Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 19, 2022

342 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M 2 bulls $133.16/cwt +0.31 vs last sale · ≈ $856/hd at 643 lb · 25 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $128.00/cwt ≈ $856/hd at 669 lb · 15 head
heavy 5-weight M 2 bulls $133.16/cwt -1.55 vs last sale · ≈ $768/hd at 577 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 342 342 629
Feeder cattle 280 267 476
Slaughter cattle 62 67 153
Replacement cattle — 8 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower, while breaking type slaughter cows were 7.00 to 8.00 higher and slaughter bulls were 6.00 to 7.00 higher. Feeder cattle were mostly steady to 2.00 higher on a fairly light test. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was average.

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
272–298 287 3 150.00–161.00 $156.66 $450 —
326–338 332 2 153.00–160.00 $156.44 $519 -7.06
350–378 367 5 150.00–156.00 $153.62 $564 -6.21
404–446 428 5 150.00–161.00 $154.51 $661 -8.02
454–458 456 2 158.00–164.00 $160.99 $734 +9.06
514–544 527 7 158.00–168.00 $160.84 $848 —
558–594 567 4 150.00–158.00 $155.90 $884 -6.17
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
274 274 2 120.00–124.00 $122.00 $334 -17.39
302–340 317 3 136.00–140.00 $138.73 $440 —
356–394 371 3 131.00–140.00 $135.35 $502 +7.87
404–434 422 4 136.00–145.00 $139.93 $591 +0.58
468 468 2 132.00–137.00 $134.50 $629 +1.47
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
352–390 365 3 112.00–115.00 $113.93 $416 +1.91

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
264–282 273 3 130.00–135.00 $131.61 $359 —
358–396 379 3 139.00–140.00 $139.66 $529 +1.65
419–442 426 5 135.00–145.00 $140.26 $598 -1.68
456–498 480 9 130.00–140.00 $135.36 $650 +0.13
502–532 514 4 130.00–136.00 $134.00 $689 +1.50
517 value added 517 6 140.00 $140.00 $724 —
552–594 581 4 130.00–133.00 $130.76 $760 —
669 669 15 128.00 $128.00 $856 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–276 263 3 120.00–126.00 $123.27 $324 —
322–330 326 2 125.00–127.00 $125.99 $411 +0.46
356–386 371 2 114.00–116.00 $114.96 $427 -12.12
402–438 420 2 125.00–127.00 $126.04 $529 —
460–476 468 2 111.00–118.00 $114.56 $536 -1.44
524–542 533 2 122.00–128.00 $125.05 $667 —
562–582 569 3 125.00–126.00 $125.34 $713 -2.19
612–634 620 3 123.00–128.00 $124.99 $775 +2.65
750–796 773 2 102.00–107.00 $104.43 $807 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
216–226 221 2 107.00–113.00 $110.07 $243 -0.87
326–330 329 3 98.00–102.00 $100.01 $329 —
366–372 369 2 106.00–109.00 $107.49 $397 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–538 523 5 136.00–139.00 $137.61 $720 +2.12
558–590 569 3 125.00–129.00 $126.66 $721 -8.05
552–596 579 10 130.00–138.00 $135.11 $782 +0.40
612–647 643 25 130.00–135.00 $133.16 $856 +0.31
650–666 657 3 120.00–128.00 $123.03 $808 -2.60
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–486 471 7 140.00–150.00 $144.85 $682 +0.85
500–521 516 10 145.00–154.00 $149.91 $774 +6.36
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
658–680 669 2 110.00–118.00 $114.07 $763 —
710–722 716 3 115.00–119.00 $117.67 $843 —
760–788 774 2 110.00–114.00 $112.04 $867 +18.49
778–784 781 2 94.00–102.00 $97.98 $765 +4.43
814–848 831 2 107.00–108.00 $107.49 $893 +15.98
858–862 860 2 106.00–110.00 $108.00 $929 +6.03
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–482 475 2 75.00–76.00 $75.49 $359 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
816–1056 934 85-90% 6 58.00–63.00 $60.79 $568 -9.35
868–1032 934 85-90% 4 70.00–76.00 $71.94 $672 +1.80
918–1084 1029 85-90% 6 80.00–88.00 $83.91 $863 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1278–1438 1358 75-80% 2 74.00 $74.00 $1,005 —
1310–1588 1421 75-80% 7 87.00–96.00 $91.48 $1,300 +8.46
1286–1574 1426 75-80% 4 79.00–84.00 $81.84 $1,167 -1.18
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1078–1200 1138 80-85% 3 84.00–89.00 $86.63 $986 +27.13
1100–1230 1173 80-85% 7 73.00–79.00 $75.87 $890 -6.65

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
942–1794 1368 2 80.00–81.00 $80.66 $1,103 —
1482–1978 1750 3 100.00–104.00 $102.07 $1,786 —
1484–1952 1761 3 114.00–115.00 $114.72 $2,020 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468 468 1 90.00 $90.00 $421 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256 256 1 65.00 $65.00 $166 —

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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.