Cattle Market Pulse

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Slaughter / Replacement Cattle Market Report, West Plains, MO

West Plains, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 26, 2026

553 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 553 310 884
Slaughter cattle 221 123 292
Replacement cattle 332 187 592

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows and bulls were 3.00-6.00 lower. Demand was moderate on slaughter animals and good on replacement cattle. The top slaughter bull sold for 225.00/cwt. and the top slaughter cow sold for 175.00/cwt. On the replacement side, the top pair sold for 4050.00/pair and the top bred cow sold for 3900.00/head. During the video auction, 90 head of 1100 lb. black-hided bred heifers in the 2nd/3rd stage sold for 4200.00-4300.00/head. The USDA's Cold Storage Report was released Monday and reported the total pounds of beef in freezers were down 2 percent from the previous month and down 4 percent from last 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
1370–1460 1415 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 3 3,600.00–3,800.00 $3,733.33 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725–1040 865 85-90% 11 80.00–110.00 $99.42 $860 —
700–1370 1022 85-90% 36 112.50–133.00 $123.93 $1,267 -6.35
795–1585 1075 85-90% 52 134.00–151.00 $142.96 $1,537 -8.34
940–1270 1124 85-90% 8 152.50–155.00 $154.20 $1,733 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1835 1465 75-80% 26 152.50–165.00 $156.41 $2,291 —
1325–1635 1537 75-80% 9 148.00–151.00 $150.00 $2,306 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1300 1205 80-85% 16 142.50–151.00 $147.94 $1,783 —
1085–1330 1223 80-85% 15 152.00–165.00 $156.89 $1,919 -20.28
1245 1245 80-85% 3 175.00 $175.00 $2,179 -2.17

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1800 1541 8 171.00–192.00 $186.07 $2,867 —
1260–2010 1579 28 194.00–211.00 $202.57 $3,199 +16.25
1460–2380 1939 8 212.00–225.00 $218.13 $4,230 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1155–1510 1271 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 14 160.00–217.50 $196.16 $2,493
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1150–1595 1284 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 112.00–153.00 $137.51 $1,766
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
755–990 898 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 185.00–245.00 $226.55 $2,034
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
865–1120 993 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 124.00–157.50 $142.90 $1,419

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1007–1490 1325 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 50 2,800.00–3,900.00 $3,231.11
1335–1415 1375 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,650.00–3,200.00 $2,933.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1180–1270 1211 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 8 1,700.00–2,100.00 $1,908.05
1155–1440 1250 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 26 2,200.00–2,700.00 $2,436.10
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
725–1145 1040 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 20 1,800.00–2,600.00 $2,172.23
925–1185 1056 Aged (>8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 7 1,600.00–1,800.00 $1,689.65
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020–1160 1073 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 2,800.00–2,900.00 $2,863.98
1105–1140 1126 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 12 3,000.00–3,400.00 $3,304.18
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1523–2025 1650 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 2,700.00–3,600.00 $3,001.19
Small 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
700–1130 910 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 1,250.00–1,700.00 $1,513.19

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Bred Heifers

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
775–825 800 (<2 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 1,600.00–2,150.00 $1,915.10

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
900–1085 1011 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 2,800.00–3,100.00 $2,920.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1325 1325 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 4,050.00 $4,050.00 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1170–1510 1258 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 2,500.00–3,350.00 $3,062.50 —

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Open Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
771–808 780 (<2 yrs)N/A 83 2,650.00–2,900.00 $2,852.45 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–1020 941 (<2 yrs)N/A 6 200.00–250.00 $236.90 $2,229 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1205 1198 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 2 220.00 $220.00 $2,636 —

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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.