Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 5, 2022

454 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.53/cwt +7.97 vs last sale · ≈ $686/hd at 468 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $171.74/cwt +15.58 vs last sale · ≈ $905/hd at 527 lb · 23 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.22/cwt +1.80 vs last sale · ≈ $686/hd at 423 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 454 388 620
Feeder cattle 396 317 514
Slaughter cattle 55 63 93
Replacement cattle 3 8 13

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 higher, while breaking type slaughter cows were 3.00 to 4.00 lower and slaughter bulls were 8.00 to 9.00 lower. There were too few comparable feeder steers and bulls to establish an adequate market comparison, however a higher undertone was noted; heifers were unevenly steady. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was mostly average with some attractive, value added groups.

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
308–338 323 2 166.00–171.00 $168.38 $544 —
350–380 366 4 158.00–167.00 $162.99 $597 +17.36
358–394 374 5 150.00–153.00 $151.02 $565 +5.39
399 value added 399 5 172.00 $172.00 $686 —
410 value added 410 3 175.00 $175.00 $718 -6.00
404–438 426 5 151.00–154.00 $151.77 $647 -5.21
408–444 426 9 156.00–170.00 $163.76 $698 +6.78
456–484 471 3 153.00–155.00 $153.99 $725 -0.40
518–538 527 3 150.00–161.00 $156.67 $826 +9.43
527 value added 527 20 174.00 $174.00 $917 ±0.00
558–582 value added 572 8 160.00–167.00 $163.20 $934 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
208–248 228 2 126.00–130.00 $127.82 $291 —
264 value added 264 2 141.00 $141.00 $372 —
312–322 318 3 129.00–139.00 $134.30 $427 -0.64
316–320 fancy 318 2 144.00 $144.00 $458 —
368–372 fancy 370 2 140.00 $140.00 $518 —
364–388 374 4 126.00–139.00 $132.61 $496 -6.89
404–412 fancy 408 2 140.00–145.00 $142.48 $581 —
424–446 436 5 127.00–135.00 $131.83 $575 -4.04
649 value added 649 3 139.00 $139.00 $902 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262–284 273 2 102.00–108.00 $104.88 $286 —
374–378 376 2 111.00–114.00 $112.51 $423 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
326–344 335 2 132.00–140.00 $136.11 $456 —
350–399 374 10 135.00–140.00 $138.17 $517 -0.12
404–442 421 13 134.00–144.00 $138.58 $583 -0.76
462–486 value added 467 24 146.00–150.00 $149.13 $696 —
450–498 472 7 133.00–140.00 $137.60 $649 -0.96
503–547 value added 516 7 145.00–146.00 $145.70 $752 —
504–546 527 7 130.00–140.00 $135.84 $716 +1.88
567–578 570 4 127.00–135.00 $129.75 $740 +1.99
608–622 617 4 120.00–131.00 $125.23 $773 -0.52
668 668 7 123.00 $123.00 $822 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–342 336 2 121.00–122.00 $121.51 $408 -6.13
368–386 379 3 125.00–131.00 $126.94 $481 —
438–444 441 3 120.00–128.00 $124.02 $547 -4.20
458–498 487 5 120.00–126.00 $123.58 $602 -6.09
522–542 534 6 123.00–129.00 $126.31 $674 +4.53
552–598 578 4 120.00–125.00 $122.45 $708 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
274–276 275 2 110.00–116.00 $112.99 $311 —
382–396 388 4 115.00–118.00 $116.50 $452 —
406–422 411 3 110.00–114.00 $112.30 $462 —
458–468 463 2 106.00–110.00 $107.98 $500 —
450–494 475 3 116.00–119.00 $117.67 $559 —
508–520 514 2 100.00–105.00 $102.53 $527 —
514–548 533 4 110.00–114.00 $111.26 $593 —
554–584 569 2 106.00–110.00 $108.05 $615 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–546 528 4 114.00–119.00 $117.79 $622 +2.83
566–596 584 4 110.00–116.00 $113.03 $660 -0.99
602 602 2 106.00 $106.00 $638 —
604–610 607 2 114.00–117.00 $115.51 $701 —
656–666 661 2 111.00–115.00 $113.02 $747 -1.33

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–467 value added 465 8 159.00–168.00 $166.91 $776 —
454–486 475 5 144.00–155.00 $150.89 $717 +2.83
462–490 481 3 140.00–141.00 $140.32 $675 -7.74
500–504 502 2 140.00 $140.00 $703 +4.30
522–549 543 5 148.00–157.00 $152.03 $826 +16.33
562–576 569 2 147.00–150.00 $148.48 $845 +13.40
572–588 579 3 140.00–142.00 $140.68 $815 +5.60
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490–494 491 4 127.00–133.00 $129.74 $637 +3.14
506–534 517 3 120.00–127.00 $122.41 $633 —
504–548 519 3 134.00–139.00 $137.38 $713 —
560–570 565 2 121.00–132.00 $126.55 $715 —
604–636 621 6 128.00–136.00 $131.36 $816 —
668–684 676 2 120.00–122.00 $121.01 $818 —
664–689 682 5 127.00–129.00 $127.39 $869 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–548 539 4 110.00–118.00 $113.54 $612 —
550–560 555 2 90.00–99.00 $94.54 $525 —
552–594 577 3 104.00–114.00 $109.22 $630 —
702–714 708 2 90.00–94.00 $92.02 $652 —
772–776 774 2 90.00 $90.00 $697 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
768–780 775 3 108.00–112.00 $110.00 $852 -0.50
814–842 828 2 99.00–102.00 $100.53 $832 —
864–896 875 3 102.00–109.00 $105.71 $925 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1116–1236 1183 80-85% 3 74.00–76.00 $75.03 $888 +4.14
1134–1324 1183 80-85% 6 60.00–65.00 $64.01 $757 -6.88
1146–1218 1192 80-85% 3 45.00–50.00 $48.40 $577 -28.92
1136–1322 1222 80-85% 3 70.00–73.00 $71.08 $869 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1384–1518 1443 75-80% 8 66.00–71.00 $69.02 $996 —
1372–1574 1461 75-80% 3 60.00–65.00 $63.20 $923 -9.10
1428–1514 1471 75-80% 2 74.00–76.00 $75.03 $1,104 +2.73
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–974 923 85-90% 4 50.00–58.00 $53.29 $492 +13.39
796–1088 984 85-90% 7 64.00–68.00 $65.36 $643 +7.60

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1116–1340 1212 4 90.00 $90.00 $1,091 —
1550–1678 1614 2 98.00–101.00 $99.44 $1,605 —

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
536 536 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 700.00 $700.00 —
834 834 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1216 1216 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,125.00 $1,125.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.