Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, July 28, 2022

250 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.97/cwt ≈ $677/hd at 529 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $130.06/cwt ≈ $699/hd at 538 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 250 257 395
Feeder cattle 210 217 326
Slaughter cattle 40 38 69
Replacement cattle — 2 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were 4.00 to 5.00 higher, while slaughter bulls were steady to 1.00 lower; there were too few breaking type slaughter cows to establish an adequate market comparison. Feeder cattle were mixed, mostly 1.00 lower to 5.00 higher. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was average. Baby calves ranged 25.00 to 50.00 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
250–270 260 2 143.00–149.00 $145.88 $379 —
310–346 324 6 145.00–155.00 $149.56 $485 +1.86
352–376 364 5 150.00–162.00 $156.37 $569 -2.03
358–380 369 2 142.00–147.00 $144.57 $533 -13.83
404–446 425 5 146.00–155.00 $150.01 $638 +1.11
416–436 fancy 426 2 160.00–161.00 $160.51 $684 +0.06
470–472 471 2 149.00–155.00 $151.99 $716 —
506–543 531 6 153.00–157.00 $153.64 $816 +4.85
556 value added 556 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,001 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–238 225 3 128.00–134.00 $132.13 $297 —
412 412 2 121.00 $121.00 $499 -15.07
472–496 484 2 133.00–137.00 $135.05 $654 +4.55

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–232 225 2 125.00–129.00 $126.94 $286 —
250–276 263 2 127.00–130.00 $128.57 $338 —
406–424 415 4 125.00–135.00 $129.45 $537 -0.56
462–495 478 7 123.00–131.00 $128.85 $616 -0.19
504–548 529 16 125.00–132.50 $129.89 $687 —
502–548 530 4 119.00–122.00 $120.28 $637 —
560–596 579 6 120.00–133.00 $126.63 $733 +3.16
580–590 585 2 112.00–114.00 $113.01 $661 -10.46
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–244 229 2 83.00–84.00 $83.53 $191 —
252–262 257 2 81.00–82.00 $81.51 $209 —
346–348 347 2 113.00–117.00 $114.99 $399 -5.33
412–414 413 2 110.00–111.00 $110.50 $456 —
576–580 577 4 100.00–105.00 $101.26 $584 —
616–646 631 2 108.00 $108.00 $681 -4.66
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–222 221 2 90.00–91.00 $90.50 $200 —
256–280 268 2 93.00–99.00 $95.87 $257 —
320–332 326 2 90.00–98.00 $93.93 $306 -7.07

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–496 fancy 475 4 144.00–151.00 $148.96 $708 -10.04
502–548 528 3 120.00–121.00 $120.32 $635 —
508–549 539 6 126.00–130.00 $127.47 $687 —
530–548 fancy 543 4 140.00–144.00 $141.25 $767 —
550–594 580 8 122.00–132.00 $125.33 $727 -3.13
604–620 610 3 117.00–128.00 $122.62 $748 —
657–698 668 5 116.00–119.00 $116.63 $779 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
552–598 566 4 107.00–114.00 $111.49 $631 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550–598 574 2 84.00–91.00 $87.65 $503 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1254 1057 80-85% 7 50.00–68.00 $62.04 $656 -10.83
902–1194 1074 80-85% 4 84.00–90.00 $86.42 $928 +13.55
1062–1288 1163 80-85% 5 76.00–80.00 $77.76 $904 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
868–1082 938 85-90% 4 54.00–60.00 $55.87 $524 —
820–1050 948 85-90% 9 67.00–74.00 $70.13 $665 —
1020–1296 1158 85-90% 2 50.00 $50.00 $579 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480 1480 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,584 —
1434–1770 1555 3 88.00–93.00 $90.80 $1,412 —
1726 1726 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,467 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
692 692 1 83.00 $83.00 $574 —

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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.