Cattle Market Pulse

Missouri (East Central) Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 18, 2026

2,537 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Missouri (East Central) Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $451.48/cwt +5.34 vs last sale · ≈ $2,829/hd at 627 lb · 171 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $516.12/cwt +6.36 vs last sale · ≈ $2,704/hd at 524 lb · 154 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $469.79/cwt +4.50 vs last sale · ≈ $2,716/hd at 578 lb · 138 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,537 2,960 3,533
Feeder cattle 2,118 2,674 3,193
Slaughter cattle 159 196 230
Replacement cattle 260 90 110

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, steers and heifers mostly steady to 5.00 higher except some under 450 lbs 5.00 lower. Slaughter cows 1.00-4.00 higher.

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
303–345 331 19 610.00–652.00 $636.78 $2,108 +5.52
363–398 380 13 585.00–620.00 $602.60 $2,290 -15.79
395 395 3 570.00 $570.00 $2,252 -48.39
401–447 433 86 535.00–585.00 $562.51 $2,436 -13.62
450–499 475 111 520.00–563.00 $547.57 $2,601 +5.38
497 value added 497 16 544.00 $544.00 $2,704 —
520 520 3 492.50 $492.50 $2,561 -18.50
500–545 524 151 480.00–540.00 $516.59 $2,707 +5.59
559–565 value added 563 36 490.00 $490.00 $2,759 —
552–584 572 8 450.00 $450.00 $2,574 -15.29
562–593 581 29 440.00–470.00 $449.17 $2,610 -16.12
550–599 586 65 449.00–489.00 $470.24 $2,756 +4.95
600 unweaned 600 10 440.00 $440.00 $2,640 -0.24
612–645 value added 627 94 448.00–464.00 $456.00 $2,859 -14.50
601–645 630 67 430.00–458.00 $446.85 $2,815 +1.11
664 664 5 410.00 $410.00 $2,722 +8.60
650–696 676 121 405.00–452.50 $431.56 $2,917 +9.06
710–728 713 55 409.50–415.50 $414.39 $2,955 —
750–794 770 13 360.00–387.00 $370.88 $2,856 +10.88
780 value added 780 38 383.00 $383.00 $2,987 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–380 360 10 540.00–600.00 $579.15 $2,085 +19.05
415–435 430 20 538.00–545.00 $540.83 $2,326 +40.83
455–492 470 9 507.50–530.00 $516.62 $2,428 +24.09
500–540 521 17 475.00–522.00 $496.87 $2,589 +21.67
550–572 562 12 441.00–465.00 $446.54 $2,510 +6.75
600 600 4 421.00 $421.00 $2,526 +9.93
718–741 730 16 368.00–407.00 $395.53 $2,887 —
796 796 10 356.50 $356.50 $2,838 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
504 504 4 460.00 $460.00 $2,318 -12.50
600–646 621 11 386.00–420.00 $403.92 $2,508 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 3 500.00 $500.00 $2,225 —
486 486 4 522.00 $522.00 $2,537 —
552 552 7 466.00 $466.00 $2,572 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 5 507.00 $507.00 $2,282 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
592 592 4 400.00 $400.00 $2,368 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–345 329 13 542.50–575.00 $565.28 $1,860 -5.48
352–392 377 27 515.00–552.50 $538.35 $2,030 -10.29
420 value added 420 10 540.00 $540.00 $2,268 +4.00
408–446 429 53 490.00–540.00 $521.77 $2,238 -0.22
446 446 3 456.00 $456.00 $2,034 -65.99
458–480 474 12 450.00–460.00 $455.19 $2,158 -23.08
455–492 475 70 458.00–508.00 $474.43 $2,254 -3.84
520 520 3 430.00 $430.00 $2,236 -13.72
500–543 521 44 430.00–462.50 $449.11 $2,340 +5.39
550–593 570 51 412.50–443.00 $429.20 $2,446 -25.80
572 value added 572 16 440.00 $440.00 $2,517 +16.00
589 589 7 411.00 $411.00 $2,421 -44.00
618–633 623 42 375.00–410.00 $401.24 $2,500 -23.00
655–693 671 21 364.00–396.00 $380.38 $2,552 +50.38
718 718 2 330.00 $330.00 $2,369 -3.00
729 729 9 352.50 $352.50 $2,570 +19.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 2 550.00 $550.00 $1,732 +9.91
350–395 377 13 500.00–535.00 $523.77 $1,975 +14.75
400–447 418 20 445.00–532.50 $493.78 $2,064 +10.56
460–482 471 8 446.00–460.00 $452.67 $2,132 +5.04
552 552 3 400.00 $400.00 $2,208 —
593 593 3 365.00 $365.00 $2,164 -40.00
605–625 618 7 375.00–390.00 $379.87 $2,348 +7.53
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 3 470.00 $470.00 $1,810 —
410–418 415 5 420.00 $420.00 $1,743 —
512 512 3 385.00 $385.00 $1,971 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 4 445.00 $445.00 $2,145 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–410 407 6 530.00–560.00 $550.16 $2,239 +37.80
530–535 533 4 450.00–465.00 $457.46 $2,438 -12.01
605–638 622 4 360.00–370.00 $365.13 $2,271 -16.87

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
735 735 85-90% 1 115.00 $115.00 $845 —
845–1145 996 85-90% 13 128.00–154.00 $140.95 $1,404 -2.12
1055 1055 85-90% 1 181.00 $181.00 $1,910 +1.82
885–1230 1093 85-90% 28 156.50–178.00 $165.41 $1,808 -13.77
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1490 1283 80-85% 10 186.50–194.50 $190.55 $2,445 +14.52
1138–1505 1297 80-85% 27 171.50–187.00 $180.36 $2,339 +4.33
1365–1567 1500 80-85% 3 155.00–165.00 $158.03 $2,370 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1560 1488 75-80% 6 177.50–187.50 $182.12 $2,710 +3.48
1445–1675 1560 75-80% 2 190.00–195.00 $192.32 $3,000 —
1490–1632 1585 75-80% 3 169.50–171.50 $170.13 $2,697 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1925 1714 4 181.00–210.00 $196.07 $3,361 —
1425–2030 1789 7 214.00–235.00 $222.87 $3,987 +2.36

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1021–1397 1195 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 37 2,500.00–3,450.00 $3,137.38
1215 1215 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,300.00 $2,300.00
1032–1545 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 48 3,100.00–3,800.00 $3,564.68
1050–1457 1282 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,700.00–2,800.00 $2,762.49

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
912–1043 948 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 3,600.00–4,300.00 $3,810.10
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
784–835 797 (<2 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 8 3,000.00–3,100.00 $3,026.20

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950–985 977 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 9 4,600.00–5,400.00 $5,222.22 —
1193–1385 1259 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 9 4,800.00–4,900.00 $4,833.33 —
1225–1500 1419 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 4,600.00–5,500.00 $5,075.00 —

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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.