Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 6, 2021

620 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 $134.72/cwt -4.62 vs last sale · ≈ $578/hd at 429 lb · 37 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $127.12/cwt -11.62 vs last sale · ≈ $596/hd at 469 lb · 25 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $109.53/cwt -4.05 vs last sale · ≈ $631/hd at 576 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 620 469 522
Feeder cattle 514 423 490
Slaughter cattle 93 43 32
Replacement cattle 13 3 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder cattle were 2.00 to 14.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly heavy. Cattle quality was average. One Feeder Steer, Medium and Large 1-2, weighing 50 lbs. brought 180.00 per head.

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
202–246 221 3 133.00–139.00 $135.23 $299 -8.84
258–298 274 5 136.00–162.50 $151.49 $415 —
300–346 324 10 131.00–151.00 $140.63 $456 -11.38
352–396 378 13 130.00–140.00 $134.72 $509 -9.06
406–420 411 3 122.00–126.00 $124.34 $511 -15.00
400–448 431 34 127.00–140.00 $135.64 $585 -3.70
462–496 480 4 132.00–133.00 $132.50 $636 —
506–540 529 10 126.00–135.00 $129.42 $685 —
586 586 22 133.50 $133.50 $782 -7.36
626–644 638 4 122.00–126.00 $124.76 $796 -4.27
656–690 678 4 115.00–119.00 $117.00 $793 -12.00
702–722 706 8 112.00–115.00 $113.13 $799 -1.20
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–236 227 3 120.00–127.00 $123.81 $281 -1.84
310–342 326 2 121.00–124.00 $122.57 $400 -3.67
352–392 375 8 110.00–124.00 $115.79 $434 —
406–448 421 6 113.00–121.00 $117.03 $493 -2.88
452–498 472 4 111.00–122.00 $116.06 $548 —
506–548 527 4 113.00–118.00 $115.70 $610 —
602–616 609 2 113.00 $113.00 $688 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–286 273 2 129.00–135.00 $132.14 $361 -4.86
300–346 331 7 120.00–134.00 $129.27 $428 —
356–398 373 8 116.00–132.00 $121.60 $454 -4.63
404–444 421 11 112.00–121.00 $114.72 $483 -10.34
454–486 467 18 108.00–115.50 $113.63 $531 -12.55
502–548 525 17 98.00–112.00 $105.16 $552 -13.95
558–562 560 2 95.00 $95.00 $532 -18.58
554–585 578 20 103.00–116.00 $110.98 $641 -2.60
614–628 621 3 94.00–98.00 $96.34 $598 -11.67
690 690 9 105.00 $105.00 $724 -4.05
766–790 776 4 85.00–95.00 $89.77 $697 —
818–822 820 2 95.00–96.00 $95.50 $783 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–234 232 2 109.00–114.00 $111.48 $259 —
312–340 326 4 106.00–112.00 $108.74 $354 —
354–394 376 5 106.00–112.00 $109.07 $410 -3.48
434–448 440 4 89.00–100.00 $94.29 $415 -15.04
454–490 472 2 98.00–104.00 $101.11 $477 -9.79
512–544 526 6 90.00–94.00 $90.99 $479 —
624–632 629 3 81.00–85.00 $82.67 $520 —
666–670 668 2 80.00–82.00 $81.00 $541 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402–430 411 3 79.00–90.00 $84.86 $349 —
795 795 2 54.00 $54.00 $429 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–496 469 25 121.00–132.00 $127.12 $596 -11.62
506–542 527 18 120.00–130.00 $125.97 $664 -3.14
550–596 573 15 114.00–128.00 $120.90 $693 -6.54
600–644 618 10 109.00–118.00 $114.31 $706 -10.20
714–722 717 3 92.00–97.00 $95.34 $684 -11.14
764–786 778 3 90.00–97.00 $92.96 $723 —
804–844 818 6 89.00–95.00 $90.64 $741 —
952–965 959 2 81.00–85.00 $83.01 $796 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–496 478 4 100.00–119.00 $108.76 $520 -9.91
522–546 534 3 114.00–115.00 $114.33 $611 —
550–586 568 2 110.00 $110.00 $625 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
782–1026 899 85-90% 5 33.00–43.00 $40.08 $360 —
718–1124 901 85-90% 23 50.00–57.00 $55.13 $497 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
816–1352 1081 80-85% 17 58.00–65.00 $60.64 $656 —
1320–1446 1383 80-85% 2 70.00 $70.00 $968 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1188–1702 1465 75-80% 10 55.00–62.00 $57.73 $846 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008–1580 1219 6 61.00–70.00 $66.55 $811 —
1422–2126 1740 3 82.00–87.50 $85.84 $1,494 —
1560–2048 1766 5 90.00–97.00 $93.19 $1,646 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
680 680 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 725.00 $725.00 —
775 775 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —
748–836 792 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 775.00–925.00 $845.83 —
762–878 821 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 750.00–850.00 $789.87 —
834 834 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 725.00 $725.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
892 892 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 975.00 $975.00 —
920 920 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —
1046 1046 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 875.00 $875.00 —
1138 1138 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 975.00 $975.00 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
910 910 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 525.00 $525.00 —

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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.