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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 3, 2020

616 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 $120.69/cwt +8.32 vs last sale · ≈ $574/hd at 475 lb · 25 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $107.35/cwt +2.37 vs last sale · ≈ $508/hd at 473 lb · 22 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $116.21/cwt +10.79 vs last sale · ≈ $435/hd at 374 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 616 540 712
Feeder cattle 460 443 575
Slaughter cattle 153 87 137
Replacement cattle 3 5 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago, breaking type slaughter cows were 6.00 to 7.00 higher, while boning type slaughter cows and slaughter bulls were 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder steers were mostly 12.00 to 14.00 higher; four-weight heifers were mostly 2.00 to 3.00 higher, while five- and six-weights were mostly 3.00 to 5.00 lower; and feeder bulls were mostly 2.00 to 9.00 higher. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average. There were (9) dairy steers, large 3, average weight of 50 lbs. that brought 25.00 per head.

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
232 232 1 130.00 $130.00 $302 +6.33
262 262 1 143.00 $143.00 $375 +15.34
308–348 328 15 124.00–149.00 $135.59 $445 +14.23
352–398 374 16 123.00–145.00 $133.51 $499 +12.96
404–438 422 15 120.00–138.00 $129.12 $545 +12.30
448 448 1 117.00 $117.00 $524 —
452–498 477 4 121.00–134.00 $128.18 $611 +10.87
510–530 522 4 119.00–126.00 $121.24 $633 +2.22
562–580 568 7 120.00–127.00 $124.14 $705 +6.07
600 600 1 118.00 $118.00 $708 +0.88
694 694 6 122.00 $122.00 $847 +13.52
724 724 1 113.00 $113.00 $818 -0.20
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–246 235 6 108.00–118.00 $114.44 $269 -1.56
278–288 283 2 121.00–123.00 $121.98 $345 +12.98
306–338 324 12 108.00–120.00 $116.59 $378 +9.39
332 thin fleshed 332 1 97.00 $97.00 $322 —
352–394 379 7 107.00–120.00 $116.80 $443 +10.18
404–437 419 7 110.00–122.00 $114.75 $481 +7.84
488–496 492 2 106.00–107.00 $106.50 $524 -2.47
592 592 1 100.00 $100.00 $592 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
162 162 1 90.00 $90.00 $146 —
210 thin fleshed 210 1 78.00 $78.00 $164 —
220 220 1 100.00 $100.00 $220 +4.74
382 382 1 85.00 $85.00 $325 —
444 444 1 100.00 $100.00 $444 +17.96

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254–296 283 5 113.00–120.00 $117.06 $331 -1.51
310–334 324 11 109.00–121.00 $115.13 $373 +9.86
350–398 374 21 109.00–130.00 $116.21 $435 +10.79
402–448 425 16 110.00–123.00 $114.72 $488 +11.01
436–440 438 2 101.00–103.00 $102.00 $447 -1.71
456–498 473 22 100.00–117.00 $107.35 $508 +2.37
508–542 524 9 89.00–110.00 $96.00 $503 -4.18
555 value added 555 2 121.00 $121.00 $672 —
554–590 578 5 90.00–101.00 $94.03 $543 -3.70
582 582 1 84.00 $84.00 $489 -13.73
624–640 631 3 84.00–96.00 $88.29 $557 -7.90
633–634 value added 633 4 116.00–133.00 $128.74 $815 —
674 674 1 88.00 $88.00 $593 -1.02
692–696 value added 694 2 123.00–130.00 $126.49 $878 —
722 722 1 87.00 $87.00 $628 +3.00
767 value added 767 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,074 —
780–788 784 2 90.00–95.00 $92.49 $725 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
196 196 1 102.00 $102.00 $200 —
246 246 1 100.00 $100.00 $246 —
262–286 275 3 107.00–109.00 $107.63 $296 +0.59
308–340 317 5 91.00–107.00 $101.41 $321 +8.41
354–398 375 6 100.00–106.00 $103.14 $387 +10.52
408–446 431 3 99.00–100.00 $99.66 $430 +10.10
436 436 1 87.00 $87.00 $379 +7.00
450–490 465 4 95.00–100.00 $98.04 $456 +9.81
504–516 510 2 88.00–90.00 $89.01 $454 +6.30
536 536 1 75.00 $75.00 $402 -7.71
550–578 565 3 80.00–83.00 $81.36 $460 -1.83
566–598 582 2 70.00–78.00 $74.11 $431 -9.08
600–640 617 3 74.00–80.00 $77.93 $481 —
640 thin fleshed 640 1 71.00 $71.00 $454 -4.00
680 thin fleshed 680 1 69.00 $69.00 $469 —
762 762 1 58.00 $58.00 $442 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
128 thin fleshed 128 1 77.50 $77.50 $99 —
180–198 189 2 100.00–102.00 $100.95 $191 —
216–240 228 2 80.00–87.00 $83.32 $190 —
302–314 308 2 90.00–91.00 $90.51 $279 +6.51
544 544 1 64.00 $64.00 $348 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 1 110.00 $110.00 $508 -2.37
452–498 476 24 114.00–129.00 $121.14 $577 +8.77
508–544 521 10 107.00–121.00 $115.88 $604 +6.09
550–592 575 11 105.00–121.00 $114.24 $657 +3.35
604–644 619 10 100.00–116.00 $108.95 $674 +2.11
650–688 671 8 105.00–114.00 $108.26 $726 +8.25
748 748 1 91.00 $91.00 $681 +0.54
764–790 777 2 85.00–94.00 $89.42 $695 -15.58
812 812 1 83.00 $83.00 $674 -10.98
868 868 1 92.00 $92.00 $799 -0.72
924 924 1 86.00 $86.00 $795 —
984 984 1 80.00 $80.00 $787 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464–496 479 4 98.00–106.00 $101.25 $485 +8.59
504 thin fleshed 504 1 80.00 $80.00 $403 -2.97
520 520 1 99.00 $99.00 $515 +8.38
572–580 577 3 84.00–97.00 $90.30 $521 -2.18
620 620 1 80.00 $80.00 $496 ±0.00
636 thin fleshed 636 1 70.00 $70.00 $445 —
814 814 1 70.00 $70.00 $570 -5.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
474 474 1 74.00 $74.00 $351 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
466 466 1 86.00 $86.00 $401 +4.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1450 1126 80-85% 60 57.00–66.00 $62.84 $708 —
976–1346 1177 80-85% 16 67.00–69.00 $67.65 $796 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
834–844 839 85-90% 2 35.00–39.00 $37.01 $311 —
762–1394 940 85-90% 17 48.00–60.00 $53.66 $504 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1208–1702 1459 75-80% 13 62.00–67.00 $64.25 $937 +6.07

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1304–1888 1574 5 74.00–87.00 $80.03 $1,260 —
1360–1766 1581 3 44.00–65.00 $56.40 $892 —
1490–2044 1784 9 92.00–100.00 $95.26 $1,699 —

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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
946 946 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 -125.00
1128 1128 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
610 610 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 350.00 $350.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
879 879 1 60.00 $60.00 $527 —
938 938 1 61.00 $61.00 $572 —
976–994 984 3 56.00–63.00 $60.01 $590 —
1102 1102 1 60.00 $60.00 $661 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
150 150 5 47.00–48.00 $47.80 $72 —
556 556 1 41.00 $41.00 $228 -13.00

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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.