Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 8, 2022

504 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.81/cwt ≈ $837/hd at 537 lb · 19 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $138.78/cwt +3.62 vs last sale · ≈ $715/hd at 515 lb · 18 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.83/cwt +0.03 vs last sale · ≈ $658/hd at 488 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 504 437 274
Feeder cattle 375 361 231
Slaughter cattle 127 74 43
Replacement cattle 2 2 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were mostly steady. Feeder cattle were mostly steady. Demand was moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offering 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
292–294 293 3 144.00–150.00 $147.66 $433 +0.52
312–346 333 7 144.00–161.00 $151.40 $504 -3.12
376–398 384 5 148.00–158.00 $151.60 $582 +10.60
404–448 417 12 144.00–164.00 $157.71 $658 +18.23
438 438 1 140.00 $140.00 $613 -13.31
456–496 476 2 160.00–164.00 $161.92 $771 +10.12
502–544 537 19 140.00–160.00 $155.81 $837 —
558 558 1 145.00 $145.00 $809 -3.00
608–642 621 3 131.00–147.00 $138.54 $860 +6.54
695 695 13 146.25 $146.25 $1,016 +14.25
718 718 1 116.00 $116.00 $833 -16.00
772–794 783 2 120.00–121.00 $120.49 $943 —
812 812 1 123.00 $123.00 $999 +7.00
814 thin fleshed 814 1 110.00 $110.00 $895 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
192 192 1 118.00 $118.00 $227 -2.51
210–240 220 4 121.00–135.00 $127.29 $280 +1.34
266–296 278 6 122.00–136.00 $128.32 $357 -5.83
302–334 314 7 123.00–140.00 $130.40 $409 +1.91
366–398 380 5 137.00–140.00 $138.21 $525 +10.32
416 thin fleshed 416 1 115.00 $115.00 $478 +5.00
400–448 427 13 116.00–140.00 $128.11 $547 +7.86
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
160–176 170 3 100.00–117.00 $109.28 $186 —
218–248 233 2 90.00–97.50 $93.99 $219 -18.60
290 290 1 91.00 $91.00 $264 -18.26
372–392 382 2 102.00–110.00 $106.10 $405 -0.28
408 thin fleshed 408 1 84.00 $84.00 $343 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
272 272 1 139.00 $139.00 $378 +6.58
330–348 336 4 129.00–137.00 $134.00 $450 +14.00
390–392 391 2 128.00–135.00 $131.51 $514 -4.08
408–442 418 13 127.00–137.00 $133.87 $560 -1.15
408–438 423 2 124.00 $124.00 $525 -11.02
452–498 488 18 120.00–141.00 $134.83 $658 +0.03
526 526 1 114.00 $114.00 $600 -13.69
500–540 528 11 120.00–130.00 $126.18 $666 +11.18
530–542 536 2 110.00–115.00 $112.53 $603 -1.47
556–557 557 4 126.00–127.00 $126.75 $706 +2.42
581 value added 581 7 134.75 $134.75 $783 —
602–632 618 9 110.00–125.00 $120.35 $744 -4.55
634 634 1 106.00 $106.00 $672 -5.65
683 value added 683 5 132.50 $132.50 $905 —
688 688 1 98.00 $98.00 $674 -15.98
700 700 1 98.00 $98.00 $686 -2.00
733 733 2 92.00 $92.00 $674 -24.03
754 754 1 81.00 $81.00 $611 -39.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258 258 1 109.00 $109.00 $281 -4.24
366–394 380 4 110.00–117.00 $113.69 $432 -1.27
400–446 422 11 100.00–122.00 $111.61 $471 +0.12
452–496 476 8 106.00–118.00 $111.52 $531 +6.22
518–538 527 3 101.00–113.00 $108.67 $573 +10.02
550–586 566 5 88.00–112.00 $101.31 $573 +1.31
612 612 1 92.00 $92.00 $563 +12.00
630 630 1 78.00 $78.00 $491 -2.00
674 674 1 78.00 $78.00 $526 —
872 872 1 82.00 $82.00 $715 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
162–168 165 2 90.00–100.00 $95.09 $157 +8.87
200–216 208 2 102.00–103.00 $102.52 $213 +4.11
200–234 thin fleshed 217 2 81.00–89.00 $84.69 $184 —
290 290 1 97.00 $97.00 $281 -12.50
304–334 319 2 90.00–107.00 $98.90 $315 +8.90
332 thin fleshed 332 1 81.00 $81.00 $269 —
400–426 414 3 80.00–94.00 $85.88 $356 -11.12
488 488 1 90.00 $90.00 $439 —
532 532 1 85.00 $85.00 $452 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–488 471 7 134.00–164.00 $146.95 $692 +3.66
500–538 515 18 125.00–150.00 $138.78 $715 +3.62
560–597 586 9 122.00–134.00 $130.11 $762 +0.59
602–627 620 8 115.00–129.00 $124.55 $772 +1.73
654 654 1 108.00 $108.00 $706 -9.55
652–684 668 9 115.00–121.00 $119.34 $797 +1.79
754–780 767 2 97.00–110.00 $103.39 $793 —
802 802 1 101.00 $101.00 $810 +1.00
896 896 1 97.00 $97.00 $869 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–492 477 4 110.00–115.00 $112.52 $537 -8.48
530–548 539 3 110.00–111.00 $110.33 $595 -2.36
584 584 1 108.00 $108.00 $631 -11.00
594 thin fleshed 594 1 86.00 $86.00 $511 —
666 666 1 103.00 $103.00 $686 —
724 thin fleshed 724 1 78.00 $78.00 $565 —
790 790 1 85.00 $85.00 $672 -3.00
822–840 831 2 81.00–84.00 $82.48 $685 —
860–866 863 2 84.00–87.00 $85.51 $738 -0.49
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
474 474 1 97.00 $97.00 $460 +7.00
486 486 1 81.00 $81.00 $394 -9.00
634 634 1 80.00 $80.00 $507 —
796 796 1 76.00 $76.00 $605 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
734–1198 974 85-90% 16 30.00–52.00 $41.12 $401 —
810–1316 1063 85-90% 23 54.00–65.00 $59.36 $631 +1.80
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
944 944 80-85% 1 84.00 $84.00 $793 —
918–1418 1128 80-85% 27 64.00–77.00 $70.78 $798 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1148–1678 1398 75-80% 10 64.00–76.00 $69.18 $967 —
1414 1414 75-80% 1 60.00 $60.00 $848 -8.26

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920–1038 972 3 64.00–76.00 $71.40 $694 -2.94
924–1648 1223 17 79.00–100.00 $87.25 $1,067 —
1288–1794 1532 4 106.00–138.00 $114.31 $1,751 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
730 730 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 650.00 $650.00 —
Small 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
658 658 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 500.00 $500.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214 214 1 63.00 $63.00 $135 —
508 508 1 40.00 $40.00 $203 —

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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.