Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 12, 2025

7,422 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $295.72/cwt -9.22 vs last sale · ≈ $2,419/hd at 818 lb · 519 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $294.17/cwt +2.22 vs last sale · ≈ $2,153/hd at 732 lb · 378 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $280.81/cwt +9.40 vs last sale · ≈ $2,595/hd at 924 lb · 362 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Head itemized in priced lots 7,422 — —

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
302 302 10 510.00 $510.00 $1,540 +22.88
365–385 384 80 468.00–498.00 $495.86 $1,904 +15.35
416–442 426 37 450.00–462.50 $457.51 $1,949 -17.40
452–498 464 215 395.00–462.50 $445.76 $2,068 +10.09
503–547 526 260 380.00–443.00 $417.95 $2,198 +36.95
553–592 583 172 370.50–418.00 $389.70 $2,272 -1.88
600–648 625 275 293.50–386.00 $363.73 $2,273 -4.66
653–698 679 253 321.00–362.00 $343.22 $2,330 -9.28
704–734 717 150 312.50–353.00 $328.65 $2,356 -1.92
755–792 776 150 300.00–330.00 $310.73 $2,411 -11.45
800–847 818 519 279.50–305.00 $295.72 $2,419 -9.22
853–897 869 289 280.50–295.00 $290.84 $2,527 -13.33
902–945 924 362 270.50–290.50 $280.81 $2,595 +9.40
954–996 967 196 260.00–272.25 $268.36 $2,595 +10.15
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1255 1180 171 220.00–255.50 $244.32 $2,883 —
1140–1280 1219 6 170.00–221.00 $208.11 $2,537 —
1190–1440 1298 13 210.00–220.00 $215.94 $2,803 —
1335–1512 1430 13 220.00–226.50 $224.71 $3,213 -1.03
1271–1675 1472 63 223.50–230.50 $227.58 $3,350 -2.00
1298–1685 1489 138 230.00–238.00 $234.01 $3,484 +4.43
1520–1720 1591 14 222.00–229.25 $224.55 $3,573 —
1716–1817 1767 6 234.50 $234.50 $4,144 —
1705–1867 1777 7 227.00–230.00 $229.46 $4,078 —
1786 1786 8 224.50 $224.50 $4,010 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1016–1028 1020 205 269.25–269.75 $269.60 $2,750 —
1090 1090 12 255.50 $255.50 $2,785 —
1275 1275 8 178.00 $178.00 $2,270 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 3 412.50 $412.50 $1,613 -18.01
431–438 433 10 375.00–425.00 $409.83 $1,775 -23.86
479–498 487 13 345.00–427.00 $391.52 $1,907 -16.09
508–525 519 14 330.00–408.00 $363.06 $1,884 -12.16
576 576 9 356.00 $356.00 $2,051 +18.38
618–633 624 41 327.50–359.00 $342.60 $2,138 +4.68
652–686 657 19 310.00–319.00 $317.52 $2,086 +2.44
701–725 719 21 305.00–322.00 $314.88 $2,264 +18.81
783 783 3 285.00 $285.00 $2,232 -1.78

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 4 440.00 $440.00 $1,430 -31.69
350–396 363 63 415.00–483.00 $456.90 $1,659 +5.13
400–448 424 185 370.00–430.00 $417.43 $1,770 -7.54
461–497 482 199 372.50–410.00 $401.55 $1,935 +13.86
505–544 527 139 332.00–386.00 $363.00 $1,913 -1.09
533 fancy 533 21 394.50 $394.50 $2,103 +22.34
550–598 574 249 320.00–390.00 $354.45 $2,035 +19.18
605–642 627 254 305.00–346.00 $328.15 $2,058 +7.29
644 fancy 644 14 347.00 $347.00 $2,235 —
650–694 666 163 290.00–340.00 $307.82 $2,050 -0.73
708–749 732 378 279.50–312.00 $294.17 $2,153 -2.03
750–787 769 361 271.25–299.75 $290.89 $2,237 +0.61
800–841 821 244 253.00–295.00 $275.57 $2,262 -7.56
850–897 865 308 266.00–279.75 $276.13 $2,389 +26.13
904 904 36 276.75 $276.75 $2,502 +1.75
906–924 910 232 232.50–276.00 $268.24 $2,441 -6.76
974 974 4 232.50 $232.50 $2,265 -23.50
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1205 1072 3 198.00–206.00 $203.00 $2,176 —
1085–1250 1154 9 190.00–226.00 $217.08 $2,505 —
1060–1425 1214 15 210.00–222.50 $218.76 $2,656 +5.96
1366 1366 6 224.75 $224.75 $3,070 -4.16
1215–1605 1380 90 230.00–237.00 $234.36 $3,234 +12.18
1145–1653 1409 83 212.00–231.50 $227.65 $3,208 —
1375–1502 1460 3 200.00–205.00 $201.57 $2,943 —
1522–1658 1576 13 217.50–224.50 $221.11 $3,485 -8.89
1747 1747 2 190.00 $190.00 $3,319 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
791–792 792 28 2,375.00–2,385.00 $2,379.64 —
811 811 71 2,430.00 $2,430.00 —
883 883 12 2,425.00 $2,425.00 —
908 908 31 2,535.00 $2,535.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409–445 426 13 350.00–376.00 $362.55 $1,544 -33.53
490–499 495 7 321.00–340.00 $331.94 $1,643 -34.09
515–548 529 22 302.50–342.00 $326.68 $1,728 -18.64
561–583 570 7 270.00–307.50 $286.43 $1,633 -26.93
639–642 641 28 271.00–293.00 $285.17 $1,828 -10.37
663–665 664 8 274.00–303.00 $292.10 $1,940 +8.32
881 881 5 252.00 $252.00 $2,220 +21.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008 1008 9 241.00 $241.00 $2,429 —
Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1022 1022 6 2,510.00 $2,510.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
852 852 3 207.50 $207.50 $1,768 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–995 975 75-80% 4 174.00–216.00 $192.10 $1,873 —
1140–1595 1324 75-80% 33 141.00–196.00 $162.11 $2,146 +4.31
1320–1965 1513 75-80% 38 144.00–159.00 $152.00 $2,300 —
1410–1635 1542 75-80% 5 130.00–135.00 $131.26 $2,024 —
1315–1965 1612 75-80% 36 156.00–176.00 $166.64 $2,686 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–930 855 80-85% 3 142.50–150.00 $145.22 $1,242 —
1020–1375 1163 80-85% 23 140.00–210.00 $161.27 $1,876 —
1030–1705 1327 80-85% 62 130.00–149.00 $140.74 $1,868 +16.42
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685–1040 899 85-90% 14 107.00–147.50 $127.44 $1,146 —
1005–1935 1263 85-90% 35 110.00–135.00 $126.21 $1,594 +2.70
800–1650 1296 85-90% 5 85.00–110.00 $101.95 $1,321 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1290 1237 8 118.00–222.00 $181.21 $2,242 —
1590–2090 1846 4 195.00–211.00 $201.81 $3,725 —
1345–2640 1867 21 144.00–193.00 $175.82 $3,283 —

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Beef/Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1475–1725 1561 7 220.00–226.75 $225.20 $3,515 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1640 1419 5 139.00–167.00 $150.94 $2,142 -16.78
1235–1670 1507 9 170.00–192.00 $181.85 $2,740 —
1495–1745 1648 13 194.50–210.00 $200.98 $3,312 +8.51
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
958 958 4 170.00 $170.00 $1,629 —

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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.