Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 5, 2024

3,131 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $306.05/cwt -22.88 vs last sale · ≈ $1,738/hd at 568 lb · 190 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $283.13/cwt -6.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,634/hd at 577 lb · 153 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $290.86/cwt +3.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,396/hd at 480 lb · 120 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,131 2,949 3,305
Feeder cattle 3,131 2,949 3,305

Market comments — USDA reporter

***Close*** Compared to last week. feeder steers and heifers were steady to 5.00 higher. Steer and heifer calves under 600 lbs. sold 6.00-12.00 higher with most of the gain on heifer calves. Demand was good on a moderate supply. Pastures in the Ozarks are starting to green up but growth is limited with nighttime temperatures in the 30's and 40's. The cattle futures traded higher as corn futures were lower. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Menz family this week following the loss of Todd Menz, a long time friend and buyer at ORS.

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
310–336 328 13 360.00–375.00 $364.50 $1,196 +2.00
356–382 369 40 343.00–360.00 $349.00 $1,288 -5.24
408–447 433 34 350.00–380.00 $357.39 $1,547 +18.38
452–480 469 56 335.00–370.00 $354.70 $1,664 +10.00
504–533 515 95 312.00–325.00 $319.15 $1,644 -3.79
555–577 568 190 300.00–313.00 $306.05 $1,738 -22.88
607–642 624 58 278.00–299.00 $288.30 $1,799 +6.97
662–685 673 99 265.00–287.00 $278.68 $1,876 +5.10
702–732 721 78 270.00–280.00 $274.66 $1,980 +5.16
775–787 783 42 245.00–247.00 $246.34 $1,929 -3.66
802–829 826 39 235.00–237.00 $236.65 $1,955 —
1101 1101 9 186.00 $186.00 $2,048 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
319–320 319 11 315.00–337.50 $333.40 $1,064 -6.60
354–394 382 35 312.50–340.00 $327.40 $1,251 -2.60
402–445 423 51 317.50–330.00 $323.17 $1,367 +4.25
450–499 471 67 302.50–327.50 $315.68 $1,487 +0.87
471 unweaned 471 5 285.00 $285.00 $1,342 —
506–543 532 94 282.50–309.00 $299.52 $1,593 +4.01
554–594 577 153 271.00–295.00 $283.13 $1,634 -6.73
603–649 625 44 250.00–276.00 $267.89 $1,674 +5.36
660–688 671 70 243.00–261.00 $255.67 $1,716 +10.17
766 766 5 250.00 $250.00 $1,915 +16.19
830–841 836 8 230.00–232.00 $231.01 $1,931 —
873–894 891 23 210.00–225.00 $223.08 $1,988 +8.08
994 994 10 211.00 $211.00 $2,097 +21.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 5 305.00 $305.00 $1,205 —
417–442 430 6 280.00–302.50 $291.58 $1,254 +15.40
468–495 483 24 282.50–295.00 $287.62 $1,389 +39.62
542 542 9 262.50 $262.50 $1,423 -5.50
559–595 578 13 252.50–263.00 $257.18 $1,487 —
815 815 10 203.00 $203.00 $1,654 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 6 300.00 $300.00 $1,434 -6.00
539 539 6 278.00 $278.00 $1,498 —
623 623 5 254.00 $254.00 $1,582 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 5 327.50 $327.50 $1,392 —
689 689 10 259.00 $259.00 $1,785 +4.00
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
548 548 5 257.00 $257.00 $1,408 —
562 562 5 247.50 $247.50 $1,391 —
617 617 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,481 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
730 730 6 261.00 $261.00 $1,905 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
273 273 8 325.00 $325.00 $887 -8.96
320–343 326 11 310.00–312.50 $311.78 $1,016 +10.86
380–398 389 35 307.50–312.50 $309.23 $1,203 -9.27
402–449 429 91 295.00–317.50 $310.94 $1,334 +12.58
456–498 480 120 282.50–312.50 $290.86 $1,396 +3.00
502–548 533 114 275.00–307.50 $286.26 $1,526 +9.99
552–597 571 63 267.50–279.00 $274.60 $1,568 +6.47
605–647 624 92 249.00–268.00 $256.87 $1,603 +8.48
653–668 661 57 236.00–245.00 $240.13 $1,587 +0.75
739–742 741 34 226.00–227.00 $226.47 $1,678 -4.43
763 763 8 223.00 $223.00 $1,701 +2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–333 331 7 275.00–280.00 $277.85 $920 +0.04
355–365 363 17 270.00–277.50 $275.77 $1,001 -6.50
413–449 427 38 272.50–290.00 $282.99 $1,208 +1.10
452–497 477 46 255.00–277.50 $269.48 $1,285 +4.12
504–548 530 86 250.00–272.50 $261.76 $1,387 +13.55
561–595 575 21 233.00–252.50 $248.07 $1,426 +2.06
609–639 630 23 225.00–245.00 $239.07 $1,506 +6.82
681–697 688 7 220.00 $220.00 $1,514 -8.55
712–734 725 7 214.00–215.00 $214.58 $1,556 +0.58
762 762 6 205.00 $205.00 $1,562 -4.69
1070 1070 21 175.00 $175.00 $1,872 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 6 260.00 $260.00 $889 -15.00
378–388 384 18 250.00–270.00 $259.14 $995 —
535–545 537 17 240.00–247.50 $242.37 $1,302 +22.49
974 974 30 132.50 $132.50 $1,291 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 5 267.50 $267.50 $1,035 —
636 636 24 240.00 $240.00 $1,526 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
492 492 13 298.00 $298.00 $1,466 +22.00
612 612 7 257.00 $257.00 $1,573 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
718 718 6 227.00 $227.00 $1,630 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–402 401 7 300.00–325.00 $310.74 $1,246 —
470 470 5 317.50 $317.50 $1,492 +37.50
587–589 588 15 255.00–272.50 $266.65 $1,568 -1.65
655 655 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,572 —
700–704 702 13 227.50–230.00 $228.65 $1,605 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
469 469 8 280.00 $280.00 $1,313 —
551–597 582 19 243.00–247.00 $245.11 $1,427 —
636 636 6 245.00 $245.00 $1,558 +3.60
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 9 232.50 $232.50 $1,146 —
626 626 5 182.50 $182.50 $1,142 —

↑ Back to top

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.