Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 15, 2026

673 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 673 511 1,085
Slaughter cattle 256 173 338
Replacement cattle 417 338 747

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were steady to 2.00 lower and bulls were steady. Demand was good on a moderate supply. Slaughter prices were slightly lower as one of the major packers had a plant down due to water issues. The top slaughter bull sold for 259.00/cwt. and the top slaughter cow sold for 195.00/cwt. On the replacement side, the top pair sold for 5500.00 and the top bred cows sold for 3950.00/head. Rain has been hit and miss and has not been enough to end the extreme drought conditions in the southern portions of the ORS service area.

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
1305–1515 1427 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 3 3,300.00–4,600.00 $3,837.97 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1265 1176 80-85% 14 151.00–166.00 $160.69 $1,890 +1.34
970–1320 1180 80-85% 21 184.00–195.00 $187.23 $2,209 +27.88
1015–1315 1184 80-85% 55 167.00–183.00 $176.05 $2,084 +16.70
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–1155 877 85-90% 33 115.00–145.00 $133.74 $1,173 +30.64
710–1185 969 85-90% 28 147.00–164.00 $156.51 $1,517 —
860–1180 992 85-90% 15 169.00–181.00 $174.33 $1,729 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1615 1423 75-80% 29 167.00–183.00 $178.29 $2,537 +19.01
1320–1675 1430 75-80% 16 184.00–195.00 $188.26 $2,692 +28.98
1385–1660 1523 75-80% 2 154.00–164.00 $158.55 $2,415 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–2115 1601 5 157.50–193.00 $181.28 $2,902 -24.87
1245–1990 1605 25 195.00–217.00 $206.99 $3,322 +0.84
1390–2090 1741 12 220.00–256.00 $233.71 $4,069 —

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Stock Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
705–1060 938 (<2 yrs)Open 48 275.00–332.50 $309.68 $2,905
700–1140 988 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 32 180.00–252.50 $202.96 $2,005
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1150–1490 1282 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 21 139.00–179.00 $172.35 $2,210
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1170–1460 1234 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 15 181.00–213.00 $191.84 $2,367
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
720–1130 974 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 12 137.50–177.50 $164.46 $1,602

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155–1445 1247 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 82 2,900.00–3,950.00 $3,315.34
1190–1345 1309 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 6 2,800.00–3,000.00 $2,910.63
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
905–1075 1023 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 8 1,500.00–2,100.00 $1,793.62
960–1135 1083 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 36 2,000.00–2,750.00 $2,450.59
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1175–1255 1217 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 2,100.00–2,200.00 $2,165.62
1160–1400 1226 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 27 2,000.00–2,800.00 $2,522.24
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1005–1108 1067 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 5 2,800.00–3,250.00 $3,054.25
995–1145 1070 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 21 2,900.00–3,600.00 $3,046.51
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1470–1635 1540 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 9 2,800.00–3,150.00 $2,988.80
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–980 870 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 6 700.00–1,950.00 $1,482.38

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Bred Heifers

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
750–820 786 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 4 1,900.00–2,700.00 $2,401.11
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1050 1050 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 2 3,100.00 $3,100.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
800–1010 958 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,900.00–3,300.00 $2,825.00 —
970–1155 1049 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 2,800.00–3,550.00 $3,110.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1010–1100 1065 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 3,800.00–4,100.00 $3,950.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1260–1275 1268 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 4,100.00–5,500.00 $4,800.00 +1,000.00

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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.