Cattle Market Pulse

Nebraska Weekly Livestock Auction Summary

Nebraska · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 19, 2020

24,358 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Nebraska Weekly Livestock Auction Summary report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $151.67/cwt -7.90 vs last sale · ≈ $873/hd at 576 lb · 2,694 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $159.60/cwt -7.91 vs last sale · ≈ $839/hd at 526 lb · 2,630 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $149.92/cwt -6.36 vs last sale · ≈ $932/hd at 622 lb · 2,555 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 24,358 34,695 33,814
Feeder cattle 24,358 34,408 33,814
Replacement cattle — 287 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week steer calves under 500 lbs sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower, over 500 lbs sold 7.00 to 10.00 lower. Heifer calves under 400 lbs sold steady, over 400 lbs sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Yearling steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Demand was moderate to good. This time of year a lot of cattle make there way from ranch to town either from video sales or at area livestock auctions and are comingled at the receiving station. Most buyers prefer a fall vaccination protocol. But, if a really good calf with eye appeal makes there way through the ring quality out weighs shot records. Slaughter steers and heifers followed the CME board downward trend with live sales at 104.00-105.00 and dressed sales from 162.00-165.00.

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
312–348 326 60 178.00–188.00 $184.50 $601 +1.24
355–397 378 229 170.00–201.00 $180.69 $683 -2.77
401–449 426 601 156.00–187.00 $174.79 $745 -2.36
450–499 481 1,644 155.00–181.50 $167.79 $807 -5.07
468–491 484 36 152.00–159.00 $154.51 $748 -18.35
512 thin fleshed 512 20 172.00 $172.00 $881 —
500–548 526 2,610 149.50–171.50 $159.50 $839 -6.63
561 fancy 561 71 161.25 $161.25 $905 —
550–599 576 2,623 141.00–164.50 $151.41 $872 -8.16
602–624 617 96 145.00–146.75 $146.43 $903 -9.77
600–649 622 2,400 135.00–159.25 $149.85 $932 -6.35
622 fancy 622 59 158.50 $158.50 $986 —
650–694 672 1,154 132.50–153.00 $146.61 $985 -8.40
702–744 724 768 128.00–150.00 $143.28 $1,037 -6.93
769–786 779 242 137.50–149.50 $144.32 $1,124 -4.40
802 802 65 134.25 $134.25 $1,077 -20.00
804–845 827 226 135.00–147.25 $142.70 $1,180 +2.70
859–887 869 174 133.50–142.50 $139.01 $1,208 -9.24
908–940 924 16 120.50–132.00 $126.15 $1,166 -20.16
959 959 7 133.00 $133.00 $1,275 -8.35
1007–1048 1022 14 125.00–126.00 $125.63 $1,284 +0.63
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–398 380 74 159.00–169.50 $163.35 $621 -5.98
391 391 10 156.00 $156.00 $610 -13.33
412–440 431 135 147.50–166.00 $158.35 $682 -12.48
455–499 482 263 140.50–165.00 $154.91 $747 -6.09
503–549 531 295 131.00–150.00 $145.12 $771 -5.58
566 thin fleshed 566 13 146.00 $146.00 $826 —
558–599 582 238 129.00–144.00 $138.79 $808 -9.08
614–647 634 193 129.50–146.00 $139.12 $882 -3.65
645 thin fleshed 645 14 148.50 $148.50 $958 —
657–666 661 104 131.00–144.50 $137.83 $911 -6.51
750–759 756 19 125.00–135.00 $128.66 $973 -9.73

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–349 335 46 149.00–175.00 $160.47 $538 -1.77
350–397 376 386 146.00–175.00 $159.05 $598 -0.18
425 425 8 137.00 $137.00 $582 -19.11
403–449 431 862 135.50–169.00 $151.73 $654 -4.38
450–499 474 1,227 129.00–167.50 $145.33 $689 -7.44
501–549 524 1,691 127.50–155.00 $139.23 $730 -8.98
528 fancy 528 42 142.00 $142.00 $750 -20.89
541 541 8 135.00 $135.00 $730 -13.21
566 fancy 566 41 159.00 $159.00 $900 —
551–598 571 1,160 121.50–147.50 $137.09 $783 -7.88
600–645 616 590 124.00–144.50 $133.57 $823 -12.51
650–696 665 149 126.00–149.00 $133.44 $887 -2.56
700–743 724 171 123.00–142.50 $132.58 $960 -11.93
761–795 783 282 127.00–136.50 $134.13 $1,050 -9.86
810–847 833 158 128.00–137.50 $130.48 $1,087 -10.83
857–891 883 156 123.00–134.50 $130.52 $1,152 -7.69
883 883 12 132.50 $132.50 $1,170 -5.71
913 913 312 134.75 $134.75 $1,230 -2.17
927–945 938 103 127.00–133.25 $129.85 $1,218 -2.76
960 960 7 129.50 $129.50 $1,243 -3.28
1030 1030 12 124.50 $124.50 $1,282 -0.83
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258–265 262 13 135.00–142.00 $138.82 $364 —
302–348 337 61 132.00–156.00 $140.29 $473 -19.71
355–389 379 74 135.00–147.00 $142.63 $541 -6.62
410–444 431 104 127.50–143.00 $135.61 $584 -15.39
455–490 472 112 128.00–144.00 $137.53 $649 -9.99
501–548 531 155 123.00–142.00 $128.50 $682 -15.73
562–599 579 92 115.00–133.00 $127.78 $740 -10.71
601–638 623 25 123.00–131.00 $128.14 $798 -4.30
671 thin fleshed 671 10 137.50 $137.50 $923 —
678 678 6 132.50 $132.50 $898 +0.52
738 738 24 117.00 $117.00 $863 -16.45
755 755 11 122.00 $122.00 $921 —

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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.