Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, September 30, 2021

705 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 $126.86/cwt -2.15 vs last sale · ≈ $602/hd at 475 lb · 28 head

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $130.61/cwt -11.93 vs last sale · ≈ $558/hd at 427 lb · 25 head

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $132.73/cwt -14.17 vs last sale · ≈ $484/hd at 365 lb · 20 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	705	440	771
Feeder cattle	611	377	682
Slaughter cattle	93	63	89

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 7.00 to 8.00 lower, while boning type slaughter cows and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Feeder steers were mostly 5.00 to 12.00 lower; heifers mostly 4.00 to 5.00 lower; and feeder bulls were mostly 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly heavy. Cattle quality was plain to average. Baby calves ranged 60.00 to 110.00 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
242–248	245	2	125.00–130.00	$127.47	$312	-9.00
254–284	273	3	137.00–141.00	$138.93	$379	-2.39
302–346	331	12	130.00–142.00	$135.79	$449	-10.17
352–398	365	20	128.00–138.00	$132.73	$484	-14.17
402–448	427	23	124.00–138.00	$131.45	$561	-11.09
424–430	427	2	121.00	$121.00	$517	-21.54
450–496	469	4	130.00–140.00	$133.90	$628	-5.67
510–518	511	11	127.00–135.00	$134.26	$686	+6.77
569	569	3	130.00	$130.00	$740	-6.50
613–625	618	5	115.00–122.00	$119.17	$736	+0.94

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
274–292	286	3	110.00–115.00	$112.96	$323	-14.73
304–330	314	3	115.00–120.00	$118.39	$372	-5.62
354–366	361	5	110.00–120.00	$114.57	$414	-13.92
402–442	417	8	110.00–116.00	$112.89	$471	-2.76

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
250–294	272	2	100.00	$100.00	$272	—
310–348	323	3	92.00–100.00	$95.84	$310	—
366–392	378	4	99.00–100.00	$99.75	$377	—
408–432	424	4	100.00–104.00	$101.64	$431	-1.85

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
206–218	212	2	120.00–122.00	$121.03	$257	—
264–290	276	5	118.00–125.00	$120.34	$332	—
302–344	319	7	121.00–130.00	$124.45	$397	-2.79
350–392	372	10	117.00–129.00	$123.12	$458	-1.77
402–442	422	17	116.00–127.00	$121.64	$513	-4.27
452–488	469	11	116.00–125.00	$121.96	$572	-4.64
510–546	519	15	110.00–119.00	$116.24	$603	-2.58
522–548	533	3	99.00–102.00	$100.65	$536	-18.17
552–594	569	14	108.00–117.00	$111.44	$634	+12.18
612–644	623	5	110.00–117.00	$113.57	$708	-0.91
650–695	668	16	110.00–118.00	$115.22	$770	+13.24

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
272–294	288	5	105.00–114.00	$110.48	$318	-7.53
308–348	324	4	100.00–110.00	$106.06	$344	-8.37
352–392	371	6	109.00–112.00	$110.34	$409	-2.08
418–434	426	2	100.00–101.00	$100.51	$428	-4.71
450–498	475	10	94.00–103.00	$98.36	$467	-3.69
500–528	514	4	88.00–95.00	$91.77	$472	-9.21

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
250–292	271	2	90.00	$90.00	$244	—
304–340 thin fleshed	321	3	80.00–87.00	$83.46	$268	—
354 thin fleshed	354	2	86.00	$86.00	$304	—
456–494	479	4	84.00–90.00	$86.76	$416	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
454–494 thin fleshed	474	2	115.00–116.00	$115.48	$547	—
450–492	475	26	121.00–133.00	$127.73	$607	-1.28
510–548	528	14	109.00–116.00	$113.22	$598	-8.40
514–544	529	2	100.00–102.00	$100.97	$534	-20.65
524–544 thin fleshed	534	2	104.00–107.00	$105.47	$563	—
554–598	577	10	107.00–115.00	$110.72	$639	-10.25
580–588	584	2	104.00	$104.00	$607	-16.97
610–646	628	14	100.00–108.00	$103.28	$649	-6.61
656–698	679	8	99.00–107.00	$101.99	$693	-3.31
722–748	731	5	91.00–99.00	$94.63	$692	—
750–794	768	4	93.00–100.00	$95.81	$736	-1.14
860–882	867	3	92.00–96.00	$93.66	$812	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
450–498	470	6	102.00–110.00	$105.00	$494	-7.68
500–546	526	11	95.00–105.00	$100.44	$528	-6.91
554–590	566	3	96.00–104.00	$100.89	$571	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
456–472	464	2	82.00–85.00	$83.47	$387	—
506–508	507	2	80.00–88.00	$83.99	$426	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
776–1184	906	85-90%	12	35.00–41.00	$37.68	$341	-12.34
776–1108	960	85-90%	20	44.00–51.00	$47.94	$460	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
874–1362	1064	80-85%	19	54.00–60.00	$56.83	$605	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1066–1388	1300	75-80%	6	50.00–57.00	$53.68	$698	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1002–1058	1030	2	60.00–66.00	$63.08	$650	—
1000–1636	1300	4	78.00–82.00	$80.33	$1,044	—
1846–2036	1913	3	91.00–95.00	$93.38	$1,786	—

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
60	60	1	190.00	$190.00	—

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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.