light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers$168.84/cwt+7.51 vs last sale · ≈ $710/hd at 421 lb · 287 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers$180.53/cwt-3.64 vs last sale · ≈ $858/hd at 475 lb · 268 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers$173.68/cwt+4.85 vs last sale · ≈ $660/hd at 380 lb · 242 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
4,986
5,081
1,965
Feeder cattle
2,290
3,218
1,316
Slaughter cattle
1,895
1,204
329
Replacement cattle
801
659
320
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Yearling steers were scarcely traded this week thus no trend is available. Steer calves under 450 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, steer calves over 450 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower. Yearling heifers were not well compared; higher undertones noticed. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher, heifers over 500 lbs were not well compared, prices were uneven. Demand for for calves was light to moderate this week and slightly better than last week. Heavy supplies of calves continue to be seen and many feeders in the corn-belt are still busy with harvest. This continues to hamper demand for un-weaned calves. Additionally, many feeders in the state have opted to sell their feed instead of backgrounding calves this year. This has put additional pressure on the market as offerings that would normally be backgrounded in state are having to sell to locations with more feed. Calves with 2 rounds of vaccinations, both fall and spring, sold with the best demand this week. Calf quality this week was average to attractive. Calves were offered in small to moderate size packages this week with no load lots on offer. Market activity this week was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for very heavy offerings. More cows were seen today than calves as ranchers continue to cull many older cows and opens. Heavy supplies allowed packers to buy cows lower. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on boning and lean cows, breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. A large portion of the cow offering was very thin this week as most cows just had calves weaned off them and drought conditions have taken a toll on body condition. The majority of lean cows would yield less than 44% this sale. Cows were noticeably thinner this week compared to last. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower. High quality cows suitable to feed to premium white sold fully steady. Buyers also purchased sound, thinner cows to feed for the upcoming holiday season. This was the first week this fall that buyers purchased feeding cows for this purpose. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to last week: Yearling steers were scarcely traded this week thus no trend is available. Steer calves under 450 lbs sold steady to 5.00 higher, steer calves over 450 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower. Yearling heifers were not well compared; higher undertones noticed. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold mostly 5.00-8.00 higher, heifers over 500 lbs were not well compared, prices were uneven. Demand for for calves was light to moderate this week and slightly better than last week. Heavy supplies of calves continue to be seen and many feeders in the corn-belt are still busy with harvest. This continues to hamper demand for un-weaned calves. Additionally, many feeders in the state have opted to sell their feed instead of backgrounding calves this year. This has put additional pressure on the market as offerings that would normally be backgrounded in state are having to sell to locations with more feed. Calves with 2 rounds of vaccinations, both fall and spring, sold with the best demand this week. Calf quality this week was average to attractive. Calves were offered in small to moderate size packages this week with no load lots on offer. Market activity this week was mostly slow to moderate. Weigh up cows sold on light to moderate demand for very heavy offerings. More cows were seen today than calves as ranchers continue to cull many older cows and opens. Heavy supplies allowed packers to buy cows lower. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 lower on boning and lean cows, breaking cows were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. A large portion of the cow offering was very thin this week as most cows just had calves weaned off them and drought conditions have taken a toll on body condition. The majority of lean cows would yield less than 44% this sale. Cows were noticeably thinner this week compared to last. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 lower. High quality cows suitable to feed to premium white sold fully steady. Buyers also purchased sound, thinner cows to feed for the upcoming holiday season. This was the first week this fall that buyers purchased feeding cows for this purpose. Slaughter bulls sold fully steady in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00-4.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive and similar to last week.