Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report, Smithfield, NC

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 14, 2022

415 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 $138.98/cwt -4.20 vs last sale · ≈ $526/hd at 379 lb · 17 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.89/cwt +2.70 vs last sale · ≈ $620/hd at 378 lb · 17 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $147.28/cwt -1.88 vs last sale · ≈ $697/hd at 473 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 415 444 657
Feeder cattle 316 325 474
Slaughter cattle 93 117 63
Replacement cattle 6 2 120

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 10.00 to 11.00 lower and boning type slaughter cows were 6.00 to 7.00 lower; there were too few comparable slaughter bulls the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison. Feeder steers and bulls were mostly steady to 4.00 lower; heifers were mixed, 5.00 lower to 2.00 higher. Demand was good at lower prices; market activity and buyer interest were fairly active. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was average. Baby calves brought 190.00 per head; "by the head" calves were 180.00 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
262–296 283 3 163.00–168.00 $165.33 $468 —
292–296 fancy 294 2 186.00–191.00 $188.48 $554 —
302–330 320 4 170.00–179.00 $172.90 $553 +9.20
336–342 339 2 155.00–158.00 $156.51 $531 -7.19
360–366 363 2 150.00–156.00 $152.98 $555 -7.06
352–396 380 15 160.00–172.00 $165.35 $628 +5.31
416–434 425 7 155.00–166.00 $158.12 $672 -2.07
454–476 465 2 156.00–161.00 $158.44 $737 +2.16
501 value added 501 5 167.00 $167.00 $837 —
522–534 530 3 141.00–150.00 $146.37 $776 -11.14
556–588 572 4 142.00–150.00 $145.28 $831 -6.07
614–642 631 3 130.00–136.00 $132.67 $837 —
650–668 659 2 130.00–134.00 $131.97 $870 —
718–720 719 2 123.00–130.00 $126.50 $910 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–278 269 2 140.00–144.00 $141.93 $382 —
318–328 323 2 131.00–134.00 $132.52 $428 -9.87
360–376 368 2 140.00–147.00 $143.42 $528 +10.15
438–448 443 2 144.00–148.00 $146.02 $647 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
408–414 411 2 110.00 $110.00 $452 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258–286 272 2 130.00–139.00 $134.27 $365 +0.27
304–346 327 6 132.00–142.00 $136.85 $447 -1.56
354–398 377 14 133.00–143.00 $136.84 $516 +0.21
384–388 fancy 386 3 145.00–152.00 $148.99 $575 —
400–444 428 15 130.00–142.00 $136.62 $585 -4.71
452–498 474 11 131.00–139.00 $135.82 $644 +1.52
502–512 fancy 507 2 135.00–136.00 $135.50 $687 —
502–538 516 6 123.00–131.00 $127.48 $658 +1.38
512–542 529 3 120.00 $120.00 $635 -6.10
562–588 585 8 120.00–127.00 $124.65 $729 -1.85
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
504–518 511 2 110.00 $110.00 $562 -5.50
556–596 564 9 114.00–118.00 $117.19 $661 —
602–618 609 3 110.00–111.00 $110.33 $672 —
660–664 662 2 100.00–105.00 $102.49 $678 -7.53
712–744 728 2 105.00–110.00 $107.45 $782 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
554–572 563 2 90.00–98.00 $94.06 $530 -9.18
568–578 575 4 103.00–108.00 $105.51 $607 +2.27
718–720 thin fleshed 719 2 74.00–83.00 $78.51 $564 —
754–780 767 2 96.00–98.00 $96.98 $744 —
872–884 thin fleshed 878 2 81.00 $81.00 $711 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
364 364 2 130.00 $130.00 $473 +7.50
408–444 426 2 124.00–126.00 $125.04 $533 -0.42

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454–460 fancy 457 2 156.00–161.00 $158.48 $724 -1.57
450–493 476 13 140.00–152.00 $145.56 $693 +6.81
514–538 522 5 140.00–146.00 $141.60 $739 -0.39
554–598 574 6 130.00–138.00 $135.70 $779 -3.59
602–644 632 5 131.00–136.00 $132.76 $839 -1.02
658–696 671 3 128.00–131.00 $129.64 $870 -1.35
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–464 461 3 127.00–133.00 $129.34 $596 +1.34
506–549 537 7 129.00–135.00 $131.22 $705 —
550–556 thin fleshed 553 2 120.00–129.00 $124.48 $688 —
628–644 636 2 124.00–127.00 $125.52 $798 —
722–738 731 3 114.00–119.00 $116.99 $855 -7.00
820–828 824 2 112.00–113.00 $112.50 $927 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
688 688 3 106.00 $106.00 $729 —
900–904 902 2 99.00–101.00 $100.00 $902 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1108–1172 1145 80-85% 4 65.00 $65.00 $744 —
1136–1180 1156 80-85% 6 74.00–81.00 $76.82 $888 —
1102–1294 1203 80-85% 16 66.00–73.00 $70.34 $846 -6.35
1132–1282 1221 80-85% 3 50.00–57.00 $53.31 $651 -29.74
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
864–894 879 85-90% 3 44.00–50.00 $47.02 $413 -13.93
876–946 911 85-90% 2 40.00 $40.00 $364 -37.37
928–1082 1015 85-90% 12 65.00–71.00 $67.81 $688 —
954–1096 1039 85-90% 5 73.00–77.00 $74.16 $771 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1304–1456 1388 75-80% 10 65.00–70.00 $66.73 $926 -2.33
1320–1436 1399 75-80% 5 75.00–79.00 $77.58 $1,085 +8.52

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1518 1264 5 85.00–92.00 $88.50 $1,119 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950–964 957 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 700.00–725.00 $712.41 —
Small 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
628 628 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 590.00 $590.00 —
978 978 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 620.00 $620.00 —
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1280 1280 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1104 1104 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.