Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 8, 2021

471 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $135.57/cwt +8.50 vs last sale · ≈ $519/hd at 383 lb · 26 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $122.05/cwt +2.01 vs last sale · ≈ $649/hd at 532 lb · 22 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.92/cwt -2.16 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 427 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 471 444 244
Feeder cattle 402 371 192
Slaughter cattle 68 66 51
Replacement cattle 1 7 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, there were too few breaking type slaughter cows to establish an adequate market comparison, boning type slaughter cows were 3.00 to 4.00 higher, and slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Feeder steers were mostly 5.00 to 8.00 higher, feeder bulls mostly 1.00 to 2.00 higher, while heifers were unevenly steady. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were 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
202–242 227 7 165.00–181.00 $171.40 $389 +30.40
254–294 278 12 153.00–175.00 $165.49 $460 +7.81
302–348 333 17 154.00–170.00 $162.36 $541 -0.30
350–390 369 17 148.00–165.00 $157.19 $580 +26.19
400–448 427 20 145.00–162.00 $154.92 $662 +7.43
462–466 464 2 145.00–152.00 $148.48 $689 +3.76
534–546 540 2 145.00 $145.00 $783 +5.13
576–582 580 9 140.00–142.00 $140.45 $815 +7.64
634 634 2 136.00–138.00 $137.00 $869 +6.29
674 674 1 139.00 $139.00 $937 +26.00
728 728 1 122.00 $122.00 $888 -0.05
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
164 164 1 120.00 $120.00 $197 —
238–240 239 3 120.00–127.00 $124.00 $296 —
274–284 279 2 130.00–134.00 $132.04 $368 —
318 318 1 131.00 $131.00 $417 +0.69
410–436 424 4 114.00–126.00 $120.47 $511 -0.61
496 496 1 124.00 $124.00 $615 -8.42
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 278 1 100.00 $100.00 $278 —
396 396 1 101.00 $101.00 $400 -14.00
404–446 425 2 92.00–111.00 $101.97 $433 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
118 118 1 144.00 $144.00 $170 —
164 164 1 150.00 $150.00 $246 —
222–236 229 2 134.00–143.00 $138.36 $317 +11.36
252–298 283 8 124.00–145.00 $131.14 $371 +0.34
310 310 1 119.00 $119.00 $369 -13.44
302–340 319 14 124.00–143.00 $133.23 $425 +0.79
356–398 383 26 124.00–141.00 $135.57 $519 +19.57
400–444 422 12 120.00–135.00 $128.72 $543 +1.34
450–498 469 14 118.00–129.00 $124.08 $582 -2.41
500–548 532 22 115.00–126.00 $122.05 $649 +2.01
572 572 1 101.00 $101.00 $578 -18.42
550–594 575 9 110.00–125.00 $118.24 $680 -1.18
584 584 1 107.00 $107.00 $625 -12.42
600–634 618 6 109.00–117.00 $113.65 $702 +6.65
686 686 1 112.00 $112.00 $768 +24.00
716–736 727 3 104.00 $104.00 $756 +1.00
778 778 1 89.00 $89.00 $692 —
792 792 1 94.00 $94.00 $744 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 118.00 $118.00 $271 —
294–296 295 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $353 +2.57
304–330 318 3 110.00–120.00 $115.43 $367 +6.43
360–380 370 2 114.00–116.00 $115.03 $426 +4.65
422–448 434 5 96.00–115.00 $106.94 $464 —
454–488 467 4 101.00–114.00 $109.36 $511 -3.74
518 518 1 91.00 $91.00 $471 —
564–578 571 2 94.00–100.00 $97.04 $554 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–498 475 11 138.00–154.00 $143.95 $684 +1.77
500–546 522 15 135.00–143.00 $139.33 $727 +1.89
556–594 575 11 127.00–140.00 $136.18 $783 +1.74
606–648 630 9 128.00–137.00 $131.78 $830 +14.78
650–694 683 7 112.00–121.00 $114.50 $782 -5.01
700–722 709 6 115.00–125.00 $120.81 $857 +9.81
754–792 775 3 110.00–116.00 $112.97 $876 +0.23
812–834 823 2 101.00–108.00 $104.45 $860 -6.80
866–890 878 2 107.00–108.00 $107.51 $944 -5.49
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–484 468 2 115.00 $115.00 $538 —
612 612 1 110.00 $110.00 $673 —
786 786 1 84.00 $84.00 $660 -3.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
922–1440 1138 80-85% 18 60.00–69.00 $64.42 $733 +3.06
920–1712 1230 80-85% 4 71.00–78.00 $74.08 $911 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
834–1084 955 85-90% 4 40.00–44.00 $41.53 $397 —
842–1194 997 85-90% 16 50.00–59.00 $56.27 $561 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1636 1636 75-80% 1 48.00 $48.00 $785 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1218–1550 1413 3 69.00–70.00 $69.71 $985 —
1080–2154 1473 6 76.00–85.00 $80.49 $1,186 —
1534–1946 1753 3 94.00–100.00 $96.56 $1,693 —

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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
1014 1014 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 -204.57

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
675 675 2 80.00 $80.00 $540 —

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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.