Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 27, 2024

2,781 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 $289.34/cwt -3.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,652/hd at 571 lb · 139 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $252.37/cwt +6.75 vs last sale · ≈ $2,292/hd at 908 lb · 124 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $343.27/cwt +14.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,975/hd at 575 lb · 123 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,781 11,683 10,392
Feeder cattle 1,762 10,627 9,057
Slaughter cattle 1,019 1,056 1,335

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week steers and heifers sold mostly steady except 900 lbs steers sold sharply higher on the week. Slaughter steers and heifers sold steady to 1.00 higher with slaughter cows 4.00 to 7.00 higher. Demand was moderate to good for the light supply of cattle on hand. Iowa cash slaughter cattle at area feedlots on a live FOB basis sold from 187.00 to 193.00 with a weighted average price of 190.48 and dressed delivered sales ranged from 298.00 to 304.00 with an average price at 300.80 on Friday afternoon MPR report.

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
343 343 12 423.00 $423.00 $1,451 -4.25
376 376 5 394.00 $394.00 $1,481 -4.38
401–439 419 44 365.00–387.50 $378.94 $1,588 -2.76
462 fancy 462 39 409.50 $409.50 $1,892 +20.69
450–498 479 34 343.00–357.50 $351.50 $1,684 -17.33
502–539 527 103 332.00–350.00 $341.37 $1,799 -3.29
562 thin fleshed 562 60 363.00 $363.00 $2,040 —
569–596 588 63 309.00–327.50 $324.47 $1,908 -6.65
606–641 631 115 295.00–319.00 $312.94 $1,975 +0.28
650–698 683 42 284.00–301.00 $288.70 $1,972 -4.80
708–747 724 92 281.50–290.00 $288.86 $2,091 +14.86
816 816 7 252.50 $252.50 $2,060 -7.57
881 881 62 252.75 $252.75 $2,227 +0.59
900–915 908 124 252.00–252.75 $252.37 $2,292 +14.42
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1150 1021 19 162.50–200.50 $187.13 $1,911 —
1162–1395 1292 20 175.00–193.00 $185.22 $2,393 —
1140–1540 1324 87 175.00–191.00 $188.03 $2,490 +0.93
1380 1380 2 187.00 $187.00 $2,581 -2.00
1275–1665 1436 150 190.00–199.00 $194.92 $2,799 —
1406–1482 1436 11 183.00–188.00 $185.83 $2,669 —
1590 1590 8 184.50 $184.50 $2,934 -7.57
1520–1609 1591 10 185.00–189.50 $188.64 $3,001 -3.43
1648–1673 1661 8 183.00–184.00 $183.50 $3,048 -7.33
1663–1830 1730 38 185.00–190.50 $189.28 $3,275 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464 464 7 300.00 $300.00 $1,392 -42.60
572–592 575 25 279.00–309.50 $305.13 $1,754 -10.89
623–647 637 16 290.00 $290.00 $1,847 +7.80
650–666 658 23 267.00–278.00 $272.33 $1,792 +6.81
733–748 742 7 251.00–260.00 $256.19 $1,901 +12.19

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 10 362.50 $362.50 $1,214 +0.59
383–387 385 6 355.00–367.50 $361.28 $1,391 +12.82
403–446 433 54 329.00–353.00 $343.19 $1,486 +4.29
455–498 481 83 320.00–334.00 $329.67 $1,586 +6.64
504–536 519 79 313.00–333.00 $321.19 $1,667 +19.08
550–583 571 139 280.00–309.00 $289.34 $1,652 -2.83
601–636 617 72 271.00–287.00 $280.56 $1,731 -6.59
652–690 666 37 257.00–277.50 $267.18 $1,779 -2.53
702–741 728 9 254.00–256.00 $254.64 $1,854 -0.47
755 755 6 249.00 $249.00 $1,880 +6.39
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1065 1013 7 171.00–185.50 $177.95 $1,803 —
1100–1592 1288 50 180.00–191.00 $186.69 $2,405 —
1331 1331 6 181.00 $181.00 $2,409 -5.11
1165–1565 1347 138 187.75–199.50 $193.15 $2,602 +7.04
1443–1468 1456 6 182.50–186.50 $184.48 $2,686 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–493 473 19 300.00–310.00 $302.19 $1,429 -0.01
510–546 528 32 275.00–307.00 $291.28 $1,538 +12.27
584 584 5 276.00 $276.00 $1,612 +12.55
640 640 13 257.00 $257.00 $1,645 -6.91

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1415 1242 75-80% 22 135.00–165.00 $148.06 $1,839 —
1200–1960 1481 75-80% 38 127.00–141.00 $134.37 $1,990 +0.30
1260–2130 1563 75-80% 44 136.00–156.00 $146.28 $2,286 +1.02
1495–1945 1671 75-80% 4 121.00–134.00 $125.87 $2,103 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–985 933 80-85% 4 121.00–143.00 $132.78 $1,239 —
1010–1320 1145 80-85% 14 131.00–143.00 $136.56 $1,564 +5.98
1005–1580 1294 80-85% 7 136.00–149.00 $141.08 $1,826 —
1050–1825 1353 80-85% 28 115.00–135.00 $127.26 $1,722 —
1145–1740 1431 80-85% 9 106.00–119.50 $113.38 $1,622 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–970 923 85-90% 4 90.00–123.00 $106.01 $978 -7.22
1000–1420 1133 85-90% 14 88.00–125.00 $116.67 $1,322 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1295 1295 1 150.00 $150.00 $1,942 —
930–2095 1367 3 100.00–126.00 $117.87 $1,611 —
1300–2920 1798 14 135.00–161.00 $152.20 $2,737 —
1335–2545 1974 24 158.00–200.50 $171.91 $3,394 —

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Beef Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1352–1509 1431 10 177.00–182.00 $179.64 $2,571 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1221–1381 1279 11 173.00–178.50 $175.16 $2,240 —
1590 1590 2 174.00 $174.00 $2,767 —

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Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1602 1602 3 150.50 $150.50 $2,411 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1835 1505 4 160.00–165.00 $162.94 $2,452 —
1515–1547 1538 7 163.00–167.50 $166.23 $2,557 —
1325–1850 1571 59 164.00–181.00 $170.21 $2,674 +6.89

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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.