Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 25, 2021

563 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 $147.72/cwt +0.82 vs last sale · ≈ $632/hd at 428 lb · 26 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.79/cwt -3.11 vs last sale · ≈ $567/hd at 465 lb · 25 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $139.16/cwt -10.88 vs last sale · ≈ $665/hd at 478 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 563 233 365
Feeder cattle 494 207 283
Slaughter cattle 68 26 82
Replacement cattle 1 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 3.00 to 4.00 lower, while slaughter bulls were 3.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder cattle were mostly steady to 3.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. 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
220–246 233 4 133.00–140.00 $135.86 $317 -15.60
262 262 1 130.00 $130.00 $341 -21.91
262–292 276 4 156.00–169.00 $160.79 $444 +8.88
320–344 330 5 150.00–165.00 $158.92 $524 +5.95
350–394 374 17 143.00–161.00 $153.51 $574 +8.79
400 value added 400 1 166.00 $166.00 $664 —
404–448 429 25 140.00–159.00 $146.99 $631 +0.09
450–490 471 6 140.00–150.00 $145.09 $683 -19.14
500–528 513 4 140.00–151.00 $143.08 $734 —
552–570 560 4 130.00–142.00 $134.99 $756 -24.01
638 638 1 123.00 $123.00 $785 -14.00
790–796 793 2 109.00–114.00 $111.49 $884 -3.51
864 864 1 106.00 $106.00 $916 —
928 928 1 95.00 $95.00 $882 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222–240 231 2 110.00–126.00 $117.69 $272 —
300–340 312 8 125.00–132.00 $127.92 $399 —
360–398 373 5 117.00–131.00 $125.53 $468 +5.59
412–440 425 10 116.00–135.00 $128.74 $547 -1.93
514–534 524 2 113.00–122.00 $117.59 $616 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 113.00 $113.00 $316 —
360–364 362 2 112.00–113.00 $112.50 $407 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204 fancy 204 1 160.00 $160.00 $326 —
204–232 218 3 120.00–127.00 $123.82 $270 -7.18
264–294 279 2 136.00–139.00 $137.42 $383 +6.29
304 304 1 117.00 $117.00 $356 -14.99
306–334 320 9 120.00–138.00 $128.12 $410 -3.87
350 value added 350 1 140.00 $140.00 $490 —
352 fancy 352 2 149.00–152.00 $150.50 $530 —
350–394 371 12 119.50–134.00 $127.25 $472 +0.20
378 378 1 116.00 $116.00 $438 -11.05
400–448 425 17 115.00–130.00 $124.93 $531 -1.18
452–466 459 2 113.50–114.00 $113.75 $522 -11.15
450–498 466 23 115.00–129.50 $122.49 $571 -2.41
506–540 522 13 111.00–123.00 $118.19 $617 +6.58
522 522 1 103.00 $103.00 $538 -8.61
561 value added 561 3 122.00 $122.00 $684 —
568–578 573 2 104.00–106.00 $104.99 $602 —
556–598 577 10 109.00–120.00 $115.01 $664 —
604–634 value added 619 4 115.00–119.00 $117.05 $725 —
604–638 623 9 102.00–114.00 $109.01 $679 -0.74
642 642 1 90.00 $90.00 $578 -19.75
660–688 677 4 97.00–105.00 $100.79 $682 -9.71
680 value added 680 1 116.00 $116.00 $789 —
722 722 1 84.00 $84.00 $606 —
722–740 731 2 104.00–106.00 $105.01 $768 —
782 value added 782 1 110.00 $110.00 $860 —
821–838 827 3 90.00–99.00 $93.04 $769 -6.96
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–234 226 2 107.00–112.00 $109.41 $247 —
258 258 1 114.00 $114.00 $294 -5.75
312–342 324 5 105.00–114.00 $110.31 $357 -1.37
360–390 371 5 100.00–112.00 $105.26 $391 -7.81
416 416 1 110.00 $110.00 $458 -2.27
456–490 470 7 92.00–112.00 $106.39 $500 +15.39
508–542 524 4 103.00–105.00 $103.98 $545 —
558–588 574 6 100.00–107.00 $104.13 $598 +14.13
646 646 1 86.00 $86.00 $556 —
696 696 1 88.00 $88.00 $612 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
206 206 1 100.00 $100.00 $206 —
262 262 1 93.00 $93.00 $244 —
302 302 1 100.00 $100.00 $302 —
428 428 1 80.00 $80.00 $342 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–498 478 19 129.00–148.00 $139.16 $665 -10.88
502–536 518 15 127.00–142.00 $135.91 $704 -4.09
546 546 1 120.00 $120.00 $655 -20.00
558–596 578 17 119.00–133.00 $126.58 $732 -7.88
606–644 620 6 115.00–125.00 $120.00 $744 -9.23
680 680 1 100.00 $100.00 $680 -30.00
676–698 685 8 107.00–114.00 $110.62 $758 -19.38
710–738 724 2 105.00–109.00 $106.96 $774 +4.96
726 726 1 92.00 $92.00 $668 -10.00
768 768 1 94.00 $94.00 $722 -6.00
758–780 771 3 100.00–110.00 $106.05 $818 +6.05
832–840 835 3 94.00–99.00 $96.66 $807 -6.76
880–898 886 3 90.00–97.00 $92.32 $818 -5.68
988 988 1 96.00 $96.00 $948 +15.01
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472–490 483 3 110.00–114.00 $112.65 $544 —
502 502 1 100.00 $100.00 $502 -12.98
584 584 1 114.00 $114.00 $666 —
616–642 629 2 94.00–104.00 $99.10 $623 +1.14
688 688 1 100.00 $100.00 $688 +20.00
768 768 1 84.00 $84.00 $645 +6.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
532 532 2 85.00 $85.00 $452 —
558 558 1 90.00 $90.00 $502 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
658 658 1 68.00 $68.00 $447 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
942–1216 1031 80-85% 14 58.00–65.00 $60.39 $623 —
950–1318 1121 80-85% 6 66.00–69.00 $67.14 $753 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
754–1176 886 85-90% 8 34.00–41.00 $39.14 $347 —
746–1296 1028 85-90% 11 48.00–57.00 $53.77 $553 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1396–1474 1425 75-80% 4 55.00–63.00 $58.24 $830 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1424 1424 1 67.00 $67.00 $954 —
1100–1842 1554 4 74.00–81.00 $77.30 $1,201 —
1804 1804 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,642 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
794 794 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 775.00 $775.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–202 201 2 117.50–120.00 $118.76 $239 —
278 278 1 115.00 $115.00 $320 —
604 604 1 67.00 $67.00 $405 —
680 680 1 65.00 $65.00 $442 —
752–754 753 3 60.00–69.00 $63.01 $474 —
882 882 1 66.00 $66.00 $582 —
910 910 1 70.00 $70.00 $637 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
334 334 1 59.00 $59.00 $197 —
468 468 1 55.00 $55.00 $257 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 91.00 $91.00 $218 —
322 322 1 87.00 $87.00 $280 —

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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.