Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 27, 2025

15,065 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $302.09/cwt +7.32 vs last sale · ≈ $2,170/hd at 718 lb · 1,256 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $288.55/cwt +3.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,797/hd at 623 lb · 989 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $314.54/cwt +4.79 vs last sale · ≈ $2,111/hd at 671 lb · 893 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	15,065	21,294	20,444
Feeder cattle	13,346	20,545	18,728
Slaughter cattle	1,719	749	1,716

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week offerings, steers weighing less than 500lbs sold 3.00 to 4.00 higher, 500 to 700lbs steers sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher, steers weighting over 700lbs sold 7.00 to 8.00 higher. Heifers weighing less than 500lbs sold 6.00 to 7.00 higher, while heifers weighing 500 to 700lbs sold mostly steady. Heifers weighing more than 700lbs sold sharply higher from 12.00 to 13.00 higher. Slaughter cattle sold 12.00 to 13.00 lower on a light test. Slaughter Cows and Bulls are 3.00 to 4.00 lower on a light test. Demand was good for all classes of feeder calves. These record high prices are being driven by record cash cattle prices.

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
352–397	375	21	408.00–425.00	$415.72	$1,559	+11.01
400–443	420	67	367.50–415.00	$387.59	$1,628	-6.11
450–499	468	137	360.00–392.00	$378.01	$1,769	+5.85
505 fancy	505	12	382.50	$382.50	$1,932	—
500–549	530	322	344.00–381.00	$365.26	$1,936	+8.49
548 unweaned	548	12	332.00	$332.00	$1,819	+14.56
550–599	582	745	321.00–360.50	$345.39	$2,010	+1.79
612–628 unweaned	619	12	282.50–297.00	$290.87	$1,800	-10.93
626 fancy	626	33	341.75	$341.75	$2,139	+12.75
601–648	627	507	307.50–341.50	$327.60	$2,054	+4.05
650–695	671	893	293.00–328.00	$314.54	$2,111	+4.09
706 fancy	706	80	312.00	$312.00	$2,203	+12.50
700–749	719	1,176	284.00–318.00	$301.42	$2,167	+6.76
750–798	774	669	270.00–299.00	$286.87	$2,220	+6.24
802–842	822	617	268.00–297.50	$284.37	$2,338	+11.96
853–892	863	410	255.50–282.75	$276.30	$2,384	+9.97
901–942	913	160	257.50–272.25	$268.06	$2,447	+4.76
959–997	964	136	223.00–269.00	$264.93	$2,554	+10.91
1200	1200	18	203.50	$203.50	$2,442	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
995–1270	1151	20	197.00–224.00	$210.86	$2,427	—
965–1370	1214	44	167.00–210.00	$196.80	$2,389	-6.87
1293–1490	1351	14	203.50–208.00	$205.42	$2,775	—
1180–1690	1413	151	195.00–209.50	$204.49	$2,889	—
1342–1493	1427	16	211.00–213.50	$212.47	$3,032	—
1475	1475	6	209.50	$209.50	$3,090	—
1263–1695	1512	424	210.00–222.50	$214.43	$3,242	—
1527	1527	7	213.00	$213.00	$3,253	—
1510–1555	1535	4	205.00–209.00	$206.13	$3,164	—
1610–1660	1635	2	205.50–210.00	$207.78	$3,397	—
1632–1745	1651	7	196.00–202.00	$201.09	$3,320	—
1700–1790	1744	35	200.00–218.00	$212.77	$3,711	+8.28

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
425–448	440	19	300.00–375.00	$334.96	$1,474	-37.54
458–492	484	34	300.00–342.50	$324.48	$1,570	-3.07
510–544	525	66	311.00–345.00	$329.99	$1,732	-2.10
556–583	575	52	282.50–332.50	$316.61	$1,821	+4.71
621–649	634	34	275.00–310.00	$302.32	$1,917	-3.78
652–691	678	48	270.00–302.00	$290.61	$1,970	+15.10
724–744	736	24	260.00–288.00	$275.51	$2,028	+6.54
752	752	4	270.00	$270.00	$2,030	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
553	553	13	348.00	$348.00	$1,924	—
693	693	4	272.00	$272.00	$1,885	—
712	712	21	297.50	$297.50	$2,118	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
322	322	4	420.00	$420.00	$1,352	+46.62
350–389	373	28	380.00–400.00	$393.08	$1,466	+17.22
404–449	432	76	330.00–383.00	$355.80	$1,537	-2.84
435 unweaned	435	4	310.00	$310.00	$1,348	-41.00
455–492	473	198	247.00–358.00	$335.05	$1,585	+5.41
509 fancy	509	19	332.00	$332.00	$1,690	—
503–549	520	331	294.00–336.00	$318.41	$1,656	+2.32
540	540	5	291.00	$291.00	$1,571	-25.09
555 fancy	555	17	323.00	$323.00	$1,793	+14.26
550–598	570	540	271.00–321.00	$302.53	$1,724	-3.40
603 fancy	603	90	301.00	$301.00	$1,815	+12.45
612	612	8	262.00	$262.00	$1,603	-22.53
605–648	625	891	264.00–304.00	$287.53	$1,797	+3.00
650 fancy	650	61	285.00	$285.00	$1,852	—
650–698	671	762	260.00–295.00	$278.62	$1,870	+3.78
683–687	685	40	286.00	$286.00	$1,959	+11.16
718	718	33	292.00	$292.00	$2,097	+13.00
722 fancy	722	64	273.50	$273.50	$1,975	+14.74
701–745	727	421	246.00–291.00	$272.98	$1,985	+12.32
752	752	24	273.50	$273.50	$2,057	+18.12
750–793	769	580	225.00–277.50	$265.68	$2,043	+10.30
788 fancy	788	75	259.75	$259.75	$2,047	—
800–848	807	224	238.00–276.00	$261.53	$2,111	-3.97
855 fancy	855	60	260.00	$260.00	$2,223	—
850–875	862	207	245.00–267.50	$262.76	$2,265	+19.72

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
995–1275	1093	13	150.00–206.00	$194.18	$2,122	—
1103	1103	4	205.50	$205.50	$2,267	—
985–1259	1194	45	196.50–213.00	$205.75	$2,457	+2.63
1110–1645	1286	115	195.00–209.50	$205.73	$2,646	—
1250–1495	1364	11	199.00–202.00	$200.35	$2,733	-10.21
1235–1424	1376	45	208.50–213.50	$211.86	$2,915	+1.30
1150–1695	1391	256	204.00–221.00	$213.80	$2,974	+3.24
1318–1437	1399	16	208.50–214.00	$212.04	$2,966	+1.48
1580–1690	1635	2	201.00	$201.00	$3,286	—
1700	1700	2	201.50	$201.50	$3,426	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
381	381	5	340.00	$340.00	$1,295	-8.46
406–443	431	33	282.50–334.00	$318.56	$1,373	-15.44
458–497	488	56	285.00–320.00	$307.67	$1,501	-7.62
511–548	535	83	268.00–295.00	$285.58	$1,528	-9.94
552–598	577	71	250.00–287.00	$274.32	$1,583	+4.89
610–641	631	24	240.00–269.00	$257.35	$1,624	-8.29
675–695	682	92	245.00–269.00	$262.03	$1,787	+4.72
706–748	722	91	250.00–261.00	$255.35	$1,844	+18.48
787	787	4	235.00	$235.00	$1,849	—
805–825	814	7	240.00–245.00	$242.17	$1,971	+7.17
903	903	3	231.50	$231.50	$2,090	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
510	510	8	313.00	$313.00	$1,596	+8.00
597	597	15	275.00	$275.00	$1,642	—
653	653	14	274.00	$274.00	$1,789	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
349 unweaned	349	5	407.50	$407.50	$1,422	—
463 unweaned	463	18	352.00	$352.00	$1,630	—
482	482	6	315.00	$315.00	$1,518	-15.57
537	537	4	327.50	$327.50	$1,759	—
620	620	6	280.00	$280.00	$1,736	-35.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1030–1390	1192	80-85%	41	117.00–203.00	$145.17	$1,730	—
1055–1660	1335	80-85%	56	115.00–129.50	$123.16	$1,644	—
1060–1740	1343	80-85%	13	97.50–118.00	$107.10	$1,438	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1245–1690	1436	75-80%	31	132.00–184.00	$146.25	$2,100	+14.17
1315–1790	1511	75-80%	45	128.00–138.50	$133.38	$2,015	—
1290–1840	1564	75-80%	6	112.50–121.00	$117.82	$1,843	-29.26
1270–2095	1613	75-80%	28	135.00–154.00	$142.61	$2,300	+22.66

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
745–970	918	85-90%	8	100.50–125.00	$107.97	$991	—
700–1495	1092	85-90%	5	59.00–97.50	$81.48	$890	—
1015–1175	1105	85-90%	4	110.00–118.00	$114.37	$1,264	—
1015–1485	1159	85-90%	24	100.00–115.00	$109.57	$1,270	+28.40

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1055–1280	1193	3	169.00–185.00	$177.16	$2,114	—
1520–1735	1638	3	117.00–122.00	$119.10	$1,951	—
1270–2385	1778	28	130.00–164.50	$147.03	$2,614	-10.96
1600–2335	2009	18	164.00–192.00	$173.19	$3,479	-2.28

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Beef Dairy Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1310–1350	1337	3	205.00–208.00	$207.02	$2,768	—

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Beef Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1535–1610	1573	2	198.50–204.00	$201.18	$3,165	—

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1215–1235	1225	2	132.50–165.00	$148.88	$1,824	—
1330–1580	1442	7	162.50–172.00	$165.58	$2,388	—
1315–1965	1557	11	176.50–190.00	$181.75	$2,830	—

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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.