Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report, Smithfield, NC

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 13, 2022

407 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $133.75/cwt +10.00 vs last sale · ≈ $507/hd at 379 lb · 14 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $118.19/cwt -0.69 vs last sale · ≈ $671/hd at 568 lb · 11 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $160.06/cwt +14.37 vs last sale · ≈ $610/hd at 381 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 407 269 369
Feeder cattle 299 204 279
Slaughter cattle 106 62 87
Replacement cattle 2 3 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were 8.00 to 9.00 higher and slaughter bulls were 13.00 to 14.00 higher. Feeder steers and bulls were mostly 2.00 to 5.00 higher, while feeder heifers were mostly 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate to active. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was average to attractive.

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
367 value added 367 3 175.00 $175.00 $642 —
372–398 387 7 150.00–160.00 $153.66 $595 +7.97
412–448 436 7 140.00–150.00 $144.56 $630 -0.87
468–492 477 3 144.00–151.00 $148.36 $708 +3.37
521–538 526 7 144.00–153.00 $149.67 $787 —
558–578 568 2 137.00–141.00 $138.96 $789 —
622–630 626 2 136.00–137.00 $136.50 $854 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–290 273 3 121.00–132.00 $125.94 $344 -5.52
308–346 323 6 120.00–126.00 $122.28 $395 -3.71
356–384 370 3 121.00–130.00 $124.45 $460 +0.26

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
364–394 377 12 130.00–139.00 $135.12 $509 +11.37
390–392 thin fleshed 391 2 125.00–126.00 $125.50 $491 —
400–444 424 5 125.00–130.00 $126.96 $538 +8.32
454–498 480 6 121.00–130.00 $124.94 $600 —
484 value added 484 2 135.00 $135.00 $653 —
516–548 532 5 116.00–122.00 $119.38 $635 -2.98
554–582 568 11 114.00–121.00 $118.19 $671 -3.23
602–648 625 2 106.00–109.00 $107.44 $672 -6.56
680–692 686 2 107.00–111.00 $109.02 $748 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
284–290 287 2 111.00–118.00 $114.46 $329 —
350–376 360 5 117.00–120.00 $119.42 $430 +5.95
510–522 515 3 100.00–101.00 $100.33 $517 -0.66
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
322–348 335 2 93.00–97.00 $94.92 $318 -5.08
454–478 466 2 90.00–96.00 $92.92 $433 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
322 322 2 110.00 $110.00 $354 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–472 fancy 462 2 148.00–150.00 $148.98 $688 —
454–496 476 7 134.00–144.00 $138.36 $659 +4.82
500–522 thin fleshed 511 3 120.00 $120.00 $613 -0.66
512–540 520 5 133.00–141.00 $139.14 $724 +2.16
556–592 575 8 121.00–130.00 $126.27 $726 —
606–626 613 3 120.00–126.00 $124.02 $760 +3.65
652–684 664 5 120.00–125.00 $122.56 $814 —
658–688 thin fleshed 674 3 105.00–112.00 $109.33 $737 —
700–742 715 5 111.00–120.00 $114.64 $820 —
762–792 777 2 110.00–111.00 $110.49 $859 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
524–530 527 2 101.00–103.00 $101.99 $537 —
616–644 625 6 97.00–101.00 $99.01 $619 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–464 460 2 110.00 $110.00 $506 —
558–574 568 3 110.00–112.00 $110.65 $628 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
982–1330 1104 80-85% 10 66.00–71.00 $69.09 $763 —
1112–1420 1245 80-85% 9 75.00–81.00 $77.93 $970 +17.07
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720–930 831 85-90% 6 53.00–57.00 $54.41 $452 —
872–1192 1000 85-90% 5 40.00–42.00 $41.22 $412 -10.59
870–1224 1032 85-90% 6 60.00–65.00 $61.95 $639 +10.14
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1318–1458 1395 75-80% 3 72.00–73.00 $72.65 $1,013 —
1306–1776 1541 75-80% 2 75.00–77.00 $76.15 $1,173 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
974–1102 1038 2 67.00–73.00 $69.82 $725 —
1160–2038 1716 5 90.00–93.00 $91.73 $1,574 +13.28
1750–2228 1980 5 103.00–109.00 $105.84 $2,096 —

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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
860 860 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 740.00 $740.00 —
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —

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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.