Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 21, 2024

5,157 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $315.33/cwt +19.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,926/hd at 611 lb · 445 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $316.40/cwt +6.92 vs last sale · ≈ $1,846/hd at 583 lb · 264 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $272.89/cwt +12.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,554/hd at 569 lb · 241 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,157 2,717 4,428
Feeder cattle 5,157 2,717 4,428

Market comments — USDA reporter

***Close*** Compared to last week, feeder steers sold 4.00-9.00 higher and feeder heifers sold 5.00-10.00 higher with spots 15.00 higher. Demand was very good on a heavy supply. The quality of the offering was above average with several large producers emptying out pastures. October in May is the best way to describe today's offering. The sounds of bawling calves could be heard across the parking lot as producers, hearing of record prices, were bringing calves to town. Remembering how quickly prices can drop, due to a news report, many have chosen the bird in the hand instead of the one in the bush. The largest draft of the day was 155 head of 602 lb. black steers that brought 332.00/cwt.

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
332–342 336 10 370.00 $370.00 $1,243 -7.34
357–390 372 31 367.50–377.50 $373.76 $1,390 —
410–443 417 45 357.00–373.00 $368.34 $1,536 +6.14
464–469 468 40 350.00–361.00 $352.18 $1,648 +2.01
456–495 unweaned 476 87 337.50–350.00 $342.28 $1,629 +5.17
506–542 514 46 332.50–352.50 $339.99 $1,748 +9.45
508–521 unweaned 515 25 315.00–332.00 $326.94 $1,684 +7.31
555–595 578 146 319.00–342.50 $323.90 $1,872 +9.45
555–597 unweaned 590 118 300.00–313.00 $307.12 $1,812 +1.89
600–626 608 392 301.00–332.00 $318.84 $1,939 +22.84
618–644 unweaned 631 53 282.50–296.00 $289.35 $1,826 —
653–664 662 69 286.00–315.00 $307.67 $2,037 +37.30
655–696 unweaned 681 107 261.00–284.00 $274.36 $1,868 —
702–726 723 68 257.00–276.00 $266.54 $1,927 +12.30
753–793 773 54 250.00–272.00 $257.77 $1,993 +7.57
811–819 816 13 245.00–255.00 $251.18 $2,050 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
364–399 380 21 337.50–352.50 $343.78 $1,306 -2.21
415–449 429 32 327.50–347.50 $335.92 $1,441 +7.44
425–443 unweaned 435 16 319.00–320.00 $319.43 $1,390 —
457–497 478 163 319.00–345.00 $330.18 $1,578 +11.68
489–492 unweaned 490 36 287.50–290.00 $288.82 $1,415 —
500–548 522 199 297.00–325.00 $309.34 $1,615 +10.09
550–594 unweaned 563 60 275.00–288.00 $278.87 $1,570 —
553–592 575 101 290.00–317.50 $300.91 $1,730 +10.75
605–640 623 65 272.50–296.00 $282.65 $1,761 +3.58
652–684 666 22 260.00–282.00 $269.86 $1,797 +9.77
704–748 730 55 235.00–252.50 $246.93 $1,803 +2.91
812–814 813 9 220.00 $220.00 $1,789 -6.52
929 929 15 218.50 $218.50 $2,030 +8.50
958 958 16 209.00 $209.00 $2,002 +7.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–391 380 7 302.50–317.50 $308.68 $1,173 -11.30
424–435 429 19 320.00–326.00 $322.57 $1,384 —
479–494 485 29 310.00–313.00 $311.16 $1,509 +13.31
507–545 527 19 271.00–293.00 $288.19 $1,519 +8.22
570–596 579 30 257.50–280.00 $271.49 $1,572 +9.99
650–692 677 24 232.50–255.00 $250.50 $1,696 +10.39
874 874 60 196.00 $196.00 $1,713 —
975 975 8 172.00 $172.00 $1,677 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378 378 5 360.00 $360.00 $1,361 —
458–478 472 14 320.00–337.00 $332.29 $1,568 +7.29
574 574 6 295.00 $295.00 $1,693 —
600 600 10 284.00 $284.00 $1,704 +13.00
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 5 360.00 $360.00 $1,368 —
458 458 6 315.00 $315.00 $1,443 —
589 589 5 287.50 $287.50 $1,693 —
667 667 5 272.50 $272.50 $1,818 —
Medium 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
449 449 8 250.00 $250.00 $1,122 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
612 612 5 297.50 $297.50 $1,821 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332–333 333 6 335.00–337.50 $336.25 $1,120 -43.75
351–392 371 41 322.50–351.00 $334.57 $1,241 +8.44
403–433 unweaned 428 39 310.00–318.00 $314.06 $1,344 +8.28
401–447 438 93 322.00–324.00 $323.51 $1,417 +6.58
450–498 486 64 300.00–322.50 $302.26 $1,469 -0.28
484–494 unweaned 492 48 296.00–299.00 $298.45 $1,468 +15.51
503–536 510 181 290.00–310.00 $302.75 $1,544 +20.73
532–546 unweaned 535 58 265.00–287.50 $274.68 $1,470 +0.87
550–570 560 128 268.00–289.00 $284.35 $1,592 +18.96
568–589 unweaned 580 113 240.00–263.50 $259.91 $1,507 +3.51
602–639 618 125 252.00–262.00 $255.51 $1,579 +4.84
653–688 663 42 240.00–250.00 $241.23 $1,599 +7.82
700–726 712 34 235.00–238.00 $235.36 $1,676 +5.86
801–828 814 28 219.00–225.00 $220.74 $1,797 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314–343 329 9 315.00–322.50 $319.10 $1,050 —
351–399 377 57 295.00–320.00 $312.09 $1,177 +9.52
410–445 430 22 285.00–312.50 $298.12 $1,282 -1.58
450–492 474 109 275.00–297.00 $287.63 $1,363 +25.29
500–534 unweaned 510 23 250.00–259.00 $256.13 $1,306 —
507–538 524 67 260.00–285.00 $273.68 $1,434 +8.36
552–599 581 168 240.00–267.50 $257.13 $1,494 +7.77
602–648 625 129 233.00–249.00 $244.15 $1,526 +3.36
664–695 678 45 219.00–237.50 $228.75 $1,551 +6.85
718–737 729 24 209.00–228.00 $221.68 $1,616 +1.82
756–758 757 34 224.00–228.50 $227.18 $1,720 +17.84
953 953 8 197.00 $197.00 $1,877 +30.43
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
396 unweaned 396 8 262.50 $262.50 $1,040 —
427–449 435 21 262.50–280.00 $270.30 $1,176 +11.19
472–499 487 52 250.00–267.50 $257.64 $1,255 -5.64
505–547 526 40 236.00–260.00 $248.48 $1,307 +5.98
645–648 647 6 222.50–224.00 $223.25 $1,444 —
868 868 28 137.00 $137.00 $1,189 —
901–933 921 19 138.00–146.00 $143.12 $1,318 +7.12
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 5 305.00 $305.00 $1,266 —
451–497 468 8 257.50–285.00 $274.05 $1,283 —
534 534 5 255.00 $255.00 $1,362 -11.00
668–679 675 10 225.00–227.50 $225.99 $1,525 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361 361 11 320.00 $320.00 $1,155 +7.50
401 401 5 313.00 $313.00 $1,255 —
554 554 9 250.00 $250.00 $1,385 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
624 624 10 254.00 $254.00 $1,585 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–449 428 21 295.00–317.50 $305.99 $1,310 —
494–498 496 7 270.00–292.50 $279.69 $1,387 +5.47
520–544 530 18 280.00–287.50 $283.84 $1,504 +17.15
608–647 634 27 230.00–257.50 $242.00 $1,534 -6.48
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 5 332.50 $332.50 $1,267 —
485–494 490 8 300.00–312.50 $306.31 $1,501 +6.71
524–530 527 14 287.50–302.50 $294.27 $1,551 -0.08
558–578 566 16 270.00–275.00 $271.92 $1,539 +4.28
639–645 641 10 265.00–266.00 $265.70 $1,703 +1.70

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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.