Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 28, 2021

598 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $124.27/cwt -1.59 vs last sale · ≈ $531/hd at 428 lb · 38 head

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $136.29/cwt -1.20 vs last sale · ≈ $582/hd at 427 lb · 22 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $117.86/cwt -16.69 vs last sale · ≈ $556/hd at 472 lb · 21 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	598	509	474
Feeder cattle	507	443	421
Slaughter cattle	91	65	53
Replacement cattle	—	1	—

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 1.00 to 2.00 higher, while slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 lower. There were too few comparable feeder steers to establish an adequate market comparison; heifers were mostly 6.00 to 10.00 lower; and feeder bulls were mostly 4.00 to 6.00 lower with some as much as 16.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average. Baby calves ranged 50.00 to 55.00 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
220–240	230	2	123.00–124.00	$123.48	$284	-6.97
264–296	281	3	127.00–136.00	$132.35	$372	-3.07
325–338	330	8	135.00–143.00	$139.72	$461	+4.34
350–394	371	13	129.00–140.00	$135.57	$503	+0.24
390 value added	390	6	169.00	$169.00	$659	—
416–430 thin fleshed	423	2	118.00	$118.00	$499	—
402–446	424	13	121.00–132.00	$126.33	$536	-13.70
433 value added	433	7	160.00	$160.00	$693	—
462–494	478	2	139.00–143.00	$140.93	$674	+0.60
519 value added	519	7	161.00	$161.00	$836	—
534 thin fleshed	534	2	118.00	$118.00	$630	—
573 value added	573	3	156.00	$156.00	$894	—
574	574	1	134.00	$134.00	$769	-3.23

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
374–392	384	4	110.00–114.00	$112.74	$433	-6.56
400–430	421	10	110.00–117.00	$112.91	$475	-2.76
418–434 thin fleshed	426	2	100.00–107.00	$103.43	$441	—
522–548	535	2	100.00–105.00	$102.56	$549	—
570–572	571	2	100.00–108.00	$103.99	$594	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
368	368	2	99.00–102.00	$100.50	$370	—
408–424	416	2	90.00–93.00	$91.53	$381	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
304–342	325	6	114.00–120.00	$117.46	$382	-2.18
350–392	370	10	114.00–121.00	$116.36	$431	-3.15
400–442	426	9	114.00–120.00	$116.44	$496	-9.42
408–448 value added	428	29	126.00–129.00	$126.70	$542	—
452–498	471	6	111.00–117.00	$114.29	$538	-6.45
497 value added	497	4	123.00	$123.00	$611	—
510–548	522	5	106.00–111.00	$109.61	$572	-6.25
556–580	563	4	100.00–101.00	$100.75	$567	—
610–636	623	4	99.00–106.00	$103.03	$642	-7.48
663	663	2	87.00	$87.00	$577	-23.99
656–672	664	2	85.00–90.00	$87.47	$581	-23.52
654–686	672	6	97.00–101.00	$99.68	$670	-11.31
686 value added	686	5	113.00	$113.00	$775	—
706–712	709	2	82.00–85.00	$83.51	$592	+8.05
758–794	771	3	82.00–85.00	$82.99	$640	—
802–806	804	2	83.00–85.00	$84.00	$675	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
330 value added	330	7	112.00	$112.00	$370	—
328–340	335	4	99.00–106.00	$101.22	$339	-9.79
358–398	378	4	100.00–108.00	$103.93	$393	-6.07
426–438	431	3	99.00–104.00	$101.36	$437	—
430–442 thin fleshed	436	2	85.00–90.00	$87.47	$381	—
454–466	460	3	97.00–100.00	$98.34	$452	-5.63
550–592	572	5	85.00–92.00	$88.65	$507	-4.27
610–638	627	3	84.00–89.00	$87.04	$546	—
660–682	671	2	84.00	$84.00	$564	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
300–348	332	4	83.00–89.00	$86.89	$288	—
406–414	410	2	86.00–88.00	$87.01	$357	+7.01

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
468 thin fleshed	468	2	110.00	$110.00	$515	—
454–498	472	19	115.00–123.00	$118.69	$560	-15.86
506–548	527	10	110.00–120.00	$115.51	$609	-4.52
550–552	551	2	100.00	$100.00	$551	-17.53
552–582	562	11	108.00–116.00	$112.09	$630	-5.44
606–630	621	7	110.00–115.00	$111.14	$690	+2.36
678–698	688	2	98.00	$98.00	$674	-7.60
728–744	735	3	91.00–98.00	$94.68	$696	-7.44

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
458–462	460	2	108.00–110.00	$109.00	$501	-0.82
514–536 thin fleshed	525	2	80.00	$80.00	$420	—
502–543	527	5	94.00–99.00	$96.82	$510	-5.93
608–638	622	5	84.00–90.00	$87.96	$547	—
668–680	674	2	84.00–86.00	$84.99	$573	-4.01

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
918–1196	1058	80-85%	20	55.00–61.00	$57.91	$613	—
972–1304	1138	80-85%	2	68.00	$68.00	$774	+11.37

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
746–920	837	85-90%	3	35.00–38.00	$36.31	$304	—
826–1148	936	85-90%	13	46.00–51.00	$48.53	$454	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1170–1422	1257	75-80%	3	60.00–62.00	$60.94	$766	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1040–1872	1469	7	74.00–79.00	$76.17	$1,119	—
1636–1768	1700	3	91.00–94.00	$92.34	$1,570	—

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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.