Cattle Market Pulse

Meridian Stockyard Market Report

Meridian, Mississippi · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 1, 2024

252 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Meridian Stockyard report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 252 367 283
Feeder cattle 199 340 198
Slaughter cattle 30 14 37
Replacement cattle 23 13 48

Market comments — USDA reporter

Good day, as compared to the last market due to a lot of new crop calves and quality not equal, would call feeder calves steady. When I say new crop calves I mean soft not weaned and more likely to get sick rather than conditioned weaned calves is why they bring less. Slaughter cows and bulls were steady.

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
265 265 1 358.00 $358.00 $949 -17.00
310 310 1 363.00 $363.00 $1,125 -12.00
350–365 358 2 350.00–356.00 $353.06 $1,264 -14.94
410–425 418 2 341.00–348.00 $344.44 $1,440 +9.03
505–520 516 4 310.00–315.00 $311.22 $1,606 +11.20
560 560 1 306.00 $306.00 $1,714 +10.33
615 615 1 286.00 $286.00 $1,759 +30.39
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 340.00 $340.00 $1,037 -15.00
355–385 369 5 338.00–348.00 $342.88 $1,265 -15.80
420–425 423 2 328.00–350.00 $339.07 $1,434 +32.07
635 635 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,651 +18.00
722 722 2 236.00 $236.00 $1,704 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425–430 428 2 300.00–320.00 $310.06 $1,327 —
485–495 488 3 290.00–309.00 $297.30 $1,451 —
560 560 2 250.00 $250.00 $1,400 -20.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–272 269 6 300.00–310.00 $308.42 $830 -16.58
302–330 311 4 305.00–311.00 $307.91 $958 -4.88
355 355 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,100 —
405–425 415 2 284.00–300.00 $291.81 $1,211 +1.81
465 465 1 285.00 $285.00 $1,325 -1.08
505–540 525 7 260.00–265.00 $261.24 $1,372 +7.32
566–590 570 6 255.00–258.00 $255.52 $1,456 —
605–625 615 2 240.00–260.00 $249.84 $1,537 +6.11
655 655 1 243.00 $243.00 $1,592 +4.00
808 808 3 200.00 $200.00 $1,616 +5.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,000 —
365 365 1 288.00 $288.00 $1,051 -5.00
435 435 1 270.00 $270.00 $1,174 +1.50
455–482 478 6 273.00–276.00 $273.48 $1,307 +1.12
580–590 587 3 245.00–247.00 $246.01 $1,444 —
631 631 7 238.00 $238.00 $1,502 +2.26
675–690 681 7 225.00–239.00 $237.02 $1,614 +6.02
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–435 425 2 250.00–252.00 $251.02 $1,067 —
470–485 481 5 255.00–258.00 $257.01 $1,236 —
620 620 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,302 —
750 750 1 205.00 $205.00 $1,538 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–430 420 2 320.00–340.00 $329.76 $1,385 +27.25
520–530 526 4 298.00–313.00 $303.26 $1,595 +20.82
550–560 555 2 295.00–297.00 $295.99 $1,643 —
615 615 1 283.00 $283.00 $1,740 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 303.00 $303.00 $1,348 —
475–480 478 2 296.00–306.00 $300.97 $1,439 —
515–540 528 3 281.00–290.00 $284.26 $1,501 —
560 560 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,568 +25.13
640 640 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,632 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 288.00 $288.00 $1,253 —
555–585 570 2 273.00–275.00 $274.03 $1,562 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1225 1133 80-85% 4 125.00–133.00 $128.33 $1,454 —
1055–1320 1190 80-85% 3 142.00–147.00 $144.44 $1,719 +8.51
1140–1580 1292 80-85% 3 149.00–153.00 $150.93 $1,950 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925 925 85-90% 1 92.50 $92.50 $856 -8.50
1040–1135 1083 85-90% 3 111.00–119.50 $116.26 $1,259 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650–1725 1688 2 150.50–158.00 $154.17 $2,602 —
1700–1790 1740 3 159.00–160.00 $159.67 $2,778 —
YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000 1000 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,300 —
1100 1100 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,452 +5.48

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
870 870 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,340.00 $1,340.00
930 930 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,140.00 $1,140.00
1160 1160 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,390.00 $1,390.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00
1215 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1075 1075 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 1,390.00 $1,390.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060 1060 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,550.00 $1,550.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1005 1005 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,390.00 $1,390.00 —

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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.