Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 16, 2021

478 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $115.26/cwt -8.32 vs last sale · ≈ $544/hd at 472 lb · 18 head

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $144.43/cwt -0.71 vs last sale · ≈ $534/hd at 370 lb · 18 head

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $112.83/cwt -11.11 vs last sale · ≈ $593/hd at 526 lb · 17 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	478	454	320
Feeder cattle	392	396	272
Slaughter cattle	81	58	47
Replacement cattle	5	—	1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower and slaughter bulls were 8.00 to 9.00 lower; there were too few breaking type slaughter cows the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison. Feeder cattle were mostly 10.00 to 13.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average. Baby calves ranged 55.00 to 65.00 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
262–298	276	6	140.00–153.00	$147.22	$406	+2.45
302–346	323	9	141.00–152.00	$147.01	$475	-0.55
354–394	370	18	138.00–150.00	$144.43	$534	-0.71
400–438	424	11	130.00–143.00	$135.19	$573	-2.94
450–490	472	4	135.00–149.00	$143.28	$676	-0.89
502–532	513	4	125.00–136.00	$131.04	$672	—
570–592	581	2	131.00–135.00	$132.96	$772	+0.62
656–668	662	2	115.00–116.00	$115.50	$765	—
717 value added	717	6	125.00	$125.00	$896	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
264–298	281	2	120.00–126.00	$123.18	$346	+1.80
356–388	371	3	121.00–125.00	$123.03	$456	-2.57

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
416–428	422	2	96.00–100.00	$98.03	$414	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
204–232	222	4	125.00–130.00	$126.50	$281	—
260–296	275	3	120.00–128.00	$124.81	$343	-0.40
310–330	318	4	122.00–133.00	$127.53	$406	+0.73
352–398	375	8	120.00–127.00	$123.24	$462	-2.44
408–418	413	2	105.00–110.00	$107.47	$444	-19.60
410–448	432	13	114.00–121.00	$116.99	$505	-10.08
454–498	470	16	114.00–120.00	$116.43	$547	+0.42
478–492	485	2	102.00–110.00	$105.94	$514	-19.39
500–546	526	17	110.00–117.00	$112.83	$593	-12.04
556–594	584	9	107.00–117.00	$111.20	$649	-11.71
612–632	622	4	110.00–116.00	$113.49	$706	-3.78
660–686	671	3	95.00–101.00	$98.03	$658	-20.51

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
284–290	287	2	109.00–118.00	$113.45	$326	-6.25
300–348	332	4	118.00–119.00	$118.48	$393	+7.71
354–380	368	5	105.00–114.00	$110.17	$405	-3.99
416–442	431	3	100.00–105.00	$101.71	$438	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
450–496	473	14	125.00–137.00	$131.19	$621	-2.29
500–540	517	7	115.00–122.00	$118.01	$610	-6.25
550–596	570	10	115.00–124.00	$118.32	$674	-5.51
612–618	615	2	90.00–94.00	$92.01	$566	-19.76
604–640	619	8	94.00–103.00	$99.24	$614	-12.53
652–698	677	8	95.00–104.00	$99.64	$675	-8.66
704–742	719	4	96.00–102.00	$99.50	$715	+0.01
790–799	796	5	90.00–92.00	$90.60	$721	-9.17
814–848	831	2	84.00–91.00	$87.43	$727	-10.37

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
454–490	472	3	110.00	$110.00	$519	-7.25
504–544	525	7	97.00–104.00	$100.72	$529	-13.78
550–586	569	3	90.00–98.00	$93.58	$532	—
604–632	617	3	80.00–88.00	$85.05	$525	—
708–736	722	2	81.00–84.00	$82.53	$596	—
762–786	774	2	80.00–88.00	$84.06	$651	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
762–764	763	2	69.00–72.00	$70.50	$538	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
944–1656	1313	80-85%	11	60.00–66.00	$62.66	$823	—
1142–1604	1355	80-85%	8	72.00–78.00	$74.10	$1,004	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
918–1174	1063	85-90%	7	51.00–57.00	$54.85	$583	+0.75
868–1258	1067	85-90%	5	40.00–44.00	$40.86	$436	-13.24

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1324–1438	1390	75-80%	4	60.00–62.00	$61.02	$848	—
1432–1702	1567	75-80%	2	73.00–74.00	$73.46	$1,151	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1256–1474	1380	3	85.00–88.00	$86.62	$1,195	—
1616–1670	1643	2	100.00–105.00	$102.54	$1,685	—

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
940–1378	1209	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	4	925.00–1,075.00	$975.85	—
1248	1248	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	975.00	$975.00	—

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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.