Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 1, 2021

444 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $168.92/cwt +23.83 vs last sale · ≈ $782/hd at 463 lb · 44 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $116.72/cwt +6.77 vs last sale · ≈ $704/hd at 603 lb · 27 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.41/cwt +25.41 vs last sale · ≈ $903/hd at 608 lb · 26 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 444 563 209
Feeder cattle 371 494 188
Slaughter cattle 66 68 19
Replacement cattle 7 1 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were mostly steady to 3.00 higher. Feeder cattle were mostly steady to 5.00 higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was attractive.

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
242 242 1 141.00 $141.00 $341 +5.14
274–294 284 2 149.00–167.00 $157.68 $448 -3.11
312–346 333 7 160.00–169.00 $162.66 $542 +3.74
350–386 366 8 146.00–166.00 $155.22 $568 +1.71
370 370 1 131.00 $131.00 $485 -22.51
402 value added 402 7 179.00 $179.00 $720 +13.00
402–448 430 16 140.00–157.00 $147.49 $634 +0.50
462 value added 462 36 174.30 $174.30 $805 —
450–486 466 8 139.00–155.00 $144.72 $674 -0.37
508–536 524 8 136.00–143.00 $139.87 $733 -3.21
562–593 581 11 130.00–140.00 $132.81 $772 -2.18
602 value added 602 20 154.50 $154.50 $930 —
622 622 1 115.00 $115.00 $715 -8.00
608–644 630 5 126.00–136.00 $130.71 $823 +7.71
654 654 1 113.00 $113.00 $739 —
675 value added 675 5 134.00 $134.00 $904 —
702–740 721 2 120.00–124.00 $122.05 $880 —
730–749 value added 744 4 123.00–124.00 $123.75 $921 —
817 value added 817 2 121.00 $121.00 $989 —
942 value added 942 10 114.50 $114.50 $1,079 —
1003 1003 2 108.50 $108.50 $1,088 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318–336 328 3 126.00–135.00 $130.31 $427 +2.39
402–436 427 4 115.00–130.00 $121.08 $517 -7.66
450–478 464 2 130.00–135.00 $132.42 $614 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 382 1 115.00 $115.00 $439 +2.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 127.00 $127.00 $279 +3.18
258–296 280 8 122.00–136.00 $130.80 $366 -6.62
312–340 326 2 131.00–134.00 $132.44 $432 +4.32
354–374 365 9 125.00–134.00 $128.30 $468 +1.05
380 380 1 116.00 $116.00 $441 ±0.00
400–448 431 10 119.00–136.00 $127.38 $549 +2.45
460–488 477 9 120.00–135.00 $126.49 $603 +4.00
479 value added 479 7 135.00 $135.00 $647 —
500–548 524 13 116.00–126.00 $120.04 $629 +1.85
552–592 580 9 114.00–121.50 $119.42 $693 +4.41
594–598 596 2 102.00–106.00 $104.01 $620 -11.00
603 value added 603 25 117.50 $117.50 $709 +0.45
606–608 607 2 104.00–110.00 $107.00 $649 -2.01
650–658 652 7 105.00–112.00 $107.08 $698 +6.29
675 value added 675 4 115.50 $115.50 $780 -0.50
696 696 1 88.00 $88.00 $612 -12.79
748 748 1 103.00 $103.00 $770 -2.01
814 814 1 93.00 $93.00 $757 -0.04
884 884 1 92.00 $92.00 $813 —
934 934 1 91.00 $91.00 $850 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–288 270 2 116.00–118.00 $116.93 $316 +2.93
336 336 1 109.00 $109.00 $366 -1.31
372–392 380 3 101.00–115.00 $110.38 $419 +5.12
454–486 470 2 110.00–116.00 $113.10 $532 +6.71
630 630 1 81.00 $81.00 $510 -5.00
650–656 653 2 93.00–95.00 $94.00 $614 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 298 1 95.00 $95.00 $283 —
312–334 323 2 90.00 $90.00 $291 -10.00
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
202 202 1 87.50 $87.50 $177 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–498 475 14 132.00–151.00 $142.18 $675 +3.02
510–546 529 9 134.00–140.00 $137.44 $727 +1.53
552–596 581 9 130.00–142.00 $134.44 $781 +7.86
642–644 643 2 115.00–119.00 $117.00 $752 -3.00
644 644 1 110.00 $110.00 $708 -10.00
652 652 1 106.00 $106.00 $691 +6.00
658–686 672 4 116.00–124.00 $119.51 $803 +19.51
734 734 1 111.00 $111.00 $815 +19.00
760–788 774 2 112.00–113.50 $112.74 $873 +6.69
816–820 818 2 111.00–111.50 $111.25 $910 +14.59
862 862 1 113.00 $113.00 $974 +20.68
952 952 1 82.00 $82.00 $781 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
722 722 1 82.00 $82.00 $592 —
782 782 1 87.00 $87.00 $680 +3.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
944–1476 1143 80-85% 24 57.00–66.00 $61.36 $701 -5.78
1206–1376 1307 80-85% 3 69.00–73.00 $70.91 $927 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
816 816 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $530 —
758–1184 878 85-90% 5 34.00–42.00 $39.25 $345 +0.11
748–1266 1016 85-90% 12 50.00–58.00 $54.64 $555 +0.87
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
976–1746 1506 75-80% 9 55.00–65.00 $60.96 $918 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1712 1241 3 76.00–82.00 $79.46 $986 —
1022–1846 1299 3 94.00–97.00 $95.95 $1,246 —

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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
934–1122 1028 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 950.00–1,050.00 $1,004.57 —
1200 1200 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
630 630 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 650.00 $650.00 —

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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.