Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 29, 2020

477 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Powell Livestock Market report →

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $128.64/cwt +13.18 vs last sale · ≈ $600/hd at 466 lb · 24 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.28/cwt +7.99 vs last sale · ≈ $548/hd at 424 lb · 21 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $126.66/cwt +3.05 vs last sale · ≈ $475/hd at 375 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 477 571 693
Feeder cattle 421 476 562
Slaughter cattle 53 95 129
Replacement cattle 3 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 7.00 to 8.00 higher on a light test while boning type were 4.00 to 5.00 higher and slaughter bulls were 3.00 to 4.00 higher. There were too few comparable feeder steers to establish an adequate market comparison; feeder heifers were mostly 2.00 to 3.00 higher; and feeder bulls were widely mixed. Demand was light to moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 122.00 $122.00 $220 —
216–238 228 5 119.00–133.00 $125.98 $287 +5.00
258–294 274 5 123.00–139.00 $129.61 $355 -0.07
302–340 327 6 120.00–130.00 $124.61 $407 +1.21
350–398 375 16 120.00–136.00 $126.66 $475 +3.05
402–448 424 21 120.00–135.00 $129.28 $548 +7.99
450–494 462 4 129.00–132.00 $130.46 $603 —
524–530 527 2 115.00–118.00 $116.49 $614 -0.50
550–598 575 7 105.00–116.00 $111.53 $641 -5.14
602 602 1 109.00 $109.00 $656 -6.18
650 650 1 105.00 $105.00 $682 -9.03
706 706 1 115.00 $115.00 $812 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
282–284 283 2 115.00–117.00 $116.00 $328 +4.06
316–344 330 5 100.00–119.00 $112.96 $373 +4.30
352–392 373 9 104.00–117.00 $112.71 $420 +7.08
410–444 428 9 97.00–115.00 $105.61 $452 +1.20
430 thin fleshed 430 1 80.00 $80.00 $344 -4.00
496 496 1 115.00 $115.00 $570 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
198 198 1 97.50 $97.50 $193 —
280 280 1 81.00 $81.00 $227 —
356–376 363 3 80.00–96.00 $90.15 $327 +20.15
412–440 426 2 79.00–97.00 $87.70 $374 +4.70

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–222 220 2 114.00–116.00 $114.99 $253 -1.01
252–292 277 6 112.00–123.00 $116.71 $323 +2.06
312–346 329 11 110.00–122.00 $115.62 $380 +5.67
350–398 374 13 110.00–119.00 $114.29 $427 +7.65
406–448 425 11 105.00–114.00 $108.25 $460 +2.33
452–496 469 12 100.00–109.00 $104.66 $491 +2.12
512–538 525 5 90.00–103.00 $97.66 $513 +2.68
552–592 571 8 89.00–99.00 $94.55 $540 -0.76
614–628 621 4 87.00–92.00 $88.99 $553 -3.06
661–692 674 8 84.00–95.00 $91.34 $616 +14.34
719 719 2 92.00 $92.00 $661 +7.00
782 782 1 70.00 $70.00 $547 —
802–836 821 4 70.00–78.00 $73.73 $605 —
858–874 866 2 72.00–82.00 $77.05 $667 —
950 950 1 80.00 $80.00 $760 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–240 225 3 104.00–111.00 $106.47 $240 -1.16
274–290 282 2 100.00–102.00 $100.97 $285 —
352–394 371 8 90.00–100.00 $95.84 $356 +2.33
402–436 418 4 89.00–95.00 $92.20 $385 +4.89
452 thin fleshed 452 1 75.00 $75.00 $339 —
456–498 479 12 80.00–90.00 $86.92 $416 +0.52
504–530 thin fleshed 517 2 74.00–80.00 $76.92 $398 —
506–540 522 4 80.00–85.00 $82.70 $432 +0.23
550–596 576 6 72.00–84.00 $78.31 $451 -3.48
598 thin fleshed 598 1 78.00 $78.00 $466 —
616–640 628 2 77.00–82.00 $79.55 $500 +0.55
730 730 1 70.00 $70.00 $511 —
776 776 1 54.00 $54.00 $419 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
216 216 1 104.00 $104.00 $225 —
250 250 1 83.00 $83.00 $208 —
336–344 340 2 86.00–92.00 $88.96 $302 —
356–386 372 3 80.00–85.00 $81.93 $305 -3.02
434 434 1 85.00 $85.00 $369 +2.38
486 486 1 80.00 $80.00 $389 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
451–488 465 23 118.00–136.00 $129.67 $603 +13.68
492 492 1 105.00 $105.00 $517 -3.00
500–548 521 13 100.00–115.00 $108.91 $567 -4.04
552–598 573 8 90.00–110.00 $102.28 $586 -8.94
604–630 613 5 85.00–95.00 $88.76 $544 -12.46
652–694 670 11 79.00–90.00 $84.64 $567 -11.94
678 thin fleshed 678 1 80.00 $80.00 $542 —
702–738 717 3 80.00–88.00 $82.61 $592 -8.97
758–772 765 2 78.00–79.00 $78.50 $601 -9.48
860–896 878 2 80.00–83.00 $81.53 $716 -7.30
926 926 1 74.00 $74.00 $685 -9.82
958 958 1 75.00 $75.00 $718 -8.67
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–494 479 9 90.00–106.00 $98.53 $472 -0.74
508–542 523 8 80.00–100.00 $91.03 $476 -0.29
514–548 thin fleshed 531 2 70.00–76.00 $73.10 $388 —
554–556 thin fleshed 555 2 70.00–76.00 $73.01 $405 —
556–590 569 7 86.00–92.00 $88.41 $503 -5.48
606 606 1 80.00 $80.00 $485 ±0.00
658–662 660 2 74.00–80.00 $76.99 $508 -7.44
700–716 708 3 70.00–77.00 $73.68 $522 -10.32
790 thin fleshed 790 1 68.00 $68.00 $537 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 88.00 $88.00 $414 ±0.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
908–1430 1168 80-85% 17 47.00–58.00 $54.55 $637 —
1166–1408 1287 80-85% 2 65.00–70.00 $67.74 $872 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740–842 791 85-90% 4 25.00–35.00 $29.30 $232 —
772–1256 956 85-90% 14 41.00–51.00 $46.69 $446 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1334 1201 75-80% 3 45.00–62.00 $55.52 $667 —
1940 1940 75-80% 1 40.00 $40.00 $776 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1082–1612 1347 2 64.00–75.00 $70.58 $951 +3.13
1098–1732 1415 2 53.00–59.00 $55.33 $783 —

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1286 1286 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
1274–1392 1333 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
488 488 1 69.00 $69.00 $337 —

↑ Back to top

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.