +28.33
762–777 766 34 254.00–266.00 $262.13 $2,008 -3.64
817 fancy 817 36 249.00 $249.00 $2,034 -10.00
807–836 829 99 236.00–252.00 $245.71 $2,037 -7.47
855–878 861 78 235.00–254.60 $246.46 $2,122 +0.31
910–917 915 24 233.50–237.00 $235.84 $2,158 -2.39
986–996 990 35 212.00–215.00 $213.88 $2,117 -20.49
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1220 1139 9 159.00–177.00 $172.43 $1,964 —
1185 1185 1 180.00 $180.00 $2,133 —
1275 1275 1 188.50 $188.50 $2,403 +6.66
1135–1410 1296 21 176.00–185.50 $180.79 $2,343 -1.05
1248–1503 1335 26 184.25–187.00 $185.28 $2,473 -0.22
1392 1392 2 185.25 $185.25 $2,579 —
1181–1865 1426 201 185.00–197.50 $191.59 $2,732 +19.59
1655 1655 4 181.00 $181.00 $2,996 —
1705 1705 1 183.25 $183.25 $3,124 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
422 422 5 332.50 $332.50 $1,403 -1.67
533 533 5 280.00 $280.00 $1,492 -42.41
566 566 5 287.00 $287.00 $1,624 -27.75
613 613 10 257.50 $257.50 $1,578 -36.29

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361–398 385 22 315.00–335.00 $326.26 $1,256 -30.03
412–435 418 38 300.00–322.50 $313.02 $1,308 -30.40
457–498 479 43 261.00–308.00 $288.73 $1,383 -29.44
503–527 513 34 265.00–304.00 $285.84 $1,466 -17.74
515 fancy 515 18 293.00 $293.00 $1,509 —
567–598 580 76 261.00–284.00 $274.93 $1,595 -17.12
604–648 619 145 249.00–283.00 $269.56 $1,669 +2.47
626 fancy 626 22 267.25 $267.25 $1,673 —
664–697 688 269 236.00–250.75 $247.56 $1,703 +13.06
743 743 15 250.00 $250.00 $1,858 +2.75
751–772 767 49 215.00–232.50 $222.04 $1,703 -20.40
804–820 810 81 211.00–234.00 $228.81 $1,853 -5.35
831 fancy 831 8 210.00 $210.00 $1,745 —
878–881 879 28 211.00–223.50 $221.26 $1,945 -7.18
968 968 3 155.00 $155.00 $1,500 -73.43
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1265 1105 5 160.00–170.00 $163.71 $1,809 —
1175–1264 1245 21 187.50–188.35 $188.21 $2,343 —
1160–1580 1302 14 175.00–185.50 $181.67 $2,365 -1.62
1302–1446 1364 7 187.10–187.25 $187.17 $2,553 -3.73
1110–1665 1372 169 184.00–199.00 $193.14 $2,650 +2.24
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
431 431 4 290.00 $290.00 $1,250 -12.33
562 562 3 260.00 $260.00 $1,461 +3.12

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
492 492 3 308.00 $308.00 $1,515 -22.00
596 596 3 277.50 $277.50 $1,654 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1925 1415 75-80% 56 119.00–129.00 $122.94 $1,740 +0.17
1205–1935 1512 75-80% 85 127.00–139.00 $132.41 $2,002 +0.83
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
950–1685 1266 80-85% 50 110.00–119.00 $114.80 $1,453 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625–970 791 85-90% 7 42.50–79.00 $57.64 $456 —
665–1420 1102 85-90% 22 87.50–109.00 $99.44 $1,096 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420–2215 1789 65-75% 13 140.00–144.00 $141.07 $2,524 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1710 1423 2 91.00–106.00 $100.02 $1,423 —
1055–2290 1733 12 127.00–149.00 $138.30 $2,397 —
1305–2350 1784 20 152.00–190.50 $167.30 $2,985 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1345 1288 2 126.00–133.00 $129.34 $1,666 —
1130–1465 1354 16 141.00–156.00 $151.71 $2,054 —
1350–1700 1544 31 158.00–173.00 $165.41 $2,554 +1.92

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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.