Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 16, 2024

9,693 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 steers $295.61/cwt +5.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,981/hd at 670 lb · 774 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $297.88/cwt +6.07 vs last sale · ≈ $1,692/hd at 568 lb · 647 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $268.36/cwt +0.89 vs last sale · ≈ $2,073/hd at 772 lb · 557 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 9,693 16,521 4,840
Feeder cattle 7,855 14,852 2,669
Slaughter cattle 1,838 1,669 2,171

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, steers less than 500 lbs sold 10.00 lower, 500 to 700 lbs sold steady to 3.00 lower and over 700 lbs sold 2.00 to 6.00 higher. Heifers less than 500 lbs followed their same weight brothers selling lower on the week, 500 to 800 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher and over 800 lbs steady. Slaughter steers and heifers sold 3.00 higher and slaughter cows and bulls sold steady. Demand was good throughout the week. Some of the weaned calves starting to show a little extra flesh condition due to the warm winter weather.

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
311 311 3 420.00 $420.00 $1,306 -32.72
350–388 369 31 395.00–431.00 $411.57 $1,519 -13.24
405–448 423 89 361.00–393.00 $376.03 $1,591 -3.62
452–489 470 75 340.00–385.00 $354.68 $1,667 -19.00
500–549 531 347 315.00–360.00 $340.37 $1,807 -1.79
550–595 573 333 304.00–342.50 $323.53 $1,854 -5.37
601–649 626 451 285.00–320.50 $301.47 $1,887 -6.20
650–699 670 774 272.50–309.00 $295.61 $1,981 +5.32
701–749 723 478 261.00–290.00 $281.49 $2,035 +5.06
753 753 64 268.50 $268.50 $2,022 -14.50
750–799 775 493 250.00–283.75 $268.34 $2,080 +0.80
800–838 814 241 249.00–273.00 $266.27 $2,167 +7.10
855–896 882 67 239.00–266.00 $246.22 $2,172 -14.52
904–912 910 83 250.50–253.00 $251.25 $2,286 +3.89
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1281 1201 4 189.00–193.00 $189.80 $2,279 —
990–1353 1232 43 162.00–199.00 $184.64 $2,275 —
1140–1391 1338 10 189.00–192.00 $191.44 $2,561 —
1356 1356 3 199.50 $199.50 $2,705 +7.10
1300–1418 1370 6 193.00–197.00 $193.89 $2,656 +1.49
1171–1685 1380 82 180.00–192.00 $187.82 $2,592 -4.58
1455 1455 3 198.50 $198.50 $2,888 —
1210–1694 1512 433 192.00–204.00 $197.91 $2,992 —
1539 1539 5 197.50 $197.50 $3,040 —
1579 1579 10 200.25 $200.25 $3,162 +9.83
1512–1765 1596 3 190.00–195.50 $193.47 $3,088 +3.05
1605–1625 1612 3 189.50–194.00 $191.01 $3,079 —
1705–1885 1743 31 185.00–203.00 $199.21 $3,472 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 4 340.00 $340.00 $1,309 -33.93
417–436 429 17 335.00–352.00 $346.52 $1,487 +12.63
450–497 486 44 310.00–340.00 $324.69 $1,578 -1.56
510–548 529 71 310.00–331.00 $316.29 $1,673 +1.72
555–598 586 39 285.00–305.00 $291.61 $1,709 -1.20
600–647 628 26 271.50–287.00 $276.91 $1,739 +0.84
651–699 678 87 251.00–280.00 $272.51 $1,848 +17.09
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015 1015 7 248.00 $248.00 $2,517 +29.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
343–345 344 13 325.00–341.00 $332.41 $1,143 -72.59
361 361 3 345.00 $345.00 $1,245 -41.09
402–441 417 73 324.00–350.00 $335.82 $1,400 -23.19
450–499 473 122 310.00–340.00 $322.95 $1,528 -12.27
476 fancy 476 37 326.00 $326.00 $1,552 —
501–545 522 291 297.00–330.00 $307.66 $1,606 -1.73
550–598 568 647 276.00–315.50 $297.88 $1,692 +4.47
604–649 623 416 262.00–301.00 $279.83 $1,743 +9.59
627 fancy 627 71 292.25 $292.25 $1,832 —
637 637 34 310.00 $310.00 $1,975 +35.00
656–699 682 296 242.00–270.50 $263.14 $1,795 +4.30
652–698 690 98 269.00–271.00 $270.19 $1,864 +11.35
709 709 15 268.00 $268.00 $1,900 +13.62
701–745 711 283 241.00–270.00 $258.86 $1,840 +4.48
754–798 771 72 230.00–250.00 $242.08 $1,866 -4.95
802–845 817 31 225.00–250.50 $237.32 $1,939 +4.80
857–888 875 12 212.50–226.00 $217.11 $1,900 -19.27
923 923 8 232.00 $232.00 $2,141 +9.30
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1145 1084 40 164.00–196.00 $186.91 $2,026 +12.97
987–1210 1085 33 184.00–211.50 $195.74 $2,124 +21.80
1135–1291 1213 16 187.00–190.50 $188.64 $2,288 —
1260 1260 3 197.50 $197.50 $2,488 —
1090–1560 1274 64 180.00–192.00 $188.32 $2,399 —
1261–1506 1318 13 193.00–197.00 $194.06 $2,558 +12.31
1215–1645 1394 390 191.50–202.50 $197.68 $2,756 +3.58
1240–1525 1407 10 184.00–189.50 $187.18 $2,634 -5.52
1511–1672 1583 6 178.00–180.50 $179.83 $2,847 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353–385 371 10 327.50–335.00 $330.42 $1,226 -5.96
444 444 11 316.00 $316.00 $1,403 +16.18
460–483 477 28 285.00–306.00 $298.15 $1,422 +3.02
503–549 528 50 277.00–296.50 $288.36 $1,523 +23.54
577–591 586 8 270.00–271.00 $270.63 $1,586 +4.55
612–631 620 41 251.00–272.50 $269.08 $1,668 +23.73
794 794 11 226.00 $226.00 $1,794 ±0.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
275 275 10 950.00 $950.00 -300.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 6 220.00 $220.00 $2,200 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1525 1320 75-80% 26 116.00–192.00 $133.73 $1,765 —
1215–1860 1506 75-80% 85 119.00–129.50 $123.29 $1,857 -0.67
1390–1860 1622 75-80% 12 130.00–140.00 $133.13 $2,159 -2.50
1515–2025 1709 75-80% 22 100.00–115.00 $110.00 $1,880 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–960 898 80-85% 4 120.00–147.50 $134.89 $1,211 —
1005–1335 1136 80-85% 29 114.00–192.00 $132.03 $1,500 —
1010–1835 1412 80-85% 84 108.00–117.50 $112.72 $1,592 +8.67
1125–1850 1417 80-85% 24 91.00–111.00 $103.21 $1,462 -0.84
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
690–1585 1138 85-90% 40 50.00–94.00 $82.55 $939 -1.96
1020–1580 1272 85-90% 41 94.00–107.00 $101.51 $1,291 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855–1255 1113 3 150.00–157.50 $153.76 $1,711 —
1180–1855 1618 10 105.00–116.00 $110.14 $1,782 —
1305–2435 1803 40 120.00–159.50 $142.16 $2,563 —
1340–2290 1875 4 161.00–169.00 $165.08 $3,095 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1440 1343 3 139.00–149.00 $144.39 $1,939 —
1330–1725 1463 12 154.00–164.00 $159.14 $2,328 -1.16
1400–1723 1592 28 165.00–175.75 $171.17 $2,725 +0.37

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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.