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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 10, 2020

436 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $123.28/cwt +7.40 vs last sale · ≈ $641/hd at 520 lb · 20 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $126.04/cwt +5.35 vs last sale · ≈ $593/hd at 470 lb · 16 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.42/cwt +8.11 vs last sale · ≈ $519/hd at 427 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 436 616 522
Feeder cattle 352 460 408
Slaughter cattle 81 153 114
Replacement cattle 3 3 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 3.00 to 5.00 lower, while bulls were steady to 1.00 higher. Feeder steers were mostly 1.00 to 2.00 higher on a light test; heifers were mostly 10.00 to 11.00 higher; feeder bulls weighing 450-550 lbs. were 5.00 to 8.00 higher, while 550-650 lbs. were steady to 2.00 lower, and 650-700 lbs. were 7.00 to 8.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average with a lot of thin fleshed cows and calves offered.

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
214 214 1 122.00 $122.00 $261 -8.00
258–298 270 6 123.00–134.00 $128.02 $346 -14.98
300–346 328 6 126.00–144.00 $134.18 $440 -1.41
350–398 370 9 130.00–145.00 $137.04 $507 +3.53
400–440 414 14 122.00–137.00 $130.36 $540 +1.24
466–494 480 2 133.00–135.00 $133.97 $643 +5.79
506 506 1 125.00 $125.00 $632 +3.76
624–640 635 3 115.00–120.00 $117.66 $747 -0.34
752 752 1 115.00 $115.00 $865 —
1092 1092 1 97.00 $97.00 $1,059 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–296 273 2 110.00–120.00 $115.42 $315 -6.56
304–321 310 3 110.00–120.00 $116.22 $360 -0.37
382–394 389 3 110.00–118.00 $113.63 $442 -3.17
424–432 427 3 100.00–120.00 $109.98 $470 -4.77
486–496 490 3 111.00–118.00 $115.31 $565 +8.81
608 608 1 80.00 $80.00 $486 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
284 284 1 84.00 $84.00 $239 —
310–342 323 3 90.00–106.00 $98.43 $318 —
326 thin fleshed 326 1 80.00 $80.00 $261 —
354–394 374 2 86.00–104.00 $95.48 $357 +10.48
402 thin fleshed 402 1 81.00 $81.00 $326 —
420 420 1 94.00 $94.00 $395 -6.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
248 248 1 117.00 $117.00 $290 —
260–290 280 3 118.00–126.00 $123.18 $345 +6.12
312–340 326 6 113.00–125.00 $120.36 $392 +5.23
354–394 369 11 115.00–126.00 $120.03 $443 +3.82
420 420 1 107.00 $107.00 $449 -7.72
404–442 428 13 114.00–133.00 $122.53 $524 +7.81
450–496 473 10 114.00–132.00 $120.24 $569 +12.89
504–548 524 10 100.00–110.00 $106.59 $559 +10.59
550–596 570 9 100.00–110.00 $104.62 $596 +10.59
648 648 1 93.00 $93.00 $603 +4.71
684–686 685 2 90.00 $90.00 $616 +2.00
685 value added 685 10 117.00 $117.00 $801 -9.49
734 734 1 78.00 $78.00 $573 -9.00
722–748 735 2 85.00–88.00 $86.47 $636 -0.53
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
238 238 2 100.00–106.00 $103.00 $245 +3.00
278–296 287 3 101.00–112.00 $107.65 $309 +0.02
300–336 318 2 100.00–111.00 $105.19 $335 +3.78
380–384 382 2 100.00–104.00 $101.99 $390 -1.15
424–434 427 3 90.00–99.00 $92.98 $397 -6.68
458–462 460 2 86.00–98.00 $92.03 $423 -6.01
504–522 510 3 87.00–90.00 $88.67 $452 -0.34
558 558 1 85.00 $85.00 $474 +3.64
604 604 1 83.00 $83.00 $501 +5.07
656–678 667 2 70.00–85.00 $77.38 $516 —
726 726 1 80.00 $80.00 $581 —
800 800 1 75.00 $75.00 $600 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
284 284 1 83.00 $83.00 $236 —
538 538 1 77.00 $77.00 $414 +13.00
598 thin fleshed 598 1 60.00 $60.00 $359 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 458 1 115.00 $115.00 $527 +5.00
450–494 471 15 120.00–134.00 $126.78 $597 +5.64
516 value added 516 15 126.00 $126.00 $650 —
506–548 533 5 111.00–120.00 $115.12 $614 -0.76
552–598 578 12 110.00–119.00 $114.15 $660 -0.09
604–644 621 8 109.00–113.00 $111.37 $692 +2.42
686–692 690 4 97.00–106.00 $100.75 $695 -7.51
714–742 728 5 94.00–99.00 $97.58 $710 +6.58
768–790 779 2 91.00–98.00 $94.55 $737 +5.13
816–842 825 3 86.00–89.00 $87.35 $721 +4.35
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472 thin fleshed 472 1 87.00 $87.00 $411 —
474–496 481 3 108.00–112.00 $109.64 $527 +8.39
500–548 521 5 94.00–102.00 $96.97 $505 -2.03
540–548 thin fleshed 544 2 79.00–83.00 $81.01 $441 —
568 568 1 105.00 $105.00 $596 +14.70
616–626 621 2 80.00–92.00 $86.05 $534 +6.05
666–684 675 2 81.00–88.00 $84.45 $570 —
736 736 1 80.00 $80.00 $589 —
780 780 1 74.00 $74.00 $577 —
850 850 1 78.00 $78.00 $663 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472 472 1 82.00 $82.00 $387 -4.00
632–638 635 2 68.00 $68.00 $432 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
712–1102 909 85-90% 7 31.00–44.00 $40.17 $365 -13.49
794–1214 1010 85-90% 21 45.00–57.00 $51.75 $523 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
932–1448 1195 80-85% 14 57.00–63.00 $59.71 $714 -7.94
1196 1196 80-85% 1 43.00 $43.00 $514 -24.65
1172–1334 1253 80-85% 2 66.00 $66.00 $827 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1406–1780 1567 75-80% 5 53.00–66.00 $59.37 $930 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–2256 1463 10 74.00–88.00 $80.99 $1,185 —
1412–1740 1541 4 90.00–94.00 $92.52 $1,426 —
YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1114–1326 1220 2 61.00–66.00 $63.72 $777 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
696–784 740 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 400.00–425.00 $413.24 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1158 1158 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 975.00 $975.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314 thin fleshed 314 1 52.00 $52.00 $163 —
556 556 1 59.00 $59.00 $328 +18.00

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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.