Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 5, 2024

2,949 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 $250.16/cwt +4.99 vs last sale · ≈ $2,155/hd at 862 lb · 199 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $231.67/cwt +4.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,999/hd at 863 lb · 179 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $238.48/cwt -5.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,843/hd at 773 lb · 158 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,949 5,515 5,228
Feeder cattle 1,506 4,100 3,637
Slaughter cattle 1,443 1,415 1,591

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers not well compared with last week's much larger offering, too few offered to allow a good comparison. Moderate to good demand for the cattle that were offered in the auctions this week, auction markets remain on their summer sale schedules. Cash fed cattle traded lower, but at 193.00, still holding a very wide, positive basis over the futures contracts. The Live Cattle futures for the winter months are barely at 180.00, causing cattle feeder to refigure their breakeven prices much lower.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070 1070 3 212.00 $212.00 $2,268 +24.98
1117 1117 2 199.50 $199.50 $2,228 —
1005–1181 1134 25 186.85–199.00 $194.02 $2,200 —
1135–1307 1208 18 190.00–198.50 $195.44 $2,361 —
1025–1583 1328 96 181.00–192.50 $188.64 $2,505 -0.63
1165–1485 1345 61 188.00–195.00 $191.33 $2,573 —
1220–1680 1416 371 192.00–199.25 $195.17 $2,764 -0.83
1505–1560 1541 7 191.00–192.00 $191.65 $2,953 —
1740 1740 3 185.00 $185.00 $3,219 -13.59
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
477 477 5 294.00 $294.00 $1,402 -48.40
580 580 44 290.00 $290.00 $1,682 -21.59
653–681 676 93 273.00–286.00 $275.47 $1,862 -11.62
732 732 4 260.00 $260.00 $1,903 -18.05
775–786 782 79 246.00–257.00 $253.73 $1,984 -2.13
850 850 7 235.00 $235.00 $1,998 -10.17
856–876 862 192 238.00–254.25 $250.71 $2,161 +5.54
920 920 6 245.00 $245.00 $2,254 -2.02
950–999 959 130 230.50–248.00 $244.50 $2,345 +19.18
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1009–1017 1016 100 216.00–221.00 $219.98 $2,235 —
1053 1053 57 227.50 $227.50 $2,396 —
1108 1108 38 207.00 $207.00 $2,294 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 8 223.00 $223.00 $2,107 —

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Feeder Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1060 994 11 178.00–195.00 $186.95 $1,858 -7.26
1076–1093 1088 14 185.00–192.25 $190.20 $2,069 —
1105–1485 1280 281 187.75–198.00 $193.40 $2,476 -3.36
1045–1495 1305 96 183.00–193.00 $189.53 $2,473 —
1618 1618 5 180.00 $180.00 $2,912 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 3 284.00 $284.00 $1,321 -25.81
613 613 8 270.00 $270.00 $1,655 -8.40
766–792 773 158 230.00–245.00 $238.48 $1,843 -5.51
855–870 863 179 225.00–236.00 $231.67 $1,999 +4.49
928 928 10 216.00 $216.00 $2,004 -2.91
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1018 1005 111 205.00–207.50 $205.25 $2,063 -14.75
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
682 682 20 244.00 $244.00 $1,664 —
936 936 6 189.50 $189.50 $1,774 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1480 1247 75-80% 19 135.00–155.00 $146.17 $1,823 —
1130–1745 1450 75-80% 35 134.00–143.00 $138.99 $2,015 -0.82
1260–1845 1474 75-80% 35 142.00–157.50 $146.97 $2,166 +7.16
1455–1905 1710 75-80% 3 120.00–127.00 $123.10 $2,105 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–985 945 80-85% 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,228 —
1000–1325 1118 80-85% 17 123.00–146.00 $133.44 $1,492 —
1025–1510 1256 80-85% 38 124.00–134.50 $129.58 $1,628 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–995 873 85-90% 3 108.00–111.00 $109.86 $959 —
1035–1585 1214 85-90% 4 72.00–94.00 $86.38 $1,049 +14.11
1030–1730 1217 85-90% 15 106.50–123.00 $115.96 $1,411 +43.69

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1265 1148 8 126.00–169.50 $148.61 $1,706 —
1270–1535 1403 2 86.00–101.00 $94.21 $1,322 —
1210–2155 1581 22 134.00–169.00 $157.82 $2,495 —
1680–2550 1984 15 170.00–202.00 $183.57 $3,642 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1870 1544 17 173.00–181.00 $177.81 $2,745 —

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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.