Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, November 4, 2021

494 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 $119.65/cwt +10.04 vs last sale · ≈ $640/hd at 535 lb · 20 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $135.95/cwt -0.34 vs last sale · ≈ $581/hd at 427 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $109.97/cwt -5.54 vs last sale · ≈ $576/hd at 524 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 494 598 468
Feeder cattle 383 507 367
Slaughter cattle 110 91 95
Replacement cattle 1 — 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower, while slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Feeder steers and bulls were mostly 4.00 to 6.00 lower, while feeder heifers were mostly 6.00 to 7.00 higher. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was plain to 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
214–244 228 6 122.00–131.00 $127.05 $290 +3.57
270–296 285 4 127.00–135.00 $130.25 $371 -2.10
300–344 322 10 128.00–138.00 $132.30 $426 -7.42
366–394 thin fleshed 379 4 121.00–123.00 $121.76 $461 —
352–398 380 9 133.00–142.00 $137.57 $523 +2.00
404–442 424 15 124.00–135.00 $129.00 $547 +2.67
439 value added 439 4 162.00 $162.00 $711 +2.00
462–466 464 2 131.00–136.00 $133.51 $619 -7.42
560–584 571 3 125.00–131.00 $128.62 $734 -5.38
658–682 670 2 110.00–112.00 $110.98 $744 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–226 220 2 115.00–118.00 $116.46 $256 —
302–342 320 4 115.00–120.00 $117.27 $375 —
362–378 370 2 114.00–118.00 $116.04 $429 +3.30
408–412 410 2 110.00–117.00 $113.52 $465 +0.61

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222–240 231 2 116.00–120.00 $118.08 $273 —
320–342 330 6 115.00–122.00 $116.53 $385 -0.93
354–392 377 15 115.00–125.00 $120.38 $454 +4.02
404–446 423 11 117.00–127.00 $122.96 $520 +6.52
452–468 458 9 120.00–129.00 $123.99 $568 +9.70
510–524 thin fleshed 517 2 95.00–98.00 $96.52 $499 —
502–544 526 5 107.00–111.00 $109.80 $578 +0.19
541 value added 541 13 127.00 $127.00 $687 —
556–576 565 4 110.00–114.00 $111.77 $632 +11.02
637 value added 637 2 121.00 $121.00 $771 —
650–670 660 2 102.00–106.00 $104.03 $687 +17.03
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302–344 322 4 103.00–110.00 $106.60 $343 +5.38
354–392 377 4 105.00–110.00 $106.49 $401 +2.56
418–444 431 4 101.00–109.00 $104.20 $449 +2.84
476–490 483 2 90.00–93.00 $91.52 $442 -6.82
504–532 518 2 88.00–92.00 $89.95 $466 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454–496 478 11 122.00–131.00 $127.59 $610 +8.90
502–522 thin fleshed 512 2 101.00–103.00 $102.02 $522 —
500–548 526 13 108.00–116.00 $111.19 $585 -4.32
550–590 571 10 104.00–112.00 $109.29 $624 -2.80
566–578 thin fleshed 572 2 94.00–97.00 $95.52 $546 —
600–648 621 8 97.00–105.00 $101.79 $632 -9.35
656–682 667 5 93.00–100.00 $97.17 $648 -0.83
812–826 819 2 84.00–87.00 $85.49 $700 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478–484 481 2 108.00–111.00 $109.49 $527 +0.49
516–544 531 3 91.00–96.00 $93.36 $496 -3.46
552–592 572 2 91.00–95.00 $93.07 $532 —
576–592 thin fleshed 584 2 80.00–82.00 $80.99 $473 —
612–636 624 2 87.00–90.00 $88.47 $552 +0.51
886–888 thin fleshed 887 2 70.00 $70.00 $621 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
902–1336 1113 80-85% 29 55.00–61.00 $57.54 $640 -10.46
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
728–1076 905 85-90% 10 36.00–41.00 $39.26 $355 -9.27
786–1214 1007 85-90% 18 47.00–53.00 $50.78 $511 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1336–1534 1435 75-80% 2 60.00–61.00 $60.47 $868 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1266–1620 1411 3 77.00–79.00 $78.02 $1,101 —

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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
922 922 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —

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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.