Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 13, 2024

7,134 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $295.95/cwt +19.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,677/hd at 567 lb · 484 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $337.33/cwt +17.86 vs last sale · ≈ $1,917/hd at 568 lb · 476 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $241.87/cwt +8.27 vs last sale · ≈ $2,216/hd at 916 lb · 449 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,134 9,255 5,757
Feeder cattle 6,892 7,737 4,873
Slaughter cattle 242 1,518 884

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers 8.00 to 10.00 higher. Very good demand for all weights of steers and heifers as the optimism in the industry continues to build. The bearish tone that the futures contracts held, changed this week as large daily gains were made. Cash fed cattle jumped up to 191.00 as packers had to give more money to get the high quality grading cattle that they need. Cattle feeders and backgrounders know just how limited feeder cattle are and they want to make sure they have their cattle needs secured, which creates a very active market at the auctions. Cattle are turned out on grass and corn is in the ground and growing.

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
353 fancy 353 17 426.00 $426.00 $1,504 —
354 354 5 392.50 $392.50 $1,389 +6.98
438 unweaned 438 33 400.50 $400.50 $1,754 +39.50
438 fancy 438 19 415.00 $415.00 $1,818 +32.00
410–448 446 107 370.00–386.50 $384.68 $1,716 +18.60
456–495 480 169 325.00–378.00 $356.87 $1,713 -3.54
502–540 513 58 335.00–368.00 $358.70 $1,840 +10.62
525–526 unweaned 526 105 337.50–369.50 $368.28 $1,937 +61.59
560 fancy 560 33 370.00 $370.00 $2,072 +45.00
560–597 569 443 300.00–347.00 $334.90 $1,906 +11.45
605–617 unweaned 610 32 294.00–322.50 $318.74 $1,944 —
602–644 624 304 280.00–319.00 $306.49 $1,912 -5.39
650 unweaned 650 17 280.00–281.00 $280.18 $1,821 +30.23
650–694 678 248 275.00–296.00 $290.49 $1,970 +9.75
704–748 719 210 271.00–280.50 $275.71 $1,982 +10.94
729 unweaned 729 9 245.00 $245.00 $1,786 —
770 770 12 251.00 $251.00 $1,933 -7.46
762–798 773 277 245.50–280.50 $270.32 $2,090 +11.86
800–849 830 428 239.00–257.00 $252.06 $2,092 -0.72
850–881 868 342 238.00–254.00 $248.04 $2,153 +9.82
904–941 916 449 229.50–246.25 $241.87 $2,216 +8.27
961 961 6 222.00 $222.00 $2,133 -2.22
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 11 369.00 $369.00 $1,605 +61.00
475–498 485 42 284.00–342.00 $324.98 $1,576 +18.72
513–546 534 28 267.50–324.00 $299.44 $1,599 -19.77
535 unweaned 535 12 313.00 $313.00 $1,675 +32.42
564–595 581 61 293.00–319.00 $311.36 $1,809 +13.36
637–644 639 18 286.00–289.00 $287.83 $1,839 +14.12
750 750 10 249.00 $249.00 $1,868 —
755 755 21 234.00 $234.00 $1,767 —
898 898 13 226.00 $226.00 $2,029 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
942 942 36 220.25 $220.25 $2,075 —
1005–1046 1021 131 199.00–228.75 $222.28 $2,269 —
1130 1130 9 206.00 $206.00 $2,328 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1228 1228 4 174.00 $174.00 $2,137 —
1310 1310 1 182.00 $182.00 $2,384 +1.14
1343–1628 1553 92 186.00–194.00 $191.80 $2,979 +5.63
1805 1805 1 182.00 $182.00 $3,285 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–348 335 7 360.00–380.00 $371.09 $1,243 +41.09
354–392 372 48 337.50–352.50 $346.00 $1,287 -29.27
413 unweaned 413 18 334.00 $334.00 $1,379 +31.00
400–448 436 118 309.00–334.00 $322.98 $1,408 +7.98
450–496 461 237 296.00–336.50 $323.73 $1,492 -1.54
477 unweaned 477 49 323.00 $323.00 $1,541 +18.24
513 thin fleshed 513 35 317.00 $317.00 $1,626 —
506–549 533 71 272.00–305.00 $292.17 $1,557 -18.28
530–545 unweaned 537 25 272.00–294.00 $281.67 $1,513 -9.92
552 thin fleshed 552 25 302.50 $302.50 $1,670 —
555–591 567 448 263.50–305.50 $295.48 $1,675 +20.61
580 unweaned 580 11 300.00 $300.00 $1,740 ±0.00
600–649 620 170 253.50–291.75 $274.27 $1,700 +8.24
625 unweaned 625 6 250.00 $250.00 $1,562 —
659–697 675 141 242.00–276.00 $260.29 $1,757 +10.51
708–749 729 297 236.00–255.00 $247.41 $1,804 -3.16
758–766 762 155 239.25–244.25 $242.79 $1,850 +9.68
801–844 824 169 215.00–248.00 $233.11 $1,921 -14.10
884–895 893 82 213.00–223.00 $216.09 $1,930 -7.41
902–936 917 113 215.00–216.25 $215.58 $1,977 +18.86
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 7 295.00 $295.00 $1,431 +6.33
504–546 533 28 258.00–294.00 $284.80 $1,518 +19.41
558–598 586 37 260.00–270.00 $266.07 $1,559 +16.11
605–643 627 14 230.00–260.00 $246.87 $1,548 +1.44
677–697 686 21 233.00–248.00 $243.49 $1,670 +19.48
688 688 12 215.00 $215.00 $1,479 -9.01
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 1 157.50 $157.50 $1,803 -16.98
1140–1230 1185 2 180.00–181.00 $180.52 $2,139 —
1190–1600 1367 35 187.50–193.00 $190.48 $2,604 +2.97

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409–420 412 10 345.00 $345.00 $1,421 —
456 456 6 296.00 $296.00 $1,350 —
516–536 521 16 281.00–288.00 $282.80 $1,473 —
689 689 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,688 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1445 1309 75-80% 9 139.00–154.00 $143.84 $1,883 +3.07
1290–1615 1429 75-80% 25 136.00–146.00 $141.41 $2,021 —
1340–1625 1447 75-80% 12 128.00–135.00 $131.09 $1,897 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1325 1158 80-85% 9 122.00–140.00 $131.71 $1,525 +3.84
1080–1375 1228 80-85% 2 115.00–116.00 $115.56 $1,419 —
1120–1855 1359 80-85% 9 115.00–126.00 $121.19 $1,647 -9.06
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–965 850 85-90% 5 50.00–91.00 $63.36 $539 —
1015–1355 1182 85-90% 3 96.00–112.00 $107.04 $1,265 +0.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1460–1640 1512 5 127.00–146.00 $138.16 $2,089 —
1655–2630 2035 4 156.00–162.00 $159.03 $3,236 —

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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.