Cattle Market Pulse

Low Country Livestock Exchange Market Report

Darlington, South Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 23, 2024

271 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 2 heifers $209.72/cwt ≈ $801/hd at 382 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 271 516 311
Feeder cattle 151 325 206
Slaughter cattle 39 114 45
Replacement cattle 14 2 18

Market comments — USDA reporter

No comparisons made this week on all classes of feeder cattle due to limited comparable sales. Slaughter cows and slauhter bulls were 3.00 higher. There was an average offering of average to plain quality cattle with active buyer participation.

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
478–498 491 6 260.00–270.00 $263.24 $1,293 —
665 665 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,496 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
583 583 2 232.00 $232.00 $1,353 -8.00
620 620 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,240 -18.60
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 565 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,017 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–245 233 2 200.00–202.50 $201.32 $469 -8.68
285 285 1 210.00 $210.00 $598 +12.50
315–340 332 3 215.00 $215.00 $714 +10.04
355–395 382 12 200.00–213.00 $209.72 $801 —
428–440 432 3 200.00–210.00 $206.60 $893 +5.15
463–485 473 9 195.00–199.00 $197.67 $935 +5.97
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 190.00 $190.00 $694 +2.48
415 415 1 180.00 $180.00 $747 -0.90
510 510 1 180.00 $180.00 $918 +1.92
550–565 558 2 172.50–175.00 $173.77 $970 +1.31
630 630 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,102 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 fancy 335 2 310.00–315.00 $312.50 $1,047 +20.07
350–395 fancy 358 7 305.00–317.50 $308.21 $1,103 —
390 390 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,170 +22.48
400–435 fancy 420 3 295.00–310.00 $300.61 $1,263 —
435 435 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,262 +17.46
460 460 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,242 +14.59
500–520 514 9 245.00–257.50 $255.81 $1,315 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 257.50 $257.50 $579 -2.50
260–285 273 3 240.00–255.00 $247.27 $675 -0.58
305 305 1 260.00 $260.00 $793 —
370 370 1 257.50 $257.50 $953 +2.17
445 445 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,157 +5.04
475–495 489 7 190.00–259.00 $237.19 $1,160 -11.07
510–515 513 2 200.00–210.00 $205.02 $1,052 -17.49
555 555 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,263 +9.98
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 200.00 $200.00 $490 —
315–345 330 2 200.00 $200.00 $660 -8.26
530 530 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,020 +0.83
560 560 1 182.50 $182.50 $1,022 -0.79
610 610 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,037 -10.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1065 1063 80-85% 2 89.00–93.00 $91.00 $967 —
995–1505 1226 80-85% 16 102.00–117.00 $107.74 $1,321 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705–910 856 85-90% 4 80.00–89.00 $86.09 $737 +4.06
890–955 923 85-90% 3 94.00–103.00 $97.77 $902 -0.93
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1455–1615 1534 75-80% 5 96.00–114.00 $109.29 $1,677 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1800 1530 2 109.00–111.00 $109.82 $1,680 —
1520–2035 1804 5 125.00–136.00 $129.83 $2,342 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
787–1020 820 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 139.00–144.00 $139.89 $1,147
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
710 710 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 135.00 $135.00 $958
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
845 845 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 100.00 $100.00 $845

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
980–1380 1180 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,000.00–1,300.00 $1,175.42

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Barrows & Gilts

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
125–188 150 5 82.50–92.50 $87.51 $131 —
107–188 151 7 52.50–72.50 $61.74 $93 —
210 210 2 82.50 $82.50 $173 —
330–370 350 2 70.00–72.50 $71.32 $250 —

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
70 70 1 70.00 $70.00 -80.71
80 80 2 110.00–112.50 $111.25 -63.75
80 80 2 82.50–100.00 $91.25 -83.75
110 110 1 130.00 $130.00 -85.00
110 110 3 130.00 $130.00 -85.00
110–140 125 4 170.00–200.00 $185.00 -30.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
905 905 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
30 30 2 110.00 $110.00 +39.29
40 40 1 140.00 $140.00 +39.00
50 50 2 120.00–130.00 $125.00 ±0.00
50 50 2 150.00–160.00 $155.00 +30.00
50 50 2 80.00 $80.00 -45.00

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
40 40 1 30.00 $30.00 —
50 50 1 120.00 $120.00 -20.00
50 50 1 90.00 $90.00 -50.00
50 50 1 137.50 $137.50 -2.50
120 120 1 140.00 $140.00 +2.50

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Pigs

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
22–25 24 11 32.50–55.00 $42.02 -5.48
55 55 1 52.50 $52.50 -5.00
70–75 71 4 67.50–82.50 $78.55 +21.05
82 82 4 72.50 $72.50 +15.00
92 92 2 72.50 $72.50 +15.00

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Sows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–415 410 2 50.00 $50.00 $205 —

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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.