Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 8, 2024

12,206 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 $239.25/cwt -1.34 vs last sale · ≈ $2,094/hd at 875 lb · 1,291 head

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $229.97/cwt -2.68 vs last sale · ≈ $2,123/hd at 923 lb · 716 head

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $249.90/cwt -5.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,952/hd at 781 lb · 583 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	12,206	11,458	12,522
Feeder cattle	11,691	10,799	11,718
Slaughter cattle	515	659	804

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 750 lbs 8.00 to 10.00 lower, over 750 lbs 2.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder heifers 10.00 to 12.00 lower. Moderate to good demand for all weights of steers and heifers, by far, the best demand remains on light cattle as cattle feeders want to buy these kinds as their cost per head is so much lower than a big yearling. The pressure from the cattle futures is weighing on the feeder market and causing cattle feeders to worry about the future. Cash fed cattle only at 185.00 this week, below breakeven prices for most cattle.

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
304 unweaned	304	5	398.00	$398.00	$1,210	—
350–393	374	64	322.50–412.50	$377.78	$1,413	-15.85
378 unweaned	378	5	395.00	$395.00	$1,493	+10.36
400–449	425	130	335.00–405.00	$374.51	$1,592	+2.74
405–442 unweaned	433	31	359.00–390.00	$376.22	$1,629	+2.67
452–497 unweaned	468	31	320.00–330.00	$326.92	$1,530	-15.58
450–499	481	150	310.00–365.00	$342.84	$1,649	-15.32
502	502	6	306.00	$306.00	$1,536	-35.59
500–539	521	213	290.00–353.00	$331.27	$1,726	-10.32
513–541 unweaned	534	84	310.00–337.50	$326.78	$1,745	+12.61
550–585 unweaned	570	30	280.00–318.00	$295.20	$1,683	-0.33
552–598	578	232	270.00–330.00	$308.77	$1,785	-9.13
602–631 unweaned	608	63	276.00–286.00	$283.04	$1,721	-37.96
600–646	626	214	260.00–308.75	$288.30	$1,805	-17.92
650–692	673	222	251.00–297.00	$279.95	$1,884	-3.42
677–685 unweaned	681	21	250.00–260.00	$253.31	$1,725	-3.19
702–744	720	424	230.00–286.00	$264.03	$1,901	-13.38
739	739	20	243.00	$243.00	$1,796	-34.41
741–745 unweaned	742	17	230.00–237.00	$231.24	$1,716	-19.76
750–799	781	583	217.50–265.50	$249.90	$1,952	-5.06
805–843	828	455	231.00–255.10	$248.45	$2,057	-6.10
851–899	875	1,249	220.50–252.75	$239.87	$2,099	-0.72
875–888	877	42	215.00–222.00	$220.82	$1,937	-19.77
901–940	923	716	222.00–236.60	$229.97	$2,123	-2.68
958–970	964	302	209.75–224.50	$217.86	$2,100	+8.83
1009	1009	10	224.00	$224.00	$2,260	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
311	311	4	311.00	$311.00	$967	—
383	383	4	316.00	$316.00	$1,210	—
405–425	417	10	310.00–380.00	$352.81	$1,471	—
565 unweaned	565	13	266.00	$266.00	$1,503	—
564–588	577	63	280.00–309.50	$295.14	$1,703	—
613	613	8	254.00	$254.00	$1,557	—
676	676	45	261.50	$261.50	$1,768	—
701–708	704	14	236.50–239.00	$237.40	$1,671	—
789	789	14	235.00	$235.00	$1,854	—
827	827	11	228.00	$228.00	$1,886	—
944	944	35	209.75	$209.75	$1,980	—
1081	1081	4	187.00	$187.00	$2,021	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
303	303	6	335.00	$335.00	$1,015	—
368–386	376	9	342.50–375.00	$357.33	$1,344	+10.29
461 unweaned	461	7	310.00	$310.00	$1,429	—
468–487	479	41	275.00–339.00	$326.06	$1,562	+13.77
510–545	529	4	232.50–285.00	$263.77	$1,395	-45.05
550–598	591	30	242.50–298.00	$290.21	$1,715	-12.36
592 unweaned	592	8	260.00	$260.00	$1,539	—
608–646	634	19	273.00–280.50	$278.23	$1,764	-14.72
680	680	2	220.00–225.00	$222.50	$1,513	-38.26
702–745	716	16	220.00–226.00	$221.15	$1,583	-30.42
760–770	767	3	177.00–200.00	$192.40	$1,476	—
801–810	804	9	183.00–215.00	$192.63	$1,549	—
850–899	892	28	190.00–224.50	$202.74	$1,808	—
930	930	19	206.00	$206.00	$1,916	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1162–1242	1212	13	176.00–181.50	$178.73	$2,166	-6.27
1320–1382	1334	36	181.50–185.00	$182.34	$2,432	-5.40
1240–1535	1342	17	170.00–183.00	$179.15	$2,404	-8.59
1340–1501	1423	10	181.50–183.00	$182.13	$2,592	—
1315–1688	1524	109	184.00–188.75	$185.83	$2,832	+0.23

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
410	410	5	324.00	$324.00	$1,328	—
625–626	625	13	250.00–265.00	$255.77	$1,599	—
749	749	14	242.00	$242.00	$1,813	—
825	825	13	228.00	$228.00	$1,881	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
246	246	4	310.00	$310.00	$763	—
303	303	12	312.50	$312.50	$947	—
352–374	365	14	295.00–300.00	$297.93	$1,087	—
424	424	8	281.00	$281.00	$1,191	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
496	496	8	276.00	$276.00	$1,369	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
337 unweaned	337	8	316.00	$316.00	$1,065	-14.00
330–345	338	11	330.00	$330.00	$1,115	-16.38
350–395	375	62	284.00–337.50	$318.48	$1,194	-25.45
422–436 unweaned	427	31	318.00–335.00	$328.84	$1,404	+2.84
400–449	430	80	252.50–350.00	$312.20	$1,342	-17.16
450 unweaned	450	7	311.00	$311.00	$1,400	+16.04
469 thin fleshed	469	7	385.00	$385.00	$1,806	—
454–499	476	217	267.50–340.00	$309.60	$1,474	+2.95
500–544	520	142	252.50–311.00	$289.13	$1,503	-10.75
505–545 unweaned	521	85	274.00–305.00	$300.85	$1,567	+20.47
550–598	567	416	222.50–290.00	$267.79	$1,518	-0.21
576–589 unweaned	584	17	256.00–257.50	$256.98	$1,501	-20.04
603–648	628	335	222.50–269.00	$255.47	$1,604	-13.07
652–697	678	410	228.00–256.50	$241.05	$1,634	-20.26
683	683	33	284.75	$284.75	$1,945	+52.75
706	706	8	206.00	$206.00	$1,454	-39.84
700–748	728	509	210.00–250.50	$234.37	$1,706	-11.47
747	747	50	296.00	$296.00	$2,211	+50.16
750–792	774	485	186.00–249.75	$231.19	$1,789	-7.40
797–798	797	69	216.75–218.50	$217.64	$1,735	-37.36
800–849	824	297	180.00–239.00	$222.83	$1,836	-21.17
845	845	16	225.00	$225.00	$1,901	-19.00
850–897	874	350	180.00–224.00	$211.31	$1,847	-4.19
900–946	929	127	175.00–208.00	$203.96	$1,895	—
955	955	19	206.50	$206.50	$1,972	+18.25
985	985	11	191.00	$191.00	$1,881	+2.75

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
213	213	5	213.00	$213.00	$454	—
285	285	2	300.00	$300.00	$855	—
303 unweaned	303	5	330.00	$330.00	$1,000	—
305–328	317	6	260.00–285.50	$272.29	$863	—
434	434	7	307.50	$307.50	$1,335	+31.68
465–490	471	15	202.50–280.00	$259.87	$1,224	-15.45
464–492 unweaned	475	23	271.00–277.00	$274.57	$1,304	—
502 unweaned	502	24	263.00–267.00	$265.00	$1,330	—
500–547	529	39	200.00–291.00	$273.43	$1,446	+7.61
566–596	585	40	236.00–256.00	$242.64	$1,419	-8.48
605–610	608	2	192.50–211.00	$201.71	$1,226	-43.76
666–695	681	47	190.00–240.00	$225.73	$1,537	—
700–748	717	24	160.00–219.00	$202.08	$1,449	—
782–791	784	27	217.00–219.00	$217.52	$1,705	-1.48
873–895	881	16	190.00–200.00	$196.19	$1,728	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
975–1245	1155	5	140.00–167.00	$157.62	$1,821	-23.96
1016–1373	1188	15	174.00–178.00	$175.69	$2,087	-5.89
1185–1570	1256	40	170.00–183.00	$180.27	$2,264	—
1240–1482	1360	85	180.00–188.00	$184.86	$2,514	—
1270–1500	1410	15	181.00–183.00	$181.97	$2,566	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
536	536	5	260.00	$260.00	$1,394	—
547 unweaned	547	6	254.00	$254.00	$1,389	—
556–582	572	50	236.00–262.50	$258.11	$1,476	—
606 unweaned	606	6	235.00	$235.00	$1,424	—
657–694	663	40	230.00–242.75	$240.42	$1,594	—
711 unweaned	711	6	207.00	$207.00	$1,472	—
795	795	10	215.50	$215.50	$1,713	—
1033	1033	4	189.00	$189.00	$1,952	-7.00

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
441	441	6	300.00	$300.00	$1,323	—
883	883	13	191.00	$191.00	$1,687	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
436	436	7	282.00	$282.00	$1,230	—
672	672	9	217.50	$217.50	$1,462	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
333	333	2	327.50	$327.50	$1,091	—
447	447	3	292.50	$292.50	$1,307	—
475–499	497	14	301.00–305.00	$301.27	$1,497	—
615	615	1	192.50	$192.50	$1,184	—
655	655	3	227.50	$227.50	$1,490	—
740	740	1	205.00	$205.00	$1,517	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
460–480 unweaned	475	12	260.00–290.00	$267.26	$1,269	—

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1115–1700	1386	75-80%	23	120.00–130.00	$125.53	$1,740	-0.29
1205–1985	1530	75-80%	21	131.00–138.00	$134.90	$2,064	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
665–1420	1070	85-90%	3	32.50–65.00	$45.72	$489	-61.30
875–1765	1143	85-90%	13	88.00–107.00	$100.98	$1,154	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
970–1555	1242	80-85%	14	110.00–118.00	$114.44	$1,421	-10.06

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1300–1825	1573	65-75%	13	140.00–155.00	$144.09	$2,267	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
845–905	875	2	170.00–172.50	$171.21	$1,498	—
1225–2430	1786	7	115.00–143.00	$133.34	$2,381	-32.77
1500–2585	1970	11	148.00–165.00	$155.05	$3,054	—

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
575	575	8	184.00	$184.00	$1,058	—
748	748	10	184.00	$184.00	$1,376	—

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Beef Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
568	568	13	174.00	$174.00	$988	—
744	744	13	184.00	$184.00	$1,369	—

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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.