Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 6, 2024

773 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 773 827 837
Slaughter cattle 377 489 447
Replacement cattle 396 338 390

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows sold 2.00-3.00 higher and slaughter bulls sold 3.00-4.00 higher. Demand was good on a moderate supply of slaughter animals and a heavy supply of bred cows and pairs. Three herd sellouts along with the demand for stocker/feeder cows resulted in replacement cattle once again outnumbering the slaughter animals. Signs of Spring are popping out all over the Ozarks with Bradford Pears and Redbuds blooming and pastures starting to turn green. The parking lot was full of trailers, that had arrived empty, looking for bred cows and pairs to take back home.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1875 1875 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 3,000.00 $3,000.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
710–830 785 85-90% 6 60.00–67.00 $63.76 $501 —
760–1160 924 85-90% 69 71.00–95.00 $85.36 $789 +21.68
740–1250 1021 85-90% 22 107.00–119.00 $110.37 $1,127 —
700–1315 1204 85-90% 81 96.00–106.00 $100.07 $1,205 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1310 1149 80-85% 70 104.00–116.00 $110.41 $1,269 +13.47
1125–1330 1203 80-85% 19 116.00–125.00 $118.61 $1,427 +10.22
1055–1280 1221 80-85% 8 90.00–102.00 $96.51 $1,178 -11.88
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1900 1422 75-80% 28 106.00–117.00 $112.20 $1,595 -8.30
1320–1528 1433 75-80% 5 97.00–105.00 $99.72 $1,429 -20.78
1265–1740 1488 75-80% 20 118.00–125.00 $120.78 $1,797 +22.82
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1908 1908 65-75% 3 117.00 $117.00 $2,232 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1670 1434 7 109.00–115.00 $112.41 $1,612 —
1250–2860 1826 31 121.00–135.00 $128.77 $2,351 —
1540–2155 1869 8 136.00–152.00 $142.41 $2,662 —

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Stock Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
700–1075 834 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 23 107.00–142.50 $122.07 $1,018
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
825–1120 929 (<2 yrs)Open 5 140.00–175.00 $158.75 $1,475
795–1190 1040 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 115.00–140.00 $126.14 $1,312

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1123–1415 1182 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 1,450.00–1,650.00 $1,497.77
1091–1425 1228 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 59 1,500.00–2,250.00 $1,893.09
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
915–1235 1017 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 27 1,450.00–2,000.00 $1,730.28
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725–1070 891 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 20 800.00–1,400.00 $1,121.74
1050 1050 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 7 1,125.00 $1,125.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1086–1275 1193 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 2,350.00–2,700.00 $2,428.79
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–780 717 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 5 400.00–800.00 $627.48
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090–1220 1138 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 1,275.00–1,300.00 $1,291.07

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850–970 890 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 1,150.00–1,250.00 $1,213.67

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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
1125–1270 1169 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 19 2,300.00–2,650.00 $2,571.05 —
1300–1400 1313 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 3,150.00–3,200.00 $3,156.25 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
800–1075 1030 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 12 2,125.00–2,650.00 $2,372.92 —
1030 1030 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 10 3,200.00 $3,200.00 —
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
915–1000 943 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,600.00–1,700.00 $1,633.33 —
975 975 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 4 1,800.00 $1,800.00 —
1075 1075 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 8 1,950.00 $1,950.00 —

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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.