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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 16, 2021

349 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $149.39/cwt -13.15 vs last sale · ≈ $720/hd at 482 lb · 11 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.73/cwt +0.58 vs last sale · ≈ $546/hd at 414 lb · 10 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.59/cwt +2.47 vs last sale · ≈ $635/hd at 465 lb · 10 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 349 274 181
Feeder cattle 309 231 158
Slaughter cattle 40 43 23

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower, while slaughter bulls were 4.00 to 5.00 higher; there were too few comparable breaking type slaughter cows to establish an adequate market comparison. Feeder heifers were mostly 2.00 to 3.00 higher; four- and five-weight feeder bulls were mostly 3.00 to 5.00 lower, while six-weights were 1.00 to 3.00 higher; there were too few comparable feeder steers to establish an adequate market comparison. Demand was moderate to good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate to active. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was average to attractive.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254–286 271 6 139.00–150.00 $144.85 $393
300–328 318 3 141.00–151.00 $144.49 $459 -18.03
356–370 363 2 160.00–164.00 $162.04 $588 +6.40
408–420 thin fleshed 414 2 130.00–137.00 $133.55 $553
414–448 430 4 140.00–151.00 $145.41 $625 -7.25
450–484 467 2 146.00–150.00 $148.07 $691 -14.47
481–493 value added 485 9 149.00–151.00 $149.68 $726
504–515 510 3 130.00–140.00 $136.03 $694
574 value added 574 8 137.50 $137.50 $789
614–636 625 2 122.00–127.00 $124.46 $778
750 value added 750 8 134.50 $134.50 $1,009
836 value added 836 7 131.00 $131.00 $1,095
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262–280 271 2 120.00 $120.00 $325 +1.71
372–390 381 2 123.00–133.00 $128.12 $488
422–430 426 2 120.00–124.00 $121.98 $520

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
234–248 241 2 119.00–120.00 $119.49 $288
262–282 275 3 119.00–124.00 $121.38 $334 -5.08
302–346 325 4 129.00–136.00 $133.34 $433
352–396 378 9 130.00–138.00 $133.30 $504 -5.52
406–418 thin fleshed 412 2 119.00–121.00 $119.99 $494 -3.68
400–438 415 8 129.00–137.00 $134.66 $559 +2.02
450–486 465 10 131.00–140.00 $136.59 $635 +2.47
504–540 thin fleshed 522 2 115.00–117.00 $116.03 $606
516–548 530 5 127.00–134.00 $129.56 $687 +4.25
554–588 567 7 123.00–132.00 $127.46 $723 +6.12
608–640 618 4 123.00–124.00 $123.49 $763
632 value added 632 3 129.00 $129.00 $815
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–222 220 2 110.00 $110.00 $242
430 430 2 114.00–120.00 $117.00 $503 -0.01

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–494 477 7 140.00–147.00 $144.43 $689 -3.58
518–540 531 7 123.00–131.00 $126.83 $673 -4.26
554–580 568 4 124.00–133.00 $127.46 $724 -0.09
600–622 606 4 119.00–124.00 $121.52 $736 +2.16
658–698 678 6 115.00–123.00 $119.43 $810 +1.84
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
556–576 566 2 110.00–116.00 $112.95 $639

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
754–1090 899 85-90% 7 44.00–50.00 $46.77 $420
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
954–996 975 80-85% 2 68.00 $68.00 $663
840–1326 1063 80-85% 4 57.00–61.00 $58.62 $623 -0.24

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
934–1626 1190 3 85.00–87.00 $85.57 $1,018

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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.