Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, August 25, 2022

417 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 $132.24/cwt -11.29 vs last sale · ≈ $632/hd at 478 lb · 30 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $164.60/cwt +4.13 vs last sale · ≈ $872/hd at 530 lb · 28 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.49/cwt -8.78 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 426 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 417 326 274
Feeder cattle 366 285 245
Slaughter cattle 50 40 29
Replacement cattle 1 1 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 3 to 5 cents lower. Feeder cattle were 3 to 8 cents lower. Demand was moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. 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
262–294 278 4 140.00–161.00 $150.91 $420 -15.05
304–336 315 8 152.00–171.00 $166.84 $526 +1.74
344 344 1 141.00 $141.00 $485 -24.10
365 value added 365 2 190.00 $190.00 $694 —
360–398 382 8 150.00–164.00 $156.68 $599 -8.57
402–444 424 19 150.00–170.00 $157.62 $668 -8.88
430–446 436 3 140.00–146.00 $141.98 $619 -4.46
457–484 466 10 155.00–165.00 $163.06 $760 -7.28
512–548 527 8 144.00–158.00 $153.87 $811 +5.87
530–533 value added 531 20 165.00–171.00 $168.89 $897 —
556 556 1 137.00 $137.00 $762 -13.59
568–592 579 3 150.00–160.00 $154.97 $897 +4.38
612–646 628 7 136.00–159.00 $149.30 $938 +7.30
652–680 664 7 146.00–156.00 $152.73 $1,014 +13.24
714–738 726 2 140.00–143.00 $141.52 $1,027 -8.48
776–780 778 2 136.00–140.00 $138.01 $1,074 -6.99
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
216–240 228 2 127.50–136.00 $131.97 $301 -3.03
300–340 320 2 119.00–130.00 $124.16 $397 -22.03
360–374 365 3 131.00–136.00 $133.63 $488 -9.41
432–447 440 6 130.00–136.00 $132.33 $582 -10.67
622 622 1 124.00 $124.00 $771 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356 356 1 118.00 $118.00 $420 —
444 444 1 82.00 $82.00 $364 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242 242 1 137.00 $137.00 $332 -7.31
260–290 276 6 134.00–138.00 $135.83 $375 -4.91
310–346 330 7 133.00–152.00 $140.35 $463 -5.76
354–392 379 12 130.00–146.00 $138.19 $524 -4.62
400–448 415 18 125.00–140.00 $134.60 $559 -9.17
458–488 473 2 120.00–124.00 $121.94 $577 -21.59
454–490 478 28 125.00–138.00 $132.98 $636 -10.55
500–534 518 11 120.00–132.00 $127.32 $660 -6.55
550–596 569 17 120.00–136.00 $127.35 $725 +5.35
602–636 624 5 117.00–132.00 $124.85 $779 -1.83
609–648 629 2 110.00–112.00 $111.03 $698 -15.65
664–682 675 4 114.00–120.00 $116.52 $787 -2.00
716–724 721 3 110.00–112.00 $111.00 $800 -12.97
742 742 1 95.00 $95.00 $705 -28.97
754–778 768 3 110.00–114.00 $111.68 $858 —
836 836 1 101.00 $101.00 $844 —
868–886 877 2 94.00–101.00 $97.54 $855 —
1136 fancy 1136 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,363 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
288 288 1 124.00 $124.00 $357 -6.00
366–392 379 2 120.00–126.00 $123.10 $467 -0.90
404–434 419 3 119.00–120.00 $119.65 $501 -0.14
468–474 471 3 100.00–121.00 $110.36 $520 -11.64
588 588 1 104.00 $104.00 $612 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
334 334 1 92.50 $92.50 $309 -8.50
400 400 1 92.50 $92.50 $370 -10.53

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–498 473 17 137.00–161.00 $145.47 $688 -18.09
500–546 519 14 130.00–144.00 $137.14 $712 +5.14
552–598 572 16 124.00–141.00 $136.12 $779 -2.17
602–648 627 6 120.00–136.00 $126.09 $791 -10.20
656–664 660 2 120.00–124.00 $122.01 $805 -11.98
724 724 1 100.00 $100.00 $724 -24.00
704–736 729 5 110.00–132.00 $119.74 $873 -4.26
770 770 1 114.00 $114.00 $878 -12.00
810–812 811 2 110.00–114.00 $112.00 $908 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472–474 473 2 120.00–130.00 $124.99 $591 +1.99
586–590 588 2 114.00–120.00 $116.99 $688 -8.47
650 650 1 95.00 $95.00 $618 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
566 566 1 80.00 $80.00 $453 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1308 1181 80-85% 5 91.00–100.00 $95.80 $1,131 —
946–1450 1205 80-85% 15 74.00–87.00 $78.96 $951 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
882 882 85-90% 1 80.00 $80.00 $706 —
854–1130 948 85-90% 7 40.00–56.00 $48.48 $460 -1.57
870–1200 1029 85-90% 9 64.00–74.00 $70.02 $721 -5.98
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1304 1304 75-80% 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,304 —
1212–1806 1489 75-80% 6 80.00–89.00 $84.16 $1,253 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030 1030 1 80.00 $80.00 $824 —
950–1468 1163 8 84.00–102.00 $95.12 $1,106 -8.84
1324–1900 1647 4 109.00–116.00 $111.90 $1,843 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
844 844 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 106.00 $106.00 $191 —
424 424 1 113.00 $113.00 $479 —

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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.