Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 22, 2021

510 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $141.67/cwt -2.28 vs last sale · ≈ $663/hd at 468 lb · 26 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $132.47/cwt -6.86 vs last sale · ≈ $691/hd at 522 lb · 18 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.62/cwt +0.54 vs last sale · ≈ $586/hd at 470 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 510 471 266
Feeder cattle 459 402 227
Slaughter cattle 48 68 39
Replacement cattle 3 1 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago, there were no comparable breaking type slaughter cows to establish a market comparison; boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower; while slaughter bulls were 5.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder cattle were mostly steady to 8.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were 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
160–198 176 3 140.00–170.00 $152.69 $269 —
204–248 230 6 140.00–168.00 $147.64 $340 -23.76
252–288 268 7 142.00–170.00 $156.25 $419 -9.24
300–346 323 9 150.00–170.00 $162.04 $523 -0.32
354–399 380 18 140.00–158.00 $150.07 $570 -7.12
404–448 426 16 137.00–151.00 $144.21 $614 -10.71
452–496 482 6 135.00–141.00 $138.46 $667 -10.02
500–532 514 10 136.00–145.00 $142.27 $731 -2.73
588–598 593 6 130.00–136.00 $133.57 $792 -6.88
602–616 609 3 130.00–134.00 $132.33 $806 -4.67
650–674 666 3 130.00–132.00 $131.33 $875 -7.67
704–742 724 8 115.00–125.00 $119.46 $865 -2.54
752–792 772 6 114.00–117.00 $115.67 $893 —
880–882 881 3 111.00 $111.00 $978 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–234 229 3 114.00–130.00 $120.14 $275 -3.86
256–298 270 3 121.00–132.00 $125.74 $339 -6.30
304–330 315 5 119.00–130.00 $123.73 $390 -7.27
426–444 436 7 117.00–128.00 $123.67 $539 +3.20

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–240 223 3 124.00–150.00 $139.12 $310 +0.76
250–298 273 6 126.00–141.00 $131.55 $359 +0.41
300–338 319 10 120.00–136.00 $127.99 $408 -5.24
350–396 375 17 120.00–131.00 $125.20 $470 -10.37
404–446 430 10 115.00–132.00 $123.61 $532 -5.11
452–496 470 18 118.00–128.00 $124.62 $586 +0.54
500–548 525 10 110.00–123.00 $120.31 $632 -1.74
552–596 574 10 110.00–120.00 $114.69 $658 -3.55
600–648 620 13 104.00–116.00 $110.06 $682 -3.59
652–692 655 13 111.00–116.00 $115.59 $757 +3.59
720–728 724 3 100.00–101.00 $100.33 $726 -3.67
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
268–296 282 5 103.00–120.00 $111.77 $315 -7.73
312–348 326 8 106.00–118.00 $110.54 $360 -4.89
350–392 377 6 100.00–115.00 $109.16 $412 -5.87
418–446 433 4 105.00–113.00 $108.22 $469 +1.28
454–490 478 16 91.00–110.00 $103.70 $496 -5.66
554–574 568 4 86.00–100.00 $90.49 $514 -6.55
616–624 619 3 90.00 $90.00 $557 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–298 275 3 87.00–90.00 $88.36 $243 —
326–342 332 4 87.00–100.00 $94.55 $314 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–494 468 26 130.00–148.75 $141.67 $663 -2.28
502–540 522 18 125.00–140.00 $132.47 $691 -6.86
552–598 577 9 127.00–134.00 $130.11 $751 -6.07
610–646 632 9 115.00–126.00 $122.08 $772 -9.70
656–676 667 3 112.00–115.00 $113.68 $758 -0.82
708–744 722 4 103.00–112.00 $108.31 $782 -12.50
808–842 825 3 108.00–110.00 $109.32 $902 +4.87

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
896–1616 1114 80-85% 17 59.00–68.00 $64.12 $714 -0.30
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
804–1118 979 85-90% 9 49.00–59.00 $53.81 $527 -2.46
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1490–1672 1553 75-80% 4 50.00–56.00 $53.89 $837 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1216–1244 1233 3 85.00–86.00 $85.67 $1,056 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
706 706 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $850.00 —
654–802 728 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 600.00–650.00 $627.54 —

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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.