Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 25, 2021

328 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $132.78/cwt ≈ $754/hd at 568 lb · 13 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.74/cwt ≈ $727/hd at 476 lb · 12 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $128.50/cwt +13.50 vs last sale · ≈ $856/hd at 666 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 328 51 701
Feeder cattle 298 6 595
Slaughter cattle 29 45 103
Replacement cattle 1 — 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

There were too few cattle the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison, however, a lower undertone was noted for slaughter cattle, while a higher undertone was noted for feeder cattle. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate to active. 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
216 216 1 123.00 $123.00 $266 —
262–288 276 5 124.00–140.00 $134.04 $370 —
310 310 1 134.00 $134.00 $415 —
306–340 324 4 144.00–150.00 $146.75 $475 —
354–372 363 3 130.00–135.00 $132.29 $480 —
356–398 386 8 155.00–166.00 $162.46 $627 —
402–446 421 8 140.00–158.00 $150.65 $634 —
424–438 431 2 136.00–137.00 $136.51 $588 —
450–492 476 12 146.00–155.00 $152.74 $727 —
504–532 515 7 137.00–152.00 $146.17 $753 —
560–596 575 5 132.00–139.00 $135.55 $779 —
600–612 606 2 130.00–131.00 $130.50 $791 —
666 666 12 128.50 $128.50 $856 +13.50
744 744 1 108.00 $108.00 $804 -8.00
766 766 2 120.00 $120.00 $919 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
272–296 285 3 120.00–130.00 $125.27 $357 —
302–336 322 5 115.00–130.00 $124.35 $400 +4.35
364–396 382 8 117.00–131.00 $124.27 $475 —
400–406 403 2 125.00–127.00 $125.99 $508 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–226 215 2 106.00–108.00 $106.95 $230 —
254–262 258 3 90.00–110.00 $101.69 $262 —
326 326 1 105.00 $105.00 $342 —
362–394 378 2 105.00–106.00 $105.52 $399 —
434 434 1 109.00 $109.00 $473 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
226 226 1 83.00 $83.00 $188 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 1 110.00 $110.00 $323 —
326–338 330 3 114.00–123.00 $117.99 $389 —
360–372 366 2 111.00 $111.00 $406 —
370–398 383 7 113.00–120.00 $117.01 $448 —
410–446 426 8 110.00–121.00 $115.74 $493 —
460–478 470 6 110.00–117.00 $114.01 $536 —
500–546 523 11 105.00–118.00 $111.40 $583 —
554–586 563 5 104.00–116.00 $108.77 $612 —
600–648 623 4 99.00–105.00 $101.28 $631 —
658–664 661 2 94.00–101.00 $97.52 $645 —
664 664 1 87.00 $87.00 $578 —
734 734 1 90.00 $90.00 $661 —
784 784 1 86.00 $86.00 $674 —
862–878 870 2 80.00–90.00 $85.05 $740 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
234 234 1 106.00 $106.00 $248 —
290–298 293 3 97.00–109.00 $103.37 $303 —
312–316 314 2 106.00–109.00 $107.51 $338 —
356–396 374 8 92.00–110.00 $98.83 $370 —
448 448 1 80.00 $80.00 $358 —
454–494 476 4 94.00–102.00 $99.53 $474 —
542 542 1 82.00 $82.00 $444 —
612 612 1 77.00 $77.00 $471 —
628 628 1 69.00 $69.00 $433 —
662 662 1 82.00 $82.00 $543 —
758–786 772 2 76.00–78.00 $77.02 $595 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
232 232 1 82.00 $82.00 $190 —
258 258 1 88.00 $88.00 $227 —
312–344 331 3 80.00–90.00 $84.97 $281 -8.03
446 446 1 80.00 $80.00 $357 —
522 522 1 62.00 $62.00 $324 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262 262 1 80.00 $80.00 $210 —
318 318 1 70.00 $70.00 $223 —
462 462 1 76.00 $76.00 $351 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–486 472 11 134.00–152.00 $143.73 $678 —
526–548 537 2 140.00–146.00 $142.94 $768 —
553–598 568 13 124.00–138.00 $132.78 $754 —
600–640 619 4 118.00–128.00 $121.53 $752 —
704–748 722 3 108.00–110.00 $109.00 $787 —
764–794 776 4 104.00–109.00 $107.02 $830 —
894 894 1 85.00 $85.00 $760 —
944 944 1 70.00 $70.00 $661 —
964 964 1 79.00 $79.00 $762 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
486 486 1 126.00 $126.00 $612 —
530–534 532 2 113.00–117.00 $115.01 $612 —
564–588 573 3 100.00–106.00 $101.98 $584 —
634 634 1 100.00 $100.00 $634 —
688 688 1 80.00 $80.00 $550 —
798 798 1 70.00 $70.00 $559 —
852–858 855 2 72.00–80.00 $75.99 $650 —
962 962 1 60.00 $60.00 $577 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630–636 633 2 70.00–71.00 $70.50 $446 —
664 664 1 60.00 $60.00 $398 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
670 670 1 60.00 $60.00 $402 —
846 846 1 64.00 $64.00 $541 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
988–1046 1017 80-85% 2 71.00–79.00 $74.89 $762 —
952–1316 1179 80-85% 6 64.00–69.00 $66.98 $790 -2.02
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
814–878 846 85-90% 2 39.00–40.00 $39.48 $334 —
846–1120 1028 85-90% 4 56.00–58.00 $56.79 $584 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1482 1482 75-80% 1 50.00 $50.00 $741 -17.56
1952 1952 75-80% 1 59.00 $59.00 $1,152 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
928–1032 968 6 41.00–60.00 $51.39 $497 —
980–1356 1219 3 70.00–80.00 $74.79 $912 —
2092 2092 1 99.00 $99.00 $2,071 —

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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 1 925.00 $925.00 —

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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.