Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle Market Report

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 20, 2026

675 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 675 771 737
Slaughter cattle 292 406 372
Replacement cattle 383 365 365

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cows and bulls were steady to 2.00 higher with most of the gain on high dressing cattle. Demand was good on a moderate supply of bred cows and slaughter animals and a light supply of pairs. The top slaughter bull sold for 258.00/cwt and the top slaughter cow sold for 200.00/cwt., both at or near record prices for ORS. On the replacement side, the top pairs sold for 5000.00/pair and the top bred cows sold for 4100.00/head. Hay harvest has been delayed as rains moved acrossed the area with hopes it will help with increasing yields once the field dry out.

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
905–1525 1182 (<2 yrs)N/A 3 3,100.00–3,350.00 $3,239.00 —
1470–1540 1505 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 2 3,600.00–4,300.00 $3,941.86 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705–1140 954 85-90% 21 125.00–151.00 $139.96 $1,335 -21.02
760–1345 985 85-90% 16 99.00–120.00 $109.38 $1,077 -65.71
850–1385 1007 85-90% 19 170.00–192.00 $177.81 $1,791 —
775–1385 1075 85-90% 46 151.00–170.00 $160.15 $1,722 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1320 1206 80-85% 59 168.00–185.00 $176.37 $2,127 -3.03
1130–1330 1216 80-85% 10 187.00–195.00 $189.99 $2,310 +0.27
1080–1300 1227 80-85% 13 153.00–167.00 $162.12 $1,989 -27.60
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1195–1795 1447 75-80% 56 170.00–186.00 $179.26 $2,594 —
1335–1625 1473 75-80% 12 153.00–169.00 $163.35 $2,406 —
1365–1630 1474 75-80% 9 189.00–200.00 $193.04 $2,845 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1920 1594 6 192.50–203.00 $197.62 $3,150 -0.48
1375–2065 1661 16 207.00–224.00 $215.18 $3,574 —
1410–2015 1698 9 225.00–258.00 $233.28 $3,961 —

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Stock Cows

Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
700–1050 906 (<2 yrs)Open 6 280.00–305.00 $285.58 $2,587
775–1145 1040 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 38 182.50–280.00 $225.98 $2,350
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1170–1595 1294 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 20 182.50–250.00 $203.92 $2,639
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
700–1080 866 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 14 134.00–177.50 $161.39 $1,398
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1182–1250 1192 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 7 176.00–180.00 $179.40 $2,138

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155–1442 1304 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 39 2,700.00–3,450.00 $3,088.52
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1162–1285 1204 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 9 1,950.00–2,300.00 $2,174.70
1150–1450 1224 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 30 2,000.00–2,750.00 $2,415.96
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
850–1140 1040 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 12 1,650.00–2,100.00 $1,862.70
860–1145 1070 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 24 2,000.00–2,650.00 $2,323.15
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1015–1130 1057 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 22 2,850.00–3,400.00 $2,996.71
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–1023 828 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 12 1,100.00–1,400.00 $1,250.64
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1470–1620 1538 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 2,800.00–2,900.00 $2,868.15
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1190–1270 1243 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 3,850.00–4,100.00 $3,929.76

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1100–1120 1113 Young (2-4 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 12 3,600.00–3,700.00 $3,667.07
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
800–1027 892 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 6 2,500.00–2,600.00 $2,536.94
980 980 Young (2-4 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 3,750.00 $3,750.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1048–1125 1068 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 9 3,500.00–5,000.00 $4,088.89 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1185–1240 1228 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 7 3,700.00–3,900.00 $3,871.43 —

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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.