heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers$315.19/cwt≈ $1,841/hd at 584 lb · 157 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers$295.51/cwt≈ $1,927/hd at 652 lb · 120 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers$315.47/cwt-8.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,688/hd at 535 lb · 51 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
1,970
748
1,154
Feeder cattle
985
532
209
Slaughter cattle
375
182
169
Replacement cattle
610
34
776
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last sale: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however unevenly steady undertones were noticed on steers and steady to firm undertones were noticed on heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average with a limited offering of attractive offerings seen. Most cattle were long weaned from 45-100 days. Package sizes were mostly small this week, however one part load and one full load were seen. CME positions continue to push higher as strong prices were seen both today and last Friday. The March contract closed today at 251.375, 3.375 higher than last Tuesdays close. The April closed at 255.35 today, 3.60 higher than last Tuesdays close. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was good to very good as packers pushed to fill loads on light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher on breaking cows. Boning cows sold mostly 5.00-9.00 higher in a narrow comparison, lean cows were not well compared as most cows sold to feeding buyers this week. Private feeding cow buyers were very aggressive this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher as packers and feeding cow buyers both bid aggressive over offerings. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Weigh up conditions were mixed today. Several sets of fed cows sold this week. Demand for fed cows remains very good. Fed cow offerings were mixed for breaking and premium white, some breaking cows were purchased to return to feed as they needed more days on feed to grade white. Young age cows were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed as both feeding and rebreed buyers showed good demand for young offerings. A moderate offering of bred cows and heifers sold in todays sale. Demand was good to very good for all bred cows and heifers on offer. The stands were packed for the bred cow portion of the sale. Broken mouth cows sold on very good demand as ranchers hope to get one to two more calf crops out of them. Salvage value for slaughter cows has also improved as well which helped push this class of cows higher.
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 sale: Feeder steers and heifers were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however unevenly steady undertones were noticed on steers and steady to firm undertones were noticed on heifers. Demand was mostly moderate to good for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average with a limited offering of attractive offerings seen. Most cattle were long weaned from 45-100 days. Package sizes were mostly small this week, however one part load and one full load were seen. CME positions continue to push higher as strong prices were seen both today and last Friday. The March contract closed today at 251.375, 3.375 higher than last Tuesdays close. The April closed at 255.35 today, 3.60 higher than last Tuesdays close. Market activity was mostly moderate to active this week. Weigh up cows sold on mostly good to very good demand for light offerings. Demand for slaughter cows was good to very good as packers pushed to fill loads on light offerings. Slaughter cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher on breaking cows. Boning cows sold mostly 5.00-9.00 higher in a narrow comparison, lean cows were not well compared as most cows sold to feeding buyers this week. Private feeding cow buyers were very aggressive this week. Feeding cows sold mostly 5.00-10.00 higher as packers and feeding cow buyers both bid aggressive over offerings. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop a full market trend, however steady to higher undertones were noticed. Weigh up conditions were mixed today. Several sets of fed cows sold this week. Demand for fed cows remains very good. Fed cow offerings were mixed for breaking and premium white, some breaking cows were purchased to return to feed as they needed more days on feed to grade white. Young age cows were too lightly tested last week to develop a full market trend, however higher undertones were noticed as both feeding and rebreed buyers showed good demand for young offerings. A moderate offering of bred cows and heifers sold in todays sale. Demand was good to very good for all bred cows and heifers on offer. The stands were packed for the bred cow portion of the sale. Broken mouth cows sold on very good demand as ranchers hope to get one to two more calf crops out of them. Salvage value for slaughter cows has also improved as well which helped push this class of cows higher.