heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers$180.99/cwt+1.81 vs last sale · ≈ $858/hd at 474 lb · 435 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers$165.89/cwt-1.10 vs last sale · ≈ $888/hd at 535 lb · 338 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers$161.06/cwt+0.11 vs last sale · ≈ $764/hd at 474 lb · 317 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
6,079
5,727
3,525
Feeder cattle
4,147
3,172
2,265
Slaughter cattle
1,437
1,865
960
Replacement cattle
495
690
300
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Yearling steers were too lightly tested to develop an market trend. Yearling heifers were very lightly tested, lower undertones were noticed. Demand for yearlings was light to moderate on an average quality offering. Steer calves under 350 lbs were not well compared, lower undertones were noticed. Steer calves 350-449 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower, 450-599 lbs steers sold unevenly steady from 10.00 lower to 5.00 higher, steer calves over 600 lbs sold with higher undertones. Heifers under 450 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher, however instances of sharply higher prices were noted. Heifers 450-549 lbs sold unevenly steady from 3.00 higher to 4.00 lower. Heifers over 550 lbs sold with steady to weak undertones. Quality this week was mostly attractive to very attractive and noticeably higher in quality than last week. Vaccinations were vital to selling calves this week as Calves with two rounds of preconditioning shots sold with the best demand and offered 12.00-15.00 premiums in some instances. This led to very wide price spreads. Trucking is also still a major issue. Demand for feeders is moderate to good but buyers are limiting the volume of feeders they purchased due to lack of transportation. Buyers focused on buying front end calves, especially ones with two rounds of vaccinations and passed or discounted average quality calves or calves with only spring shots. Heavy discounts were seen on plain or average quality cattle. Several sets of very attractive heifer calves were seen this week. On many of these offerings consigners kept no replacements. Demand for grass cattle remains good to very good. Market activity this week was moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for heavy offerings. An additional packer buyer was present this week which helped create strong competition for cows. This coupled with very strong demand for thin feeding cows helped push all cow prices higher. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher on lean cows, boning and breaking cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. The majority of cows were purchased to feed this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher, with the best demand seen for high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Many sets of very thin cows were purchased to turn out on corn stalks or feed a holding ration until the market improves for the holidays. Additionally, several buyers purchased cows to preg test or cows that were ranch tested bred. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, as most sold as feeding bulls this week. Bull prices were higher this week but were purchased for a different purpose. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. Quality this week was mostly average and not as attractive as last week. More thin offerings were seen this 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 too lightly tested to develop an market trend. Yearling heifers were very lightly tested, lower undertones were noticed. Demand for yearlings was light to moderate on an average quality offering. Steer calves under 350 lbs were not well compared, lower undertones were noticed. Steer calves 350-449 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 lower, 450-599 lbs steers sold unevenly steady from 10.00 lower to 5.00 higher, steer calves over 600 lbs sold with higher undertones. Heifers under 450 lbs sold mostly steady to 5.00 higher, however instances of sharply higher prices were noted. Heifers 450-549 lbs sold unevenly steady from 3.00 higher to 4.00 lower. Heifers over 550 lbs sold with steady to weak undertones. Quality this week was mostly attractive to very attractive and noticeably higher in quality than last week. Vaccinations were vital to selling calves this week as Calves with two rounds of preconditioning shots sold with the best demand and offered 12.00-15.00 premiums in some instances. This led to very wide price spreads. Trucking is also still a major issue. Demand for feeders is moderate to good but buyers are limiting the volume of feeders they purchased due to lack of transportation. Buyers focused on buying front end calves, especially ones with two rounds of vaccinations and passed or discounted average quality calves or calves with only spring shots. Heavy discounts were seen on plain or average quality cattle. Several sets of very attractive heifer calves were seen this week. On many of these offerings consigners kept no replacements. Demand for grass cattle remains good to very good. Market activity this week was moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand for heavy offerings. An additional packer buyer was present this week which helped create strong competition for cows. This coupled with very strong demand for thin feeding cows helped push all cow prices higher. Slaughter cows sold mostly 1.00-3.00 higher on lean cows, boning and breaking cows were too lightly tested last week to develop any market trend. The majority of cows were purchased to feed this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-5.00 higher, with the best demand seen for high quality cows suitable to feed to premium white. Many sets of very thin cows were purchased to turn out on corn stalks or feed a holding ration until the market improves for the holidays. Additionally, several buyers purchased cows to preg test or cows that were ranch tested bred. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, as most sold as feeding bulls this week. Bull prices were higher this week but were purchased for a different purpose. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold mostly 3.00-5.00 lower. Quality this week was mostly average and not as attractive as last week. More thin offerings were seen this week.