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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 27, 2021

429 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 $133.59/cwt -4.23 vs last sale · ≈ $562/hd at 421 lb · 26 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.53/cwt -11.52 vs last sale · ≈ $507/hd at 371 lb · 25 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.10/cwt -2.50 vs last sale · ≈ $543/hd at 472 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 429 630 288
Feeder cattle 378 476 238
Slaughter cattle 49 153 50
Replacement cattle 2 1 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, there were too few comparable breaking type slaughter cows to establish an adequate market comparison; boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower; while slaughter bulls were steady to 1.00 higher on very light test. Feeder steers were 1.00 to 5.00 lower; heifers were mostly 4.00 to 8.00 lower; and feeder bulls were mixed, 5.00 lower to 1.00 higher. 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
208–246 226 5 130.00–143.00 $137.32 $310 —
252–290 270 15 129.00–151.00 $139.55 $377 -8.12
302–344 327 17 130.00–150.00 $140.68 $460 -7.82
350–392 371 25 127.00–147.00 $136.53 $507 -11.52
402–446 421 26 127.00–141.00 $133.59 $562 -4.23
452–490 468 3 131.00–140.00 $134.78 $631 -1.17
504–506 505 2 126.00–135.00 $130.51 $659 -5.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–212 208 2 120.00–125.00 $122.45 $255 —
260–282 269 3 112.00–125.00 $120.08 $323 -0.96
300–340 320 2 116.00–122.00 $119.19 $381 +0.08
368–382 373 4 115.00–124.00 $120.27 $449 -0.15
410–448 432 4 118.00–124.00 $120.74 $522 +1.94

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–248 233 4 118.00–128.00 $121.20 $282 -1.37
262–290 275 6 118.00–127.00 $122.00 $336 -0.51
304–342 322 10 115.00–126.00 $121.15 $390 -2.44
350–398 374 18 115.00–125.00 $118.81 $444 -5.20
402–448 428 14 109.00–124.00 $116.02 $497 -6.30
450–498 471 19 109.00–121.00 $116.32 $548 -4.73
456–488 475 3 107.00–108.00 $107.34 $510 -13.71
500–548 528 13 99.00–111.00 $104.56 $552 -7.33
542 542 2 94.00 $94.00 $509 -17.89
556–598 575 6 99.00–106.00 $101.04 $581 -4.11
610–648 624 9 90.00–102.00 $95.67 $597 -10.05
656–680 668 5 90.00–97.00 $91.98 $614 —
714–740 724 4 87.00–96.00 $91.22 $660 —
774–782 778 2 90.00–98.00 $93.98 $731 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
170–198 184 2 110.00–120.00 $115.38 $212 —
206–208 207 2 112.00–115.00 $113.51 $235 —
264–298 279 4 108.00–116.00 $111.95 $312 +8.25
370–392 385 7 96.00–111.00 $104.64 $403 +1.99
404–430 414 4 93.00–110.00 $101.42 $420 +2.08
450–490 468 6 90.00–103.00 $95.32 $446 -5.79
664–680 672 2 83.00–86.00 $84.48 $568 —
716–726 721 3 76.00–83.00 $80.32 $579 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302–334 thin fleshed 316 3 80.00–86.00 $81.91 $259 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–498 479 15 121.00–137.00 $129.10 $618 -4.69
500–532 515 10 118.00–130.00 $123.47 $636 +0.57
560–582 570 5 117.00–123.00 $119.59 $682 +0.50
600–642 619 7 108.00–118.00 $114.11 $706 +6.87
652–654 653 2 115.00–118.00 $116.50 $761 +15.52
732–734 733 2 98.00–101.00 $99.50 $729 +5.85
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550–592 572 4 97.00–108.00 $102.85 $588 -3.86

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
912–1348 1127 80-85% 27 57.00–68.00 $62.39 $703 -0.05
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
888 888 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $559 +23.89
844–1148 987 85-90% 8 45.00–55.00 $50.94 $503 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440 1440 75-80% 1 55.00 $55.00 $792 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1666 1666 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,499 —
1880–2096 1988 2 104.00–106.00 $105.05 $2,088 —

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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
1006–1026 1016 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 2 825.00–975.00 $900.74 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
812–822 817 2 80.00–81.00 $80.50 $658 —

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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.