Cattle Market Pulse

Laurens Livestock Exchange Market Report

Laurens, South Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 20, 2023

300 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Laurens Livestock Exchange report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 300 280 519
Feeder cattle 103 132 295
Slaughter cattle 106 83 88
Replacement cattle 8 17 40

Market comments — USDA reporter

No comparisons made this week on all classes of feeder cattle due to limited comparable sales. Slaughter cows were 2.00 lower, slaughter bulls were 4.00 higher. There was an light offering of average to plain quality cattle with active buyer participation.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 192.50 $192.50 $818 —
645 645 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,226 —
670 670 1 190.00 $190.00 $1,273 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,056 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,190 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–290 273 4 210.00–220.00 $216.28 $590 —
310 310 1 220.00 $220.00 $682 -5.00
360 360 1 210.00 $210.00 $756 —
405 405 1 215.00 $215.00 $871 —
510 510 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,046 -2.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 200.00 $200.00 $400 —
265 265 1 195.00 $195.00 $517 -5.00
395 395 1 200.00 $200.00 $790 -4.84
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 190.00 $190.00 $380 —
575 575 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,035 +0.13

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–295 280 3 210.00–230.00 $223.69 $626 —
320–325 322 3 220.00–240.00 $228.32 $735 -1.68
355–375 365 2 215.00–220.00 $217.43 $794 -5.07
410 410 2 210.00–215.00 $212.50 $871 +2.50
455–475 465 4 200.00–205.00 $201.25 $936 -8.75
500–535 513 6 200.00–210.00 $207.94 $1,067 +17.94
593 593 7 200.00 $200.00 $1,186 +10.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380–395 388 2 180.00–185.00 $182.55 $708 -18.30
425 425 1 175.00 $175.00 $744 -23.16
495 495 1 170.00 $170.00 $842 -15.00
615 615 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,015 -15.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 250.00 $250.00 $800 —
500–530 512 3 215.00–225.00 $219.90 $1,126 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1080 1063 80-85% 4 79.00–86.00 $83.73 $890 —
1010–1570 1239 80-85% 50 94.00–114.00 $104.20 $1,291 -1.07
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505 1505 75-80% 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,294 —
1360–1655 1509 75-80% 18 95.00–110.00 $102.07 $1,540 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–940 861 85-90% 4 78.00–86.00 $82.31 $709 -0.56
780–985 884 85-90% 7 89.00–95.00 $91.83 $812 -3.86

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1200 1131 4 95.00–113.00 $104.43 $1,181 —
1640–2060 1797 3 120.00–128.00 $124.00 $2,228 —

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Stock Cows

Small 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
830 830 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 910.00 $910.00

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Bred Cows

Small 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
765 765 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 785.00 $785.00
670–950 788 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 700.00–885.00 $788.48
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00
1080 1080 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,275.00 $1,275.00

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Barrows & Gilts

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
115 115 1 105.00 $105.00 $121 -10.00
255–270 263 2 90.00–92.50 $91.21 $240 +0.87
280 280 1 82.50 $82.50 $231 -7.84
325–330 328 2 92.00–92.50 $92.25 $303 —
310–365 338 2 70.00–85.00 $78.11 $264 —
520 520 1 60.00 $60.00 $312 -20.00
535 535 1 52.50 $52.50 $281 -27.50

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
50 50 1 55.00 $55.00 -7.50
70 70 2 160.00–165.00 $162.50 +100.00
80 80 1 115.00 $115.00 +52.50
80 80 3 80.00–85.00 $81.67 +19.17
125 125 1 225.00 $225.00 +90.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
990 990 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
20 20 1 40.00 $40.00 +15.00
30 30 9 30.00–40.00 $33.33 +8.33
30 30 2 65.00 $65.00 +40.00
40 40 6 55.00–65.00 $60.83 -29.17
40 40 4 70.00–85.00 $76.25 -13.75
50 50 6 95.00–110.00 $100.00 -30.00

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
50 50 4 125.00–130.00 $126.25 +21.25
50 50 3 50.00 $50.00 -55.00
80 80 5 80.00–90.00 $82.00 -15.50
80 80 2 140.00–145.00 $142.50 +45.00
120–135 128 2 155.00–170.00 $162.50 —

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Pigs

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100 100 8 155.00 $155.00 +45.00

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Sows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 72.50 $72.50 $236 —
450–495 473 2 20.00–25.00 $22.62 $107 -7.38
520 520 1 42.50 $42.50 $221 -0.40
530 530 1 64.00 $64.00 $339 +21.10

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Wether Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
50 50 1 135.00 $135.00 -15.00
60 60 2 150.00–160.00 $155.00 +5.00

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Wethers

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
80 80 2 130.00–137.50 $133.75 +33.75
125 125 2 230.00 $230.00 +115.00

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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.