Cattle Market Pulse

Iowa Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 11, 2026

6,231 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 $385.10/cwt +4.19 vs last sale · ≈ $3,146/hd at 817 lb · 731 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $350.32/cwt +1.93 vs last sale · ≈ $2,729/hd at 779 lb · 342 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $357.42/cwt -17.20 vs last sale · ≈ $3,145/hd at 880 lb · 305 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 6,231 6,154 9,591
Feeder cattle 5,312 5,227 8,446
Slaughter cattle 919 927 1,145

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week steer calves and yearlings sold unevenly steady except a large lot of thin fleshed 7 weight steers sold 20.00 higher. Most heifer sales sold steady to 8.00 lower. Slaughter steers sold 5.00 higher and slaughter heifers sold 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold 2.00 to 9.00 higher with the most advance on lean cows. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 higher. Demand was moderate to good.

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
378–397 384 12 612.50–650.00 $637.09 $2,446 +22.51
413–437 423 20 580.00–600.00 $593.59 $2,511 +3.73
452–499 475 134 506.00–593.00 $559.57 $2,658 +11.60
501–548 527 106 462.50–539.00 $516.25 $2,721 -5.52
551–597 573 128 452.50–502.50 $482.02 $2,762 -16.05
570–588 unweaned 578 11 418.00–430.00 $425.39 $2,459 -48.70
600–646 615 246 415.00–470.00 $455.98 $2,804 -2.77
653 653 3 420.00 $420.00 $2,743 -11.54
650–693 677 163 377.50–444.00 $419.65 $2,841 -11.89
697 unweaned 697 7 400.00 $400.00 $2,788 +2.02
705–742 720 293 381.00–440.75 $434.41 $3,128 +20.11
753 unweaned 753 6 380.00 $380.00 $2,861 —
755–799 779 84 362.00–385.00 $376.43 $2,932 -17.09
801–834 817 731 361.00–399.25 $385.10 $3,146 +4.08
855–896 880 305 345.00–364.25 $357.42 $3,145 -17.20
909 909 16 350.00 $350.00 $3,182 -11.00
951–988 983 87 325.00–336.25 $333.15 $3,275 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1099–1220 1183 7 235.00–259.00 $250.57 $2,964 +8.99
1256 1256 3 251.00 $251.00 $3,153 —
1257 1257 2 253.00 $253.00 $3,180 —
1275–1505 1397 39 252.00–259.00 $254.23 $3,552 —
1190–1650 1405 56 246.00–258.00 $255.72 $3,593 —
1327–1530 1440 5 241.00–249.00 $245.60 $3,537 -10.85
1224–1690 1499 220 259.00–266.00 $262.43 $3,934 +5.08
1582 1582 4 254.75 $254.75 $4,030 +3.03
1644 1644 6 250.00 $250.00 $4,110 —
1650 1650 7 255.00 $255.00 $4,208 -3.56
1720–1810 1779 5 252.00–260.00 $256.97 $4,571 +5.89
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
471–492 484 15 494.00–515.00 $506.33 $2,451 +4.65
523–545 538 17 425.00–487.50 $460.30 $2,476 -35.31
573–575 575 12 436.00–460.00 $441.98 $2,541 -12.88
601–646 620 33 397.50–437.50 $425.04 $2,635 -10.06
650–692 666 17 410.00–413.00 $411.10 $2,738 +23.66
700–738 726 26 396.00–415.00 $406.25 $2,949 +36.25
751–758 754 15 336.00–351.00 $342.03 $2,579 —
834 834 9 359.00 $359.00 $2,994 +6.46
878 878 4 325.00 $325.00 $2,854 -17.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012–1038 1030 22 324.00–331.00 $326.19 $3,360 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
293 unweaned 293 3 660.00 $660.00 $1,934 —
364 unweaned 364 20 600.00 $600.00 $2,184 +67.50
360–398 383 24 535.00–590.00 $560.32 $2,146 +1.47
405–448 428 42 490.00–570.00 $524.24 $2,244 +5.05
450–491 472 128 472.50–507.00 $484.72 $2,288 -18.41
502–547 530 128 431.50–490.00 $450.64 $2,388 -10.90
554–591 564 137 392.50–482.50 $438.75 $2,475 +0.64
602–638 621 115 379.00–416.00 $400.90 $2,490 -4.56
635 unweaned 635 10 387.50 $387.50 $2,461 -9.31
655–694 675 304 356.50–394.00 $383.86 $2,591 +4.15
704–736 721 118 341.00–380.00 $367.26 $2,648 -5.79
750–798 779 342 322.50–363.75 $350.32 $2,729 -0.92
800–847 817 112 326.00–341.25 $336.24 $2,747 +5.49
850–880 876 95 316.00–324.00 $323.65 $2,835 -4.86
909 909 14 340.00 $340.00 $3,091 +52.44
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1160 1110 7 240.00–250.00 $247.56 $2,748 —
1100–1195 1148 2 243.00–252.00 $247.31 $2,839 —
1165–1535 1343 45 241.00–258.50 $255.81 $3,436 —
1225–1590 1375 127 252.00–266.50 $260.51 $3,582 +11.09
1395–1610 1503 2 230.00–243.00 $236.03 $3,548 —
1665 1665 1 255.00 $255.00 $4,246 -0.50
1710 1710 1 230.00 $230.00 $3,933 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 4 450.00 $450.00 $1,755 -22.76
476–495 484 22 451.00–462.50 $457.96 $2,217 -1.88
500–538 530 27 417.50–460.00 $433.00 $2,295 +5.95
585–599 594 39 375.00–433.00 $400.13 $2,377 —
608–641 617 34 360.00–376.00 $369.42 $2,279 +2.84
653–697 675 16 341.00–356.00 $350.26 $2,364 —
733 733 4 327.50 $327.50 $2,401 -21.84
905 905 11 319.00 $319.00 $2,887 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
358 358 3 1,875.00 $1,875.00 —
573 573 3 1,900.00 $1,900.00 —
624–646 631 9 1,800.00–2,200.00 $1,936.43 —
850–872 861 52 3,000.00–3,225.00 $3,070.81 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
498 498 4 452.50 $452.50 $2,253 —
619–643 627 12 360.00–382.50 $367.69 $2,305 —
668 668 4 377.50 $377.50 $2,522 —
858 858 3 282.00 $282.00 $2,420 —
911 911 14 333.00 $333.00 $3,034 —
983 983 6 300.00 $300.00 $2,949 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1630 1371 75-80% 50 171.00–225.00 $191.94 $2,631 +9.81
1265–2040 1529 75-80% 43 170.00–203.00 $178.84 $2,734 +2.11
1315–1980 1632 75-80% 28 186.00–217.00 $193.25 $3,154 +37.87
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
775–980 889 80-85% 7 195.00–295.00 $255.24 $2,269 —
1005–1375 1183 80-85% 51 167.00–280.00 $191.94 $2,271 +6.16
1010–1630 1320 80-85% 30 158.00–172.00 $165.23 $2,181 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–990 967 85-90% 3 124.00–153.50 $140.80 $1,362 —
1020–1515 1212 85-90% 18 119.00–162.00 $149.04 $1,806 —
1315–1440 1378 85-90% 2 113.00–120.00 $116.66 $1,608 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1290 1240 3 235.00–260.00 $244.43 $3,031 —
1435–2100 1718 3 150.00–169.00 $160.86 $2,764 —
1280–2485 1719 29 168.00–231.00 $212.74 $3,657 —
1415–2160 1794 25 230.00–275.00 $242.55 $4,351 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435–1675 1596 11 254.75–259.00 $256.67 $4,096 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1425–1630 1521 7 220.00–237.00 $231.11 $3,515 —
1487–1890 1645 10 239.00–249.00 $243.90 $4,012 —

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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.