Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 10, 2022

390 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $193.52/cwt +21.79 vs last sale · ≈ $822/hd at 425 lb · 22 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $189.57/cwt +14.16 vs last sale · ≈ $705/hd at 372 lb · 15 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $135.05/cwt +3.00 vs last sale · ≈ $569/hd at 421 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 390 469 327
Feeder cattle 318 396 246
Slaughter cattle 69 72 80
Replacement cattle 3 1 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were 4.00 to 5.00 higher, while breaking type slaughter cows were 1.00 to 2.00 lower and slaughter bulls were 11.00 to 12.00 lower. Four-weight feeder steers and bulls were sharply higher and five- and six-weights were mostly 2.00 to 4.00 higher; feeder heifers were mostly 1.00 to 5.00 higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was average to attractive. Baby calves ranged 95.00 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 $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332–349 345 8 186.00–198.00 $192.93 $666 +26.40
354–394 371 13 185.00–200.00 $194.64 $722 +28.29
356–398 thin fleshed 377 2 150.00–164.00 $156.61 $590 +12.12
400–440 425 22 186.00–198.00 $193.52 $822 +28.63
459 value added 459 3 197.00 $197.00 $904 —
456–496 480 6 180.00–192.00 $184.60 $886 +15.04
500–548 523 5 160.00–174.00 $167.98 $879 +5.11
558–584 574 7 154.00–164.00 $159.68 $917 -0.72
600–602 601 2 150.00 $150.00 $902 +3.34
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276 276 2 140.00–153.00 $146.50 $404 —
300–336 318 2 140.00–141.00 $140.47 $447 +3.62
408–432 419 3 129.00–132.00 $129.97 $545 -12.02
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256–286 271 2 92.00–100.00 $96.22 $261 —
360–390 375 2 100.00–102.00 $101.04 $379 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328–337 334 6 128.00–136.00 $134.36 $449 +3.91
384–398 393 6 135.00–140.00 $138.83 $546 +4.31
400–444 421 11 130.00–139.00 $135.05 $569 +3.00
452–492 471 11 129.00–138.00 $134.89 $635 +1.29
500–534 518 11 135.00–142.00 $137.82 $714 +13.06
552–582 565 8 124.00–133.00 $130.13 $735 +4.76
602–648 628 5 126.00–135.00 $129.96 $816 +1.61
676–698 683 4 118.00–129.00 $123.52 $844 +4.12
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–344 330 4 113.00–122.00 $118.57 $391 -0.16
438–446 442 2 115.00–116.00 $115.50 $511 +0.51
462–498 479 3 110.00–116.00 $111.99 $536 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–446 427 3 100.00–102.00 $100.62 $430 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–240 223 3 100.00–106.00 $103.81 $231 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454–496 485 8 180.00–185.00 $181.87 $882 +23.72
508–544 525 7 150.00–165.00 $157.78 $828 +2.31
552–578 565 7 149.00–162.00 $155.82 $880 +7.44
606–646 632 6 130.00–137.00 $134.52 $850 -2.97
656–686 667 5 130.00–136.00 $133.58 $891 —
710–736 717 6 120.00–126.00 $123.98 $889 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530–548 539 2 123.00–134.00 $128.41 $692 —
756–798 777 2 109.00–114.00 $111.43 $866 —
832–842 837 2 114.00–116.00 $115.01 $963 —
862–874 868 2 107.00–112.00 $109.52 $951 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
766–778 772 2 86.00–90.00 $87.98 $679 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
702–790 751 85-90% 4 40.00–46.00 $43.32 $325 —
982–1036 1017 85-90% 5 62.00–66.00 $64.22 $653 —
1006–1090 1057 85-90% 3 80.00–82.00 $81.03 $856 +3.03
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1410–1436 1423 75-80% 2 83.00–84.00 $83.50 $1,188 +7.57
1336–1500 1434 75-80% 3 74.00–75.00 $74.34 $1,066 -1.59
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1148–1242 1202 80-85% 3 69.00–75.00 $72.93 $877 +4.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1300 1180 2 87.00–90.00 $88.65 $1,046 —
1768–2132 1977 4 108.00–110.00 $109.47 $2,164 +1.94

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
652 652 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 450.00–525.00 $491.67 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 60.00 $60.00 $204 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
246 246 1 88.00 $88.00 $216 —
344 344 1 80.00 $80.00 $275 —
354 354 1 84.00 $84.00 $297 —
576 576 1 114.00 $114.00 $657 —

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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.