Cattle Market Pulse

Northwest Alabama Livestock Cattle Sale Market Report

Russellville, Alabama · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 3, 2021

476 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Northwest Alabama Livestock Cattle Sale report →

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $136.57/cwt -7.25 vs last sale · ≈ $559/hd at 409 lb · 32 head
light 5-weight M&L 2 bulls $123.63/cwt -0.13 vs last sale · ≈ $642/hd at 519 lb · 16 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 bulls $137.84/cwt +2.18 vs last sale · ≈ $594/hd at 431 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 476 554 358
Feeder cattle 381 444 274
Slaughter cattle 50 60 35
Replacement cattle 45 50 49

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Slaughter bulls lightly tested and Slaughter cows sold mostly steady. Feeder steers lightly tested and feeder bulls and heifers sold steady to 4.00 lower. Trade active with good demand on feeder cattle. Replacement cattle sold steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 377 2 160.00 $160.00 $603 —
405–445 432 3 155.00–157.00 $156.37 $676 +8.46
455–495 482 3 140.00–147.50 $145.14 $700 +2.68
505–545 525 4 132.50–135.00 $133.80 $702 -2.27
590 590 2 125.00 $125.00 $738 -8.12

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–445 409 32 135.00–142.50 $136.57 $559 -7.25
455–497 480 10 132.50–135.00 $133.45 $641 -4.47
505–515 511 12 125.00–132.50 $127.42 $651 -6.20
573–595 580 11 120.00–125.00 $122.73 $712 -3.09
625–645 628 8 120.00–120.50 $120.44 $756 -1.54
720 720 1 117.00 $117.00 $842 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–345 337 6 132.50–137.50 $135.82 $458 —
355–380 366 7 127.50–132.50 $130.69 $478 -8.65
415–430 423 10 125.00–127.50 $126.23 $534 -6.59
460–485 466 4 120.00–125.00 $122.73 $572 -4.73
510–545 522 12 115.00–120.00 $118.63 $619 -3.30

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–385 373 9 140.00–145.00 $142.25 $531 -0.49
425–440 431 14 135.00–140.00 $137.84 $594 +2.18
455–485 468 7 127.50–135.00 $132.15 $618 +2.81
511–535 519 16 120.00–127.50 $123.63 $642 -0.13
560–575 569 7 115.00–120.00 $117.87 $671 +2.96
635–640 638 2 110.00–115.00 $112.51 $718 +7.51
660–690 675 8 105.00–112.50 $109.61 $740 —
705–745 736 5 95.00–100.00 $96.46 $710 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–375 369 5 150.00–152.50 $150.98 $557 -6.52
405–435 417 5 145.00–148.00 $146.15 $609 -0.53
455–480 469 4 140.00–145.00 $141.83 $665 -0.03
515–520 518 5 132.50–135.00 $134.01 $694 +0.25
565–590 577 10 125.00–132.50 $126.73 $731 +1.47
615–630 623 2 123.00–125.00 $124.01 $773 +7.77
655 655 1 115.00 $115.00 $753 +4.48
705–715 713 4 105.00–110.00 $106.50 $759 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1225 1125 75-80% 3 71.00–72.00 $71.33 $802 —
1075–1395 1214 75-80% 5 64.00–68.00 $66.60 $809 —
1230–1300 1253 75-80% 3 66.00–67.00 $66.35 $831 —
1150–1410 1289 75-80% 7 71.00–73.00 $71.90 $927 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905 905 80-85% 1 55.00 $55.00 $498 —
830–1070 921 80-85% 4 54.00–58.00 $55.49 $511 —
995–1050 1004 80-85% 6 62.00–65.00 $62.52 $628 +5.30
850–1100 1034 80-85% 4 63.00–65.00 $64.25 $664 +7.03
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–875 848 85-90% 2 50.00–53.00 $51.55 $437 -0.49
950 950 85-90% 1 48.00 $48.00 $456 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015–1055 1035 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 950.00–1,000.00 $975.48
1040–1310 1206 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 775.00–975.00 $852.55
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800 800 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 550.00 $550.00
845–965 878 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 600.00–775.00 $677.99
850–990 933 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 850.00–900.00 $875.98
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1190 1190 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
775 775 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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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
1090–1215 thin fleshed 1142 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 750.00–850.00 $790.69 —
1225–1550 1373 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 1,000.00–1,175.00 $1,104.39 +142.82
1270–1485 1378 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,325.00–1,425.00 $1,378.90 +417.33
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1005 1005 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 850.00–925.00 $887.50 —
1035–1050 1043 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 700.00–775.00 $737.77 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
905 905 (<2 yrs)Open 1 1,175.00 $1,175.00 —

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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.