heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$281.97/cwt-12.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,590/hd at 564 lb · 78 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers$334.98/cwt-8.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,698/hd at 507 lb · 58 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers$268.45/cwt-8.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,627/hd at 606 lb · 52 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
1,960
9,156
6,951
Feeder cattle
653
7,125
4,489
Slaughter cattle
871
1,005
1,215
Replacement cattle
436
1,026
1,247
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Too few feeder cattle sold this past week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Demand this week was mostly moderate to good for very light offerings. Quality was mostly plain and significantly lower than last weeks very heavy, high quality offering. All cattle were offered in small groups or as singles no load lot or partial load lots were seen. Weather caused some cancellations as poor road conditions were seen early in the week. CME positions softened early week as traders reacted to the release of the on feed report, however some late week strength was seen. The March closed at 252.975 on Friday, 1.60 lower for the week. The April contract closed at 258.00, 1.975 lower for the week. Market activity was mostly moderate this week with a smaller buyer pool noted. Weigh up cows sold on very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive and similar to last week. Packers showed very good demand for all cows this week as they balanced buying both feeding cows and slaughter cows. Early week all cows were purchased to slaughter as quality was mostly average. Late week sales saw very attractive offerings and most of these offerings were purchased to feed. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher on breaking cows, boning cows and lean cows sold unevenly steady, with lower prices seen on lower yielding cows and higher prices seen on high yielding cows. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold mostly 3.00-7.00 higher, many high yielding heavy muscled offerings were seen this week. Slaughter and feeding bulls sold 2.00-6.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady to 5.00 lower on a mixed quality offering. Demand remains good for high quality offerings. Feeding buyers purchased young cows to feed on lighter demand this week. Demand for bred cows remains very good, even on small lots.
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: Too few feeder cattle sold this past week to develop an accurate market trend, however steady undertones were noticed on both steers and heifers. Demand this week was mostly moderate to good for very light offerings. Quality was mostly plain and significantly lower than last weeks very heavy, high quality offering. All cattle were offered in small groups or as singles no load lot or partial load lots were seen. Weather caused some cancellations as poor road conditions were seen early in the week. CME positions softened early week as traders reacted to the release of the on feed report, however some late week strength was seen. The March closed at 252.975 on Friday, 1.60 lower for the week. The April contract closed at 258.00, 1.975 lower for the week. Market activity was mostly moderate this week with a smaller buyer pool noted. Weigh up cows sold on very good demand for light to moderate offerings. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive and similar to last week. Packers showed very good demand for all cows this week as they balanced buying both feeding cows and slaughter cows. Early week all cows were purchased to slaughter as quality was mostly average. Late week sales saw very attractive offerings and most of these offerings were purchased to feed. Slaughter cows sold 2.00-4.00 higher on breaking cows, boning cows and lean cows sold unevenly steady, with lower prices seen on lower yielding cows and higher prices seen on high yielding cows. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold mostly 3.00-7.00 higher, many high yielding heavy muscled offerings were seen this week. Slaughter and feeding bulls sold 2.00-6.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold steady to 5.00 lower on a mixed quality offering. Demand remains good for high quality offerings. Feeding buyers purchased young cows to feed on lighter demand this week. Demand for bred cows remains very good, even on small lots.