heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$155.03/cwt-0.23 vs last sale · ≈ $882/hd at 569 lb · 416 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$162.54/cwt-2.21 vs last sale · ≈ $860/hd at 529 lb · 403 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers$171.17/cwt-0.93 vs last sale · ≈ $988/hd at 577 lb · 313 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
7,815
6,874
5,095
Feeder cattle
4,586
3,216
4,066
Slaughter cattle
897
1,512
517
Replacement cattle
2,332
2,146
512
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Steers weighing less than 550 lbs sold 2.00-5.00 lower, 550-649 lbs steers sold steady to weak, steers over 650 lbs sold fully steady. Heifers under 700 lbs sold steady to weak, heifers over 700 lbs sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly moderate to good. Cattle continue to be offered in load lots and these sell with the with the best demand. Cattle remain in mostly light flesh. The majority of the offering under 750 lbs for steers and under 650 lbs for heifers are being purchased to run as grass cattle. Ranchers and Canadian buyers continue to be the driving force in the market as each week they are at sales purchasing the same class of cattle. CME contracts traded mixed throughout the week before gaining ground on Friday. The March contract closed Friday at 136.35 while the April closed at 143.225 that's 1.75 and 4.20 higher on the March and April contracts respectfully. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand this week. Lighter offerings of slaughter and feeding cows were seen this week compared to last. Offerings this week were light to moderate. Feeding buyers were the driving force behind the cattle market this week. They showed mostly good demand for cows and pushed packers mostly out of the market this week. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to weak on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Many sets of fed cows were seen this week and were mostly purchased to return to feed. Weigh up conditions were mostly average this week, but not quite as good as last week. Slaughter bulls sold steady to weak. A heavy, and unseasonably large offering of bred cows was seen this week. These offerings sold on moderate to good demand. Large crowds were seen throughout the week as bred cows were featured at two sales. Two year old to young age cows sold on mostly moderate demand this week. This class sold steady to weak on a lower quality offering 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: Steers weighing less than 550 lbs sold 2.00-5.00 lower, 550-649 lbs steers sold steady to weak, steers over 650 lbs sold fully steady. Heifers under 700 lbs sold steady to weak, heifers over 700 lbs sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher. Quality this week was average to attractive. Demand was mostly moderate to good. Cattle continue to be offered in load lots and these sell with the with the best demand. Cattle remain in mostly light flesh. The majority of the offering under 750 lbs for steers and under 650 lbs for heifers are being purchased to run as grass cattle. Ranchers and Canadian buyers continue to be the driving force in the market as each week they are at sales purchasing the same class of cattle. CME contracts traded mixed throughout the week before gaining ground on Friday. The March contract closed Friday at 136.35 while the April closed at 143.225 that's 1.75 and 4.20 higher on the March and April contracts respectfully. Market activity this week was mostly moderate to active. Weigh up cows sold on mostly moderate to good demand this week. Lighter offerings of slaughter and feeding cows were seen this week compared to last. Offerings this week were light to moderate. Feeding buyers were the driving force behind the cattle market this week. They showed mostly good demand for cows and pushed packers mostly out of the market this week. Feeding cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows sold steady to weak on boning and lean cows, breaking cows sold steady to 1.00 higher. Many sets of fed cows were seen this week and were mostly purchased to return to feed. Weigh up conditions were mostly average this week, but not quite as good as last week. Slaughter bulls sold steady to weak. A heavy, and unseasonably large offering of bred cows was seen this week. These offerings sold on moderate to good demand. Large crowds were seen throughout the week as bred cows were featured at two sales. Two year old to young age cows sold on mostly moderate demand this week. This class sold steady to weak on a lower quality offering seen this week.