heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers$294.06/cwt-11.94 vs last sale · ≈ $1,723/hd at 586 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers$299.00/cwt-3.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,558/hd at 521 lb · 24 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers$265.37/cwt-22.72 vs last sale · ≈ $1,791/hd at 675 lb · 16 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
2,920
5,643
2,270
Feeder cattle
410
521
364
Slaughter cattle
1,497
1,912
1,359
Replacement cattle
1,013
962
547
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to last week: Too few sales were seen this week to develop any market trend. Cattle were mostly offered in small size packages or as singles. Demand was good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Cattle suitable to develop on grass continue to sell with the best demand, however very few offerings were seen. CME positions traded higher this week as packers paid higher prices for slaughter cattle in order to secure offerings. This helped spur demand for feeder cattle as buyers continue to search for offerings to fill empty pens. The August feeder cattle contract closed at 261.975, 7.175 higher than last Fridays close, the September closed at 262.70, 6.85 higher than the previous week. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for moderate offerings. Ranchers continue to cull cows as many are wrapping up branding and turning out cows. Packers showed mostly good demand for slaughter cows for immediate harvest, however packers mostly purchased lame or blemished cows to send to immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher on breaking cows. Boning and lean cows sold generally steady. Packers showed very good demand for feeding cows as they try to buy up offerings to help manage supplies going forward into high demand periods. Packers also purchased average quality thin and light boning cows to hold for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold steady to 1.00 higher. Thin feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to attritive with many high quality reputation cows seen. However quality this week was not as attractive as last week. Weigh up conditions were mostly average as several hot days had cows pushing extra fill. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-7.00 higher. Demand was good to very good for high quality offerings which buyers are looking to rebreed. Quality was average to attractive, however not as attractive as the last few weeks.
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.
Compared to last week: Too few sales were seen this week to develop any market trend. Cattle were mostly offered in small size packages or as singles. Demand was good for light offerings. Quality this week was mostly plain to average. Cattle suitable to develop on grass continue to sell with the best demand, however very few offerings were seen. CME positions traded higher this week as packers paid higher prices for slaughter cattle in order to secure offerings. This helped spur demand for feeder cattle as buyers continue to search for offerings to fill empty pens. The August feeder cattle contract closed at 261.975, 7.175 higher than last Fridays close, the September closed at 262.70, 6.85 higher than the previous week. Market activity this week was mostly active. Weigh up cows sold on good demand for moderate offerings. Ranchers continue to cull cows as many are wrapping up branding and turning out cows. Packers showed mostly good demand for slaughter cows for immediate harvest, however packers mostly purchased lame or blemished cows to send to immediate harvest. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 2.00 higher on breaking cows. Boning and lean cows sold generally steady. Packers showed very good demand for feeding cows as they try to buy up offerings to help manage supplies going forward into high demand periods. Packers also purchased average quality thin and light boning cows to hold for the upcoming 4th of July holiday. Feeding cows suitable to feed to premium white sold steady to 1.00 higher. Thin feeding cows sold mostly 2.00-3.00 higher. Quality this week was mostly average to attritive with many high quality reputation cows seen. However quality this week was not as attractive as last week. Weigh up conditions were mostly average as several hot days had cows pushing extra fill. Slaughter bulls sold mostly 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-7.00 higher. Demand was good to very good for high quality offerings which buyers are looking to rebreed. Quality was average to attractive, however not as attractive as the last few weeks.