Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 11, 2021

331 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $129.05/cwt -18.46 vs last sale · ≈ $489/hd at 379 lb · 13 head
light 3-weight M 2 heifers $98.19/cwt -9.42 vs last sale · ≈ $324/hd at 330 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 331 507 372
Feeder cattle 246 399 333
Slaughter cattle 80 106 38
Replacement cattle 1 2 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 1.00 to 2.00 lower, while boning type slaughter cows and slaughter bulls were 5.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder cattle were mostly 4.00 to 9.00 lower, some sharply lower. Demand was light to moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light due to ongoing cold and wet weather which is forecasted to continue for the next five days. Cattle quality was plain to average. Baby calves (2 steers) weighing 60 lbs. were 95.00 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
288–294 291 2 124.00–136.00 $130.06 $378 -7.63
304–346 326 8 125.00–136.00 $128.10 $418 -7.91
360–398 379 13 123.00–137.00 $129.05 $489 -18.46
404–442 420 9 122.00–134.00 $126.75 $532 -0.20
452–474 463 2 125.00–128.00 $126.54 $586 -22.47
537 537 6 125.00 $125.00 $671 -15.66
556–559 558 5 124.00–127.00 $126.40 $705 -4.10
743 743 2 103.00 $103.00 $765 —
782 782 1 109.00 $109.00 $852 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–298 268 6 110.00–120.00 $114.22 $306 +2.57
322–346 335 7 106.00–123.00 $117.78 $395 +4.12
354 354 1 120.00 $120.00 $425 +4.64
400–428 415 3 110.00–116.00 $113.99 $473 -6.66
546 546 1 97.00 $97.00 $530 —
596 596 1 94.00 $94.00 $560 —
606 606 1 91.00 $91.00 $551 —
716 716 1 83.00 $83.00 $594 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
208–244 226 2 100.00–102.00 $100.92 $228 +1.41
336–344 340 3 90.00–96.00 $92.33 $314 -7.67
408 408 1 98.00 $98.00 $400 -2.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
244 244 1 73.00 $73.00 $178 —
278–290 284 3 70.00–93.00 $81.91 $233 —
408 408 1 80.00 $80.00 $326 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276 276 2 115.00–117.00 $116.00 $320 +6.00
332–342 337 2 107.00–114.00 $110.45 $372 +0.45
360–388 375 5 109.00–114.00 $112.43 $422 -8.48
416–440 425 6 106.00–114.00 $110.81 $471 -8.67
456–492 466 5 97.00–108.00 $102.95 $480 -10.31
508–542 523 7 100.00–111.00 $107.32 $561 +0.37
558–592 576 5 94.00–110.00 $103.83 $598 -5.87
750 750 1 82.00 $82.00 $615 —
856 856 2 86.00 $86.00 $736 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
264–298 286 3 92.00–100.00 $95.50 $273 -6.93
302–348 330 11 91.00–103.00 $98.19 $324 -9.42
354–366 360 2 97.00–100.00 $98.53 $355 +0.95
410–444 426 6 91.00–103.00 $95.55 $407 +1.71
450–484 467 6 84.00–100.00 $91.26 $426 +5.10
568–578 573 2 78.00–81.00 $79.49 $455 -11.51
626 626 1 79.00 $79.00 $495 -3.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–246 234 4 85.00–92.00 $89.08 $208 -3.72
260–282 271 2 81.00–97.00 $88.68 $240 -2.56
322–332 325 3 80.00–88.00 $83.71 $272 -1.50
372–386 381 3 80.00–91.00 $84.93 $324 -4.09
510 510 1 76.00 $76.00 $388 —
558–584 571 2 66.00–68.00 $66.98 $382 —
622 622 1 70.00 $70.00 $435 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 76.00 $76.00 $182 -6.00
366 366 1 73.00 $73.00 $267 -3.00
400 400 1 80.00 $80.00 $320 +6.00
462 462 1 73.00 $73.00 $337 +3.70

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464 464 1 111.00 $111.00 $515 -23.40
464–492 481 8 118.00–127.00 $122.17 $588 -12.23
506–546 528 3 110.00–119.00 $115.34 $609 -14.37
552–586 571 3 105.00–120.00 $110.52 $631 -18.90
624 624 3 103.00 $103.00 $643 +1.65
672–690 686 4 87.00–94.00 $88.72 $609 -7.28
994 994 1 79.00 $79.00 $785 -2.49
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–472 464 3 103.00–113.00 $108.71 $504 +6.56
510 510 1 90.00 $90.00 $459 -17.44
624 624 1 80.00 $80.00 $499 -3.00
708 708 1 81.00 $81.00 $573 —
752–778 765 2 79.00–82.00 $80.47 $616 +5.38
970 970 1 78.00 $78.00 $757 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
514–532 523 2 68.00–71.00 $69.47 $363 —
588 588 1 73.00 $73.00 $429 -3.00
616 616 1 62.00 $62.00 $382 -8.00
760 760 1 76.00 $76.00 $578 +16.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468 468 1 67.00 $67.00 $314 -7.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
874–1318 1065 80-85% 24 67.00–79.00 $74.74 $796 —
944–1392 1167 80-85% 13 80.00–91.00 $82.65 $965 +13.02
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
724–958 825 85-90% 6 40.00–48.00 $42.84 $353 —
730–1236 923 85-90% 18 59.00–71.00 $65.82 $608 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1126–1412 1301 75-80% 3 70.00–79.00 $74.01 $963 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1318 1318 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,213 —
1202–1688 1432 5 97.00–100.00 $98.42 $1,409 —
1722 1722 1 70.00 $70.00 $1,205 —

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
100 100 1 200.00 $200.00 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
630 630 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 575.00 $575.00 —

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
45 45 3 160.00 $160.00 —

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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.