Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report, Smithfield, NC

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, November 19, 2020

540 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $108.47/cwt +0.17 vs last sale · ≈ $570/hd at 526 lb · 23 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $104.98/cwt -0.92 vs last sale · ≈ $501/hd at 477 lb · 19 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $97.73/cwt -11.28 vs last sale · ≈ $574/hd at 587 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 540 182 619
Feeder cattle 443 150 484
Slaughter cattle 87 32 129
Replacement cattle 5 — 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Feeder steers and bulls had too few comparable head the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison, however a lower undertone was noted. Six-weight feeder heifers were 6.00 to 7.00 higher, while there were too few lighter weights the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison. Demand was light to moderate; market activity and buyer interest slow to 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
202–246 221 3 123.00–124.00 $123.67 $273 -9.42
272–286 279 2 121.00–134.00 $127.66 $356 —
300–340 324 8 117.00–129.00 $121.36 $393 -10.48
350–388 367 7 117.00–125.00 $120.55 $442 -6.30
400–418 406 5 115.00–120.00 $116.82 $474 -4.88
450–496 468 9 114.00–119.00 $117.31 $549 —
518–542 531 4 108.00–128.00 $119.02 $632 —
574–586 580 2 111.00–125.00 $118.07 $685 +23.07
608–634 623 7 108.00–123.00 $117.12 $730 —
650–697 683 7 106.00–115.00 $108.48 $741 -10.52
738–740 740 5 112.00–115.00 $113.20 $838 -3.80
804–830 817 2 112.00–115.00 $113.52 $927 +8.52
880 880 1 111.00 $111.00 $977 +2.00
926 926 1 106.00 $106.00 $982 —
974 974 1 80.00 $80.00 $779 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222 222 1 116.00 $116.00 $258 —
264 264 1 109.00 $109.00 $288 -6.48
330–348 338 4 97.00–112.00 $107.20 $362 -7.80
356–398 375 10 90.00–112.00 $106.62 $400 —
404–446 426 13 100.00–113.00 $106.91 $455 +0.19
462–470 466 2 105.00–113.00 $108.97 $508 —
518–538 528 2 90.00–100.00 $94.91 $501 +10.91
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–226 215 2 90.00–100.00 $95.26 $205 —
310 thin fleshed 310 1 75.00 $75.00 $232 —
346 346 1 91.00 $91.00 $315 —
412–444 428 2 81.00–83.00 $82.04 $351 -14.74
666 666 1 60.00 $60.00 $400 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
414 414 1 83.00 $83.00 $344 —
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
426 thin fleshed 426 1 61.00 $61.00 $260 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
226–238 232 2 115.00–135.00 $125.26 $291 —
262–290 273 4 107.00–137.50 $118.57 $324 -2.43
316–340 327 4 100.00–113.00 $105.27 $344 —
352–398 377 8 100.00–111.00 $105.42 $397 -8.69
400–438 418 9 94.00–114.00 $103.71 $434 -8.32
452–490 477 19 92.00–112.00 $104.98 $501 -0.92
502–546 520 15 91.00–105.00 $100.18 $521 -8.12
536 value added 536 8 124.00 $124.00 $665 —
558–598 587 19 89.00–102.00 $97.73 $574 -11.28
602–634 619 7 85.00–102.00 $96.19 $595 -9.44
654–692 675 5 81.00–95.00 $89.02 $601 -18.54
700 700 1 84.00 $84.00 $588 —
894 894 1 76.00 $76.00 $679 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256–278 267 2 106.00–108.00 $107.04 $286 —
344 344 1 93.00 $93.00 $320 -14.95
352–398 382 9 89.00–96.00 $92.62 $354 —
400–448 425 6 83.00–95.00 $89.56 $381 -3.44
434–444 thin fleshed 439 2 80.00–83.00 $81.48 $358 -0.52
444 444 1 80.00 $80.00 $355 -13.00
450–496 466 14 84.00–93.00 $88.23 $411 —
470–488 thin fleshed 479 2 75.00–79.00 $77.04 $369 —
508 thin fleshed 508 1 74.00 $74.00 $376 —
504–536 516 3 80.00–85.00 $82.71 $427 +1.73
574–592 583 5 80.00–86.00 $83.19 $485 —
630 thin fleshed 630 1 75.00 $75.00 $472 —
650 650 1 80.00 $80.00 $520 -4.84
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 84.00 $84.00 $260 —
366–394 380 2 73.00–83.00 $78.18 $297 —
406–428 419 3 70.00–75.00 $71.62 $300 -19.38
464–488 473 3 76.00–80.00 $78.36 $371 +8.36
504 504 1 78.00 $78.00 $393 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–346 323 3 79.00–86.00 $81.16 $262 —
386 386 1 85.00 $85.00 $328 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–498 473 8 106.00–119.00 $112.37 $532 -5.36
502–548 525 17 103.00–116.00 $109.79 $576 -9.88
550–580 561 13 102.00–125.00 $110.89 $622 +16.89
584 thin fleshed 584 1 80.00 $80.00 $467 —
598 598 1 96.00 $96.00 $574 +2.00
602–646 622 15 93.00–122.00 $106.84 $665 +6.68
650–698 667 8 89.00–107.00 $100.01 $667 +6.09
700–726 714 4 86.00–95.00 $90.46 $646 -0.54
758 758 1 105.00 $105.00 $796 —
808–814 811 3 87.00–105.00 $93.98 $762 —
852–872 859 3 89.00–100.00 $92.72 $796 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–494 476 6 89.00–99.00 $92.66 $441 -12.95
484 thin fleshed 484 1 83.00 $83.00 $402 —
504–544 526 4 86.00–98.00 $90.62 $477 -6.52
534–544 thin fleshed 539 2 80.00–86.00 $82.97 $447 —
550 thin fleshed 550 1 79.00 $79.00 $434 +1.68
550–588 568 6 90.00–95.00 $92.48 $525 +6.48
600 thin fleshed 600 1 72.00 $72.00 $432 —
622 622 1 80.00 $80.00 $498 -1.00
650–666 655 3 79.00–82.00 $80.33 $526 -5.67
662 thin fleshed 662 1 70.00 $70.00 $463 -1.00
800 800 1 75.00 $75.00 $600 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456 456 1 82.00 $82.00 $374 -2.00
556–560 558 2 70.00–73.00 $71.49 $399 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1322 988 85-90% 13 30.00–40.00 $35.22 $348 —
810–1244 1015 85-90% 19 43.00–54.00 $49.48 $502 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
904–1550 1204 80-85% 16 55.00–64.00 $58.18 $700 —
1160–1502 1317 80-85% 4 65.00–71.50 $66.80 $880 —
1502 1502 80-85% 1 44.00 $44.00 $661 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1228–1852 1483 75-80% 7 52.00–66.00 $58.18 $863 —
1460–1586 1526 75-80% 4 34.00–45.00 $38.91 $594 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1290–1344 1313 3 50.00–61.00 $56.33 $740 —
1014–1872 1473 5 67.00–81.00 $75.09 $1,106 —
2214 2214 2 93.00 $93.00 $2,059 —

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
120 120 1 195.00 $195.00 —

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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
938 938 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 875.00 $875.00 —
860–1100 952 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 800.00–925.00 $879.52 —
954 954 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 700.00 $700.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
574 574 1 54.00 $54.00 $310 —

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100 100 4 200.00–210.00 $202.50 —

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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.