Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, November 17, 2022

425 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M 2 bulls $96.03/cwt -5.45 vs last sale · ≈ $544/hd at 567 lb · 15 head
heavy 3-weight M 2 heifers $110.65/cwt -5.99 vs last sale · ≈ $418/hd at 378 lb · 15 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $125.32/cwt -5.22 vs last sale · ≈ $596/hd at 476 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 425 508 568
Feeder cattle 339 400 465
Slaughter cattle 80 107 103
Replacement cattle 6 1 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Slaughter cows sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Feeder cattle 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Demand was light to moderate; market activity and buyer interest were slow to moderate. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was plain to average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–242 224 5 120.00–130.00 $124.36 $279 -3.33
252–290 273 4 117.00–133.00 $122.23 $334 -10.97
302–348 323 6 120.00–137.00 $129.14 $417 -2.18
364–392 380 7 110.00–133.00 $122.31 $465 -4.71
400–444 425 10 110.00–136.00 $120.58 $512 -2.84
488 488 2 116.00 $116.00 $566 —
568 568 1 118.00 $118.00 $670 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
264–288 278 3 135.00–141.00 $138.76 $386 -4.32
300–348 319 3 142.00–148.00 $144.83 $462 +0.96
348 348 1 137.00 $137.00 $477 -6.87
364–398 380 13 138.00–150.00 $145.52 $553 +0.46
410–446 429 3 140.00–146.00 $142.58 $612 -0.13
424–448 439 3 127.00–134.00 $131.29 $576 -11.42
462 462 1 139.00 $139.00 $642 -1.50
602 602 1 120.00 $120.00 $722 -15.17
652–666 659 2 135.00–137.00 $135.99 $896 —
706 706 1 111.00 $111.00 $784 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
224–236 230 2 100.00–110.00 $104.87 $241 +7.35
314 314 1 104.00 $104.00 $327 -3.33
364 364 1 107.00 $107.00 $389 +3.79
402–446 427 5 88.00–104.00 $95.43 $407 -9.11
458–476 467 2 95.00–107.00 $100.88 $471 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256–288 276 5 108.00–121.00 $113.55 $313 -3.48
302–348 328 6 100.00–118.00 $110.96 $364 -7.12
350–398 378 15 98.00–118.00 $110.65 $418 -5.99
400–442 410 9 90.00–114.00 $104.46 $428 +0.21
458–498 479 7 90.00–110.00 $102.82 $493 -7.32
580–596 thin fleshed 588 2 86.00 $86.00 $506 —
604 thin fleshed 604 1 82.00 $82.00 $495 —
666–698 682 2 84.00–86.00 $85.02 $580 +2.25
726–732 729 2 84.00–86.00 $85.00 $620 —
780 780 1 82.00 $82.00 $640 +12.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
284 284 1 127.00 $127.00 $361 -4.00
302 302 1 131.00 $131.00 $396 +1.65
348 348 1 111.00 $111.00 $386 -18.35
410–442 430 3 118.00–131.00 $122.79 $528 -4.53
464 464 1 110.00 $110.00 $510 -6.04
468–496 488 7 120.00–134.00 $128.67 $628 +5.47
508–534 523 9 108.00–124.00 $115.68 $605 -13.02
538–546 542 2 102.00 $102.00 $553 -26.70
556–578 562 6 103.00–119.00 $106.20 $597 -16.14
562 562 1 93.00 $93.00 $523 -29.34
620 620 1 103.00 $103.00 $639 -5.48
650 650 1 115.00 $115.00 $748 +16.94
758 758 1 102.00 $102.00 $773 +7.35
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204 thin fleshed 204 1 78.00 $78.00 $159 —
224–242 233 2 84.00–95.00 $89.71 $209 -9.54
302–329 314 4 83.00–100.00 $92.60 $291 -0.61
392 392 1 89.00 $89.00 $349 -8.99
428 thin fleshed 428 1 70.00 $70.00 $300 —
430–438 433 3 83.00–89.00 $85.66 $371 +0.65
446 446 1 75.00 $75.00 $334 -10.01
450–494 472 2 80.00–81.00 $80.48 $380 —
510–540 525 2 69.00–79.00 $74.14 $389 —
576 576 1 70.00 $70.00 $403 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
292 292 1 60.00 $60.00 $175 —
344 344 1 60.00 $60.00 $206 —
378 378 1 70.00 $70.00 $265 —
424–428 426 2 53.00–60.00 $56.52 $241 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–494 478 11 100.00–116.00 $107.94 $516 -9.03
510–546 524 6 100.00–110.00 $103.62 $543 -1.39
564 564 1 90.00 $90.00 $508 -11.48
550–584 565 13 90.00–112.00 $97.73 $552 -3.75
590 thin fleshed 590 1 80.00 $80.00 $472 —
604–642 623 2 90.00–96.00 $92.91 $579 -7.09
650–672 thin fleshed 661 2 76.00 $76.00 $502 —
654–686 669 7 83.00–93.00 $88.41 $591 -6.48
702 702 1 80.00 $80.00 $562 -6.53
748 748 1 78.00 $78.00 $583 -8.53
844 844 1 84.00 $84.00 $709 +4.02
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–498 475 12 120.00–139.00 $126.01 $599 -4.53
484 484 1 117.00 $117.00 $566 -13.54
504–532 518 9 119.00–125.00 $122.22 $633 -2.42
562–582 577 10 115.00–125.00 $117.30 $677 -8.87
582 582 1 112.00 $112.00 $652 -14.17
602–648 622 8 100.00–118.00 $109.73 $683 -9.44
698 698 1 90.00 $90.00 $628 -25.30
700 700 1 100.00 $100.00 $700 -6.67
882 882 1 87.00 $87.00 $767 —
958 958 1 90.00 $90.00 $862 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
496 496 1 83.00 $83.00 $412 ±0.00
504 504 1 80.00 $80.00 $403 —
552 552 1 75.00 $75.00 $414 -12.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
878–1352 1114 80-85% 20 60.00–77.00 $67.58 $753 -11.07
1140–1220 1179 80-85% 3 79.00–84.00 $81.69 $963 +14.34
1322 1322 80-85% 1 54.00 $54.00 $714 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
794–1134 985 85-90% 5 41.00–49.00 $44.54 $439 —
748–1190 1025 85-90% 11 51.00–60.00 $55.42 $568 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1334–1710 1464 75-80% 7 64.00–82.00 $73.07 $1,070 —
1432–1848 1640 75-80% 2 50.00–60.00 $54.37 $892 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
928–1040 999 3 70.00–75.00 $73.11 $730 —
1032–1800 1324 13 80.00–93.00 $86.25 $1,142 —
1586–1810 1735 3 98.00–100.00 $99.39 $1,724 —

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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
936–1004 971 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 625.00–875.00 $770.43 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 2 69.00 $69.00 $254 —

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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.