Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 18, 2021

233 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 $142.56/cwt -6.75 vs last sale · ≈ $532/hd at 373 lb · 13 head

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $129.23/cwt +6.88 vs last sale · ≈ $812/hd at 628 lb · 10 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	233	615	320
Feeder cattle	207	507	247
Slaughter cattle	26	100	73
Replacement cattle	—	8	—

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were lightly tested, breaking type slaughter cows were 6.00 to 7.00 higher, boning type were steady to 1.00 higher, while slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder cattle were mostly 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were light due to the threat of severe thunderstorms in the region. 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
226–244	235	2	139.00–163.00	$151.46	$356	+17.46
268–298	284	5	142.00–162.00	$151.91	$431	+14.76
312–328	324	4	147.00–158.00	$152.97	$496	+6.85
350–388	369	10	138.00–155.00	$144.72	$534	-4.59
368–398	386	3	134.00–137.00	$135.35	$522	-13.96
400–424	413	4	142.00–151.00	$146.90	$607	-14.09
450–498	480	9	160.00–169.00	$164.23	$788	-2.59
587	587	3	159.00	$159.00	$933	+11.52
604	604	1	137.00	$137.00	$827	+10.21
700	700	1	110.00	$110.00	$770	—
758	758	1	115.00	$115.00	$872	+1.00

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
370–392	381	2	118.00–122.00	$119.94	$457	-3.36
410–436	419	3	130.00–131.00	$130.67	$548	+10.04
464–494	481	3	120.00–130.00	$126.29	$607	+6.80
580	580	1	114.00	$114.00	$661	±0.00
686	686	3	115.00	$115.00	$789	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
238	238	1	131.00	$131.00	$312	—
256–282	272	3	127.00–138.00	$131.13	$357	+8.74
300–346	327	7	129.00–135.00	$131.99	$432	+6.02
354–399	374	8	123.00–134.00	$127.05	$475	+1.16
406–444	426	7	122.00–129.00	$126.11	$537	+5.51
458–498	476	9	119.00–130.00	$124.90	$595	+3.35
504–542	526	3	104.00–116.00	$111.61	$587	-1.17
613–626	614	9	100.00–111.00	$109.75	$674	+5.77
656	656	1	90.00	$90.00	$590	-7.97
658	658	5	110.50	$110.50	$727	+12.53
750	750	1	78.00	$78.00	$585	—
831	831	3	100.00	$100.00	$831	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
264–286	270	4	119.00–120.00	$119.75	$323	+8.54
316–342	329	3	109.00–116.00	$111.68	$367	+8.65
368–382	375	2	109.00–117.00	$113.07	$424	+9.86
412–448	430	2	107.00–118.00	$112.27	$483	+8.89
476–480	478	2	90.00–92.00	$91.00	$435	-13.32
582–584	583	2	90.00	$90.00	$525	+10.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
472–476	474	2	140.00–160.00	$150.04	$711	-5.37
524	524	1	140.00	$140.00	$734	-7.41
566–576	571	2	130.00–139.00	$134.46	$768	+14.46
604–632	628	10	123.00–130.00	$129.23	$812	+4.69
656	656	1	130.00	$130.00	$853	+11.26
710	710	4	102.00	$102.00	$724	+6.00
764	764	1	100.00	$100.00	$764	—
834–846	844	5	97.00–105.00	$103.42	$873	+12.41
866	866	1	98.00	$98.00	$849	+6.19
910	910	1	98.00	$98.00	$892	—
978–992	985	2	80.00–82.00	$80.99	$798	-4.01

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
532–538	535	2	110.00–116.00	$112.98	$604	+9.11
638–648	643	2	93.00–103.00	$97.96	$630	—
698	698	1	80.00	$80.00	$558	—
774	774	1	78.00	$78.00	$604	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
922–1430	1291	80-85%	7	57.00–67.00	$63.67	$822	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
790–1416	1056	85-90%	6	46.00–56.00	$53.15	$561	-0.81

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1286–1326	1304	75-80%	3	58.00–66.00	$61.97	$808	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1228–1750	1489	2	72.00–75.00	$73.76	$1,098	—
1900–2222	2061	2	90.00–95.00	$92.70	$1,911	—

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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.