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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 14, 2021

369 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.98/cwt +4.57 vs last sale · ≈ $639/hd at 423 lb · 15 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $146.64/cwt +7.18 vs last sale · ≈ $698/hd at 476 lb · 14 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.23/cwt -2.47 vs last sale · ≈ $590/hd at 526 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 369 387 551
Feeder cattle 279 339 475
Slaughter cattle 87 45 74
Replacement cattle 3 3 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 7.00 to 8.00 lower and boning type were 2.00 to 3.00 lower, while slaughter bulls were 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder steers were mostly steady to 8.00 higher; heifers mostly steady to 5.00 higher; while feeder bulls were mostly 5.00 to 7.00 lower. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was 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
206–240 227 3 119.00–126.00 $121.47 $276 -4.53
286 286 1 142.00 $142.00 $406 +9.34
302–340 328 6 142.00–152.00 $147.49 $484 +10.38
350–398 372 9 140.00–160.00 $147.79 $550 +2.99
404–442 423 15 139.00–157.00 $150.98 $639 +1.66
450–494 476 14 141.00–155.00 $146.64 $698 +7.18
500–532 520 5 141.00–149.00 $145.34 $756 +4.17
550 550 1 140.00 $140.00 $770 +13.65
630 630 3 117.00–122.00 $118.67 $748 +0.33
678 678 1 116.00 $116.00 $786 -4.03
754 754 1 108.00 $108.00 $814 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
236 236 1 112.50 $112.50 $266 +9.50
278 278 1 110.00 $110.00 $306 -8.47
352–354 353 2 117.00–122.00 $119.49 $422 -0.17
406–418 412 2 112.00–122.00 $117.07 $482 +2.08
460 460 1 120.00 $120.00 $552 +2.37
529 529 9 115.00 $115.00 $608 —
650 650 2 94.00 $94.00 $611 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 106.00 $106.00 $307 —
388 388 1 104.00 $104.00 $404 —
438 438 1 99.00 $99.00 $434 —
480 480 1 98.00 $98.00 $470 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262–264 263 2 116.00–123.00 $119.49 $314 +4.15
302–308 304 3 114.00–123.00 $117.70 $358 +7.70
354–398 369 8 118.00–128.00 $125.90 $465 +7.62
400–438 417 6 115.00–126.00 $120.31 $502 -0.54
450–478 465 11 110.00–126.00 $120.94 $562 +0.88
506–541 526 12 104.00–117.00 $112.23 $590 -2.47
552–568 565 7 104.00–111.00 $110.02 $622 +4.03
566 566 1 95.00 $95.00 $538 -10.99
602–633 618 5 107.00–109.00 $108.61 $671 +4.40
676–694 685 2 91.00–97.00 $93.96 $644 -10.00
720 720 1 100.00 $100.00 $720 +6.51
818 818 1 94.00 $94.00 $769 —
878–880 879 2 87.00–91.00 $89.00 $782 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
202–226 214 2 104.00–112.00 $107.78 $231 -2.22
260–296 283 3 107.00–110.00 $109.08 $309 +1.89
316–320 318 2 101.00–110.00 $105.47 $335 +1.78
350–394 376 5 90.00–106.00 $99.09 $373 —
422–438 431 3 99.00–106.00 $102.29 $441 +4.94
452–488 470 4 94.00–102.00 $98.97 $465 -2.03
518 518 1 80.00 $80.00 $414 -10.00
556–584 571 3 81.00–91.00 $86.03 $491 +0.75
614 614 1 80.00 $80.00 $491 -4.00
650 650 1 80.00 $80.00 $520 -11.00
780 780 1 70.00 $70.00 $546 ±0.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 96.00 $96.00 $192 +2.79
224 224 1 72.00 $72.00 $161 -21.21
370 370 1 89.00 $89.00 $329 —
416 416 1 84.00 $84.00 $349 —
530 530 1 80.00 $80.00 $424 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–492 469 7 140.00–155.00 $147.02 $690 +4.07
514 514 1 115.00 $115.00 $591 -4.00
534–538 536 2 125.00–134.00 $129.48 $694 -6.10
550–576 562 4 117.00–131.00 $121.50 $683 -11.07
634 634 5 119.00 $119.00 $754 +2.00
654–686 661 11 100.00–109.00 $105.68 $699 -5.53
718–740 729 2 90.00–96.00 $92.95 $678 -6.65
822 822 1 89.00 $89.00 $732 —
916 916 1 69.00 $69.00 $632 -10.50
930 930 1 85.00 $85.00 $790 +5.50
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–460 456 2 100.00–110.00 $104.96 $479 -5.34
502–506 504 2 108.00–110.00 $109.00 $549 —
550–586 571 3 100.00–110.00 $104.06 $594 +9.02
690 690 1 80.00 $80.00 $552 ±0.00
754–766 760 2 80.00 $80.00 $608 -8.00
826 826 1 87.00 $87.00 $719 +7.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
756–1152 899 85-90% 6 34.00–44.00 $39.78 $358 —
728–1388 1006 85-90% 36 45.00–56.00 $51.46 $518 -0.82
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
868–1478 1142 80-85% 17 55.00–66.00 $58.64 $670 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1342–1478 1391 75-80% 3 54.00–59.00 $55.94 $778 -7.13

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1076–1106 1091 2 62.00–63.00 $62.51 $682 —
1148–1928 1478 7 70.00–90.00 $83.28 $1,231 —
1768 1768 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,662 —

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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
1110–1406 1258 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 925.00–1,125.00 $1,036.76 —
Small 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
660 660 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 425.00 $425.00 —

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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.