Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 9, 2021

454 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.94/cwt -4.10 vs last sale · ≈ $649/hd at 524 lb · 30 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.58/cwt +0.97 vs last sale · ≈ $596/hd at 482 lb · 16 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $123.83/cwt -4.17 vs last sale · ≈ $714/hd at 577 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 454 264 434
Feeder cattle 396 239 387
Slaughter cattle 58 25 47

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 higher; there were too few breaking type slaughter cows to establish an adequate market comparison; and there were too few slaughter bulls the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison. Feeder steers were 2.00 to 6.00 lower on a light test; four-weight heifers were steady to 3.00 higher, while five- and six-weights were mostly 3.00 to 4.00 lower; and feeder bulls were mostly 12.00 to 14.00 lower on a fairly light test. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was average. Baby calves ranged 60.00 to 80.00 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
284–290 288 4 140.00–148.00 $144.77 $417 -2.63
326–348 336 3 141.00–153.00 $147.56 $496 -9.41
354–392 385 12 138.00–146.00 $145.14 $559 -5.76
406–446 425 12 131.00–145.00 $138.13 $587 -5.49
490–492 492 6 140.00–145.00 $144.17 $709 —
560–586 580 6 130.00–133.00 $132.34 $768 -2.65
610–644 622 3 125.00–130.00 $127.95 $796 -4.52
716–740 728 2 110.00–119.00 $114.43 $833 —
752–756 755 3 110.00–117.00 $113.01 $853 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
208–236 222 2 125.00–126.00 $125.47 $279 —
250–268 259 2 118.00–125.00 $121.38 $314 —
326–334 331 3 117.00–128.00 $122.29 $405 —
360–396 388 6 123.00–130.00 $125.60 $487 -1.80
400–438 421 5 115.00–126.00 $121.59 $512 -8.07
500–508 504 2 121.00–126.00 $123.48 $622 —
564–570 567 2 112.00–118.00 $114.98 $652 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–372 367 2 101.00–110.00 $105.56 $387 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–298 278 5 124.00–126.00 $125.21 $348 —
304–330 314 10 121.00–133.00 $126.80 $398 -5.90
352–384 368 8 119.00–130.00 $125.68 $463 -6.21
404–449 426 12 124.00–134.00 $127.07 $541 +7.07
458–496 477 3 115.00–117.00 $116.01 $553 -6.60
454–498 483 13 120.00–129.00 $125.33 $605 +2.72
502–548 523 28 118.00–130.00 $124.87 $653 -3.17
520–546 533 2 110.00–112.00 $110.98 $592 -17.06
550–596 576 9 116.00–128.00 $122.91 $708 -1.27
608–646 628 6 113.00–121.00 $117.27 $736 -5.95
656–686 670 4 100.00–101.00 $100.24 $672 -9.47
652–698 671 7 115.00–124.00 $118.54 $795 +8.83
716–748 739 6 96.00–100.00 $97.30 $719 —
883 883 6 88.00 $88.00 $777 —
1055 1055 3 89.00 $89.00 $939 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
264–282 276 3 118.00–121.00 $119.70 $330 —
312–340 329 3 107.00–115.00 $110.77 $364 —
366–392 376 5 110.00–117.00 $114.16 $429 —
456–484 474 3 97.00–100.00 $98.30 $466 —
530–532 531 2 106.00–107.00 $106.50 $566 —
634–638 636 2 90.00–95.00 $92.51 $588 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262–288 277 3 100.00–107.00 $102.54 $284 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–496 478 8 130.00–137.00 $133.48 $638 -2.05
500–548 531 9 120.00–130.00 $124.26 $660 -7.61
556–598 577 12 119.00–130.00 $123.83 $714 -4.17
602–648 626 9 110.00–116.00 $111.77 $700 -13.89
660–694 681 3 105.00–110.00 $108.30 $738 -12.44
725–738 732 4 96.00–102.00 $99.49 $728 -16.51
766–792 781 4 95.00–104.00 $99.77 $779 +9.77
800–842 825 4 92.00–102.00 $97.80 $807 —
856–868 862 2 92.00–97.00 $94.48 $814 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–498 476 4 113.00–121.00 $117.25 $558 -0.20
540–544 542 2 114.00–115.00 $114.50 $621 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1370 1138 80-85% 10 60.00–66.00 $63.03 $717 —
1096–1422 1249 80-85% 5 73.00–80.00 $75.65 $945 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
814–912 863 85-90% 2 41.00–44.00 $42.41 $366 —
855–1312 1066 85-90% 5 51.00–55.00 $54.10 $577 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1646–2050 1848 2 95.00 $95.00 $1,756 —

↑ Back to top

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.