Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 2, 2024

5,174 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $217.77/cwt +6.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,470/hd at 675 lb · 241 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $225.58/cwt +12.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,635/hd at 725 lb · 224 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $212.35/cwt +20.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,514/hd at 713 lb · 217 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,174 1,152 5,155
Feeder cattle 5,174 1,152 5,155

Market comments — USDA reporter

***Close*** Compared to the last feeder sale of two weeks ago, feeder steers and heifers sold 10.00-15.00 higher. Demand was very good on a heavy supply. Ozarks Regional Stockyard kicked off the new year by including a special wean-vac sale with their regular feeder auction. The offering consisted of several large drafts of long-time weaned and vaccinated calves in the right condition. There were plenty of buyers ringside which keep the market active throughout the day and into the evening hours. The livestock futures traded higher to begin 2024 while corn futures traded lower.

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
303 303 5 325.00 $325.00 $985 +7.50
352–395 371 29 300.00–328.00 $316.80 $1,175 +12.79
416–443 431 71 302.50–331.00 $319.05 $1,375 +14.45
451 thin fleshed 451 7 325.00 $325.00 $1,466 —
450–470 457 27 287.50–313.00 $299.00 $1,366 +16.69
473 value added 473 11 314.00 $314.00 $1,485 —
504–548 535 88 282.50–308.00 $292.99 $1,567 +25.49
556–597 574 170 257.00–274.00 $265.46 $1,524 +10.69
614 thin fleshed 614 10 275.00 $275.00 $1,688 —
604–649 625 202 244.00–264.00 $253.56 $1,585 +19.37
655 value added 655 6 241.00 $241.00 $1,579 —
654–695 679 151 232.50–252.00 $243.12 $1,651 +15.04
701–742 725 224 220.00–234.00 $225.58 $1,635 —
757–786 774 115 219.00–234.00 $223.81 $1,732 +14.63
775 value added 775 35 224.00 $224.00 $1,736 —
807–843 820 83 215.00–233.00 $221.87 $1,819 —
850–866 857 69 220.00–223.00 $220.44 $1,889 +15.44
958 958 11 208.00 $208.00 $1,993 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442–446 445 10 295.00–297.50 $295.75 $1,316 —
465–492 482 47 264.00–285.00 $272.60 $1,314 +9.25
507–546 524 93 250.00–275.00 $259.47 $1,360 +16.84
551–598 576 164 230.00–256.00 $241.52 $1,391 +9.08
619 value added 619 11 239.00 $239.00 $1,479 —
600–648 620 138 220.00–242.50 $234.79 $1,456 +10.66
676 value added 676 13 207.50 $207.50 $1,403 —
650–699 679 165 212.00–229.00 $220.91 $1,500 +6.85
700–749 729 119 200.00–215.00 $212.31 $1,548 —
761–787 780 142 205.00–216.00 $213.60 $1,666 +13.60
803–817 808 16 206.00–210.00 $207.50 $1,677 +8.79
866–899 887 51 203.00–205.00 $203.58 $1,806 —
905–917 911 15 194.00–195.00 $194.47 $1,772 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
419 419 20 240.00–255.00 $249.75 $1,046 —
504–549 538 26 234.00–247.50 $241.01 $1,297 +15.01
582–599 592 40 213.00–234.00 $223.51 $1,323 —
603 603 5 210.00 $210.00 $1,266 +5.00
691–699 697 22 202.50–205.00 $204.44 $1,425 —
830–834 833 15 185.00 $185.00 $1,541 —
886 886 7 160.00 $160.00 $1,418 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 436 8 190.00 $190.00 $828 —
451 451 8 220.00 $220.00 $992 —
559 559 5 200.00 $200.00 $1,118 —
609 609 5 205.00 $205.00 $1,248 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657 657 14 213.00 $213.00 $1,399 -5.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 5 270.00 $270.00 $1,080 —
516 516 5 246.00 $246.00 $1,269 +35.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
586 586 10 150.00 $150.00 $879 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
646 646 9 246.00 $246.00 $1,589 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–326 320 10 265.00–282.50 $277.49 $888 +7.43
380–391 384 22 262.50–267.50 $265.55 $1,020 +13.91
399 value added 399 10 281.00 $281.00 $1,121 —
408–449 433 34 249.00–279.00 $265.19 $1,148 +23.68
450–493 471 98 242.50–265.00 $252.61 $1,190 +13.65
487 value added 487 28 244.00 $244.00 $1,188 —
500–546 524 211 224.00–239.00 $230.12 $1,206 +6.12
572 value added 572 10 220.00 $220.00 $1,258 —
562–598 584 205 217.50–232.00 $224.18 $1,309 —
600–648 612 180 213.00–225.00 $219.73 $1,345 +7.95
648 value added 648 16 215.00 $215.00 $1,393 —
656–699 675 241 211.00–239.00 $217.77 $1,470 +6.54
700–749 713 217 209.00–219.00 $212.35 $1,514 +20.35
793 793 9 202.00 $202.00 $1,602 —
820 820 16 198.00 $198.00 $1,624 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
369–388 377 9 250.00–255.00 $253.04 $954 +14.79
422–438 425 27 235.00–249.00 $246.19 $1,046 +19.92
470–496 481 46 225.00–239.00 $233.16 $1,121 +20.85
502–548 529 59 210.00–220.00 $212.95 $1,127 +7.13
557–595 577 83 195.00–214.00 $205.59 $1,186 +2.67
581 value added 581 6 212.50 $212.50 $1,235 —
605–649 632 109 194.00–211.00 $205.01 $1,296 —
652–698 683 67 185.00–210.00 $200.20 $1,367 +8.06
706 706 6 200.00 $200.00 $1,412 —
754–786 767 75 185.00–200.00 $194.16 $1,489 —
792 value added 792 17 189.00 $189.00 $1,497 —
803–846 819 104 185.00–191.50 $188.77 $1,546 —
864–878 869 11 180.00–182.00 $180.73 $1,571 —
945 945 11 178.00 $178.00 $1,682 —
993 993 25 139.00 $139.00 $1,380 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407 407 7 210.00 $210.00 $855 —
464 464 5 216.00 $216.00 $1,002 +36.68
510 510 10 200.00 $200.00 $1,020 —
886 886 7 160.00 $160.00 $1,418 +25.08
939 939 17 140.00 $140.00 $1,315 —
1032 1032 25 132.50 $132.50 $1,367 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
622 622 20 216.00 $216.00 $1,344 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 6 185.00 $185.00 $657 —
404 404 5 150.00 $150.00 $606 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
581 581 7 213.00 $213.00 $1,238 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 6 220.00 $220.00 $953 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
346 346 6 240.00 $240.00 $830 —
418–446 436 8 220.00–240.00 $232.80 $1,015 -2.20
461 461 5 210.00 $210.00 $968 —
557 557 8 225.00 $225.00 $1,253 +18.65
611–642 627 8 200.00–201.00 $200.49 $1,257 -2.06
679–696 690 14 180.00–204.00 $195.56 $1,349 +14.02
748 748 10 193.00 $193.00 $1,444 —
1172 1172 5 134.00 $134.00 $1,570 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 11 280.00 $280.00 $1,240 —
494 494 5 257.50 $257.50 $1,272 +10.10
504 504 12 250.00 $250.00 $1,260 +13.80

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
567 567 8 120.00 $120.00 $680 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502 502 8 91.00 $91.00 $457 —

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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.