Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 11, 2022

450 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $139.53/cwt +12.50 vs last sale · ≈ $809/hd at 580 lb · 32 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.78/cwt +5.21 vs last sale · ≈ $605/hd at 426 lb · 28 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.79/cwt +0.26 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 428 lb · 23 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 450 187 458
Feeder cattle 394 171 359
Slaughter cattle 42 16 44
Replacement cattle 14 — 55

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were steady to 1.00 higher. Feeder cattle were unevenly steady. Demand was moderate to good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was average to attractive with several groups of value added feeder cattle. Dairy baby calves ranged 130.00 to 140.00 per head; other "by the head" calves were 120.00 to 160.00.

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
318 318 2 164.00–169.00 $166.50 $529 +9.03
350–356 value added 355 8 170.00–174.00 $173.26 $615 —
360–362 361 2 147.00–150.00 $148.50 $536 -16.31
358–394 382 5 158.00–166.00 $161.21 $616 +12.72
402–446 426 18 150.00–162.00 $154.45 $658 +9.55
424–442 433 2 141.00–147.00 $144.06 $624 -15.01
430–444 fancy 436 3 163.00–165.00 $164.00 $715 -5.51
450–470 value added 466 21 164.00–171.00 $169.34 $789 —
508–512 value added 509 6 165.00–168.00 $166.99 $850 —
502–544 520 4 145.00–159.00 $151.94 $790 —
550–566 554 4 151.00–152.00 $151.26 $838 —
609–618 value added 617 20 156.00–159.50 $158.88 $980 —
606–640 619 3 141.00–151.00 $145.75 $902 —
678–690 value added 682 13 152.00–153.50 $153.03 $1,044 —
708–742 725 2 137.00–141.00 $139.05 $1,008 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–286 269 2 130.00–133.00 $131.41 $353 -14.33
316–344 334 3 140.00–148.00 $142.87 $477 —
364–386 375 2 141.00–142.00 $141.51 $531 —
404–446 421 6 137.00–142.00 $139.33 $587 +2.34
456–488 469 4 132.00–141.00 $136.18 $639 +2.43
500–530 515 2 130.00–136.00 $133.09 $685 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
282–292 287 3 138.00–141.00 $139.68 $401 —
312–334 326 4 140.00–146.00 $142.72 $465 +2.80
366–398 387 9 132.00–143.00 $138.02 $534 +2.98
400–444 420 13 135.00–143.00 $139.29 $585 +2.72
403–448 value added 432 15 143.50–145.00 $143.94 $622 —
452–494 473 8 129.00–137.00 $132.54 $627 -4.33
465–498 value added 483 13 143.00–147.00 $145.58 $703 —
516–548 527 8 128.00–135.00 $131.48 $693 +0.34
520–542 fancy 530 3 139.00–141.00 $140.01 $742 —
560–582 567 7 123.00–131.00 $127.67 $724 +0.64
553–591 value added 583 25 139.00–143.50 $142.85 $833 —
602–615 value added 613 6 135.00–139.00 $138.35 $848 —
606–620 614 4 120.00–130.00 $124.54 $765 —
666–694 680 2 125.00–133.00 $129.08 $878 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
269 269 2 134.00 $134.00 $360 —
400–428 414 2 126.00–128.00 $127.03 $526 +5.34
464–498 486 4 120.00–128.00 $123.80 $602 +0.05
528–530 529 2 116.00–124.00 $119.99 $635 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
426–438 432 2 105.00–110.00 $107.47 $464 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–464 458 2 140.00–143.00 $141.52 $648 -5.15
462–496 483 16 148.00–159.00 $154.61 $747 +16.12
510–522 fancy 515 3 148.00–151.00 $149.67 $771 -7.81
502–542 528 11 135.00–145.00 $139.34 $736 +2.34
560–598 574 8 135.00–144.00 $138.49 $795 +0.45
618–622 620 2 130.00–135.00 $132.49 $821 +0.45
647 value added 647 5 156.00 $156.00 $1,009 —
650–674 669 12 132.00–138.00 $136.18 $911 +6.19
706–730 717 3 126.00–136.00 $129.95 $932 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
546 546 2 124.00–125.00 $124.50 $680 -2.06
550–558 554 2 128.00–130.00 $128.99 $715 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
592–598 595 2 111.00–114.00 $112.49 $669 —
908–922 915 2 90.00–97.00 $93.47 $855 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1224 1076 80-85% 12 77.00–85.00 $80.27 $864 —
980–1268 1123 80-85% 3 70.00–76.00 $73.08 $821 —
1102–1240 1154 80-85% 4 86.00–95.00 $91.10 $1,051 +2.47
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
802–1056 898 85-90% 4 54.00–61.00 $57.34 $515 —
900–1078 986 85-90% 4 68.00–72.00 $69.83 $689 +8.83
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1464 1397 75-80% 2 87.00–90.00 $88.43 $1,235 —
1356–1568 1429 75-80% 3 74.00 $74.00 $1,057 —
1324–1806 1523 75-80% 3 82.00–84.00 $82.63 $1,258 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650 1650 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,518 —
2042 2042 1 110.00 $110.00 $2,246 —

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
760 760 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —
730–825 777 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 8 900.00–1,000.00 $968.40 —
Small 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
730–742 736 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 4 725.00–800.00 $762.19 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
522 522 1 81.00 $81.00 $423 —

↑ 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.