Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 18, 2024

942 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 942 581 567
Slaughter cattle 424 320 370
Replacement cattle 518 261 197

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows and bulls sold 2.00-4.00 higher with high dressing breaking cows and bulls seeing the largest gain. Demand was good on a heavy supply. The top slaughter bull sold for 174.00/cwt. while the top slaughter cow brought 134.00/cwt. Replacement cattle outnumbered slaughter animals and with a large crowd ringside, had no problem finding a new home. The top cow/calf pairs sold for 3,550.00/pair and top bred cows brought 2400.00/head. For 2024, the Ozarks Regional Stockyard had 34,590 head of Replacement/Slaughter Cattle go through the ring. This is in addition to the 164,387 feeder calves sold on Tuesdays. On behalf of the Missouri Department of Agriculture's Market News Service, I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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
1155–1350 1268 (<2 yrs)N/A 3 1,850.00–2,700.00 $2,317.81 —
1390–1615 1505 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 4 2,700.00–3,000.00 $2,907.14 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
710–1020 912 85-90% 6 69.00–71.00 $70.35 $642 —
725–1190 999 85-90% 24 110.00–119.00 $113.30 $1,132 +1.35
760–1335 1008 85-90% 64 78.00–94.00 $87.45 $881 +1.67
700–1251 1015 85-90% 71 95.00–110.00 $101.80 $1,033 +16.02
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1325 1157 80-85% 81 108.00–120.00 $115.59 $1,337 -5.46
1060–1280 1159 80-85% 13 96.00–108.00 $103.76 $1,203 -17.29
1045–1325 1207 80-85% 23 120.00–127.00 $121.29 $1,464 +17.97
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1655 1422 75-80% 40 109.00–120.00 $114.95 $1,635 —
1280–1732 1459 75-80% 12 91.00–109.00 $103.40 $1,509 -1.00
1310–1805 1501 75-80% 27 120.00–134.00 $123.47 $1,853 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1182–1905 1408 25 100.00–134.00 $121.21 $1,707 —
1295–1985 1591 27 138.00–158.00 $148.48 $2,362 +20.79
1740–2120 1904 11 157.50–172.00 $162.08 $3,086 —

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Stock Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–858 812 (<2 yrs)Open 7 192.50–207.50 $198.44 $1,611
705–1165 956 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 35 115.00–172.50 $139.79 $1,336
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
830–1230 958 (<2 yrs)Open 11 175.00–185.00 $180.25 $1,727
1090–1550 1231 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 20 115.00–157.00 $131.29 $1,616

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1130–1220 1187 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 1,800.00–2,050.00 $1,898.48
1178–1256 1236 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 26 1,650.00–2,000.00 $1,759.08
1095–1510 1252 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 86 1,900.00–2,400.00 $2,227.11
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1097–1395 1224 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 38 1,275.00–1,900.00 $1,759.57
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750–1110 978 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 25 1,050.00–1,800.00 $1,387.07
1039 1039 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 4 1,150.00 $1,150.00
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
825–1090 972 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 14 1,850.00–2,200.00 $1,992.21

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
975 975 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 2 1,700.00 $1,700.00

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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
1110–1385 1141 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 9 2,650.00–2,750.00 $2,738.89 —
1175–1225 1204 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 19 3,350.00–3,550.00 $3,434.21 +921.71
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
850–1050 928 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 10 1,850.00–2,350.00 $1,980.00 —
1070–1075 1074 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 6 1,700.00–2,100.00 $1,975.00 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1114 1114 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 7 2,350.00 $2,350.00 +33.33
1100–1250 1167 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,650.00–2,400.00 $2,116.67 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1082 1082 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,600.00 $2,600.00 —

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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.