Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 5, 2023

313 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $137.11/cwt +2.88 vs last sale · ≈ $722/hd at 527 lb · 15 head

heavy 3-weight M 2 steers $135.43/cwt +15.43 vs last sale · ≈ $520/hd at 384 lb · 11 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.24/cwt +5.53 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 469 lb · 10 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	313	198	266
Feeder cattle	249	143	204
Slaughter cattle	60	55	62

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were no sale last week. Feeder cattle were no sale last week. Demand was moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offering of cattle were light. 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
250–288	269	3	150.00–156.00	$152.14	$409	-24.86
314–334	323	3	156.00–173.00	$166.49	$538	-9.51
338 thin fleshed	338	1	146.00	$146.00	$493	—
350–394	371	9	149.00–180.00	$159.87	$593	-7.63
406–446	429	8	150.00–174.00	$162.37	$697	-2.42
434	434	1	137.00	$137.00	$595	-27.79
456	456	1	161.00	$161.00	$734	—
510–524	517	2	151.00–154.00	$152.52	$789	—
604–624	620	7	140.00–152.50	$149.52	$927	+10.52
640	640	1	131.00	$131.00	$838	-8.00
1078	1078	1	115.00	$115.00	$1,240	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
244–246	245	2	136.00–145.00	$140.52	$344	+8.52
250–298	274	2	126.00–131.00	$128.28	$351	+4.28
316–336	326	5	131.00–143.00	$138.03	$450	+6.42
354–394	384	11	130.00–144.00	$135.43	$520	+15.43
402–446	418	9	124.00–142.00	$133.33	$557	+5.45
454–496	481	4	131.00–138.00	$134.33	$646	+1.73
730	730	1	110.00	$110.00	$803	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
270–296	283	2	116.00–122.00	$118.86	$336	+18.86
300–332	316	2	100.00–102.50	$101.19	$320	—
364–374	369	2	100.00–112.00	$105.92	$391	—
434–440	437	2	110.00–114.00	$111.99	$489	-0.01

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
198	198	1	133.00	$133.00	$263	—
210–244	223	3	129.00–152.00	$142.76	$318	—
280–296	290	4	130.00–141.00	$135.53	$393	—
318–342	331	7	132.00–143.00	$137.56	$455	-4.36
356–396	376	2	130.00–138.00	$133.79	$503	-3.23
400–446	421	8	132.00–140.00	$136.00	$573	+4.98
454–492	469	10	132.00–151.00	$141.24	$662	+5.53
500–542	524	6	141.00–155.00	$149.51	$783	+20.94
556–594	568	5	129.00–144.00	$132.98	$755	+7.98
574	574	1	121.00	$121.00	$695	-4.00
605–644	616	8	116.00–133.00	$127.20	$784	+4.67
656–684	670	3	110.00–131.00	$123.48	$827	—
700–748	719	7	110.00–128.00	$118.81	$854	—
754	754	1	106.00	$106.00	$799	—
756–796	772	3	106.00–125.00	$112.54	$869	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
274	274	1	123.00	$123.00	$337	+2.00
334–348	341	2	120.00–128.00	$123.92	$423	—
384	384	2	110.00–120.00	$115.00	$442	-3.56
410–444	430	5	114.00–128.00	$122.12	$525	+6.09
470	470	1	125.00	$125.00	$588	+18.79
504	504	1	116.00	$116.00	$585	+26.00
570	570	1	100.00	$100.00	$570	+0.98
660–682	671	2	90.00–101.00	$95.59	$641	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
298	298	1	115.00	$115.00	$343	—
316	316	1	110.00	$110.00	$348	+3.72

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
462–496	483	6	141.00–151.00	$147.85	$714	—
518	518	1	128.00	$128.00	$663	-10.97
504–548	525	11	130.00–153.00	$140.33	$737	+1.36
524–544	535	3	127.00–129.00	$128.35	$687	+8.35
550–576	567	6	128.00–142.00	$134.16	$761	-0.84
642	642	1	127.00	$127.00	$815	—
650–698	669	5	118.00–136.00	$126.47	$846	—
710	710	1	97.50	$97.50	$692	-14.73
752–780	766	2	118.00–123.00	$120.45	$923	—
882	882	2	91.00–101.00	$96.00	$847	+11.00

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
458–488	474	4	110.00–124.00	$119.77	$568	-2.17
534	534	1	127.00	$127.00	$678	+7.00
566–568	567	2	111.00–124.00	$117.51	$666	+13.37
632	632	1	108.00	$108.00	$683	+28.00
718	718	1	90.00	$90.00	$646	—
788	788	1	90.00	$90.00	$709	—
820	820	1	84.00	$84.00	$689	—

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
474	474	1	90.00	$90.00	$427	—
504	504	1	80.00	$80.00	$403	—
712	712	1	70.00	$70.00	$498	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
700–1228	922	85-90%	10	40.00–50.00	$43.62	$402	—
806–1428	1102	85-90%	12	54.00–64.00	$57.86	$638	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
932–1374	1140	80-85%	13	62.00–76.00	$68.06	$776	-2.96

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1184–1678	1415	75-80%	5	64.00–74.00	$70.94	$1,004	-4.31
1736–1760	1748	75-80%	2	60.00	$60.00	$1,049	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1080–1176	1128	2	50.00–70.00	$60.43	$682	—
1076–2092	1560	7	86.00–100.00	$94.97	$1,482	—

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
320	320	1	82.50	$82.50	$264	—

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
180	180	1	87.50	$87.50	$158	—
230	230	1	90.00	$90.00	$207	—

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
15	15	1	50.00	$50.00	—
70	70	2	240.00	$240.00	—

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
70	70	1	160.00	$160.00	—

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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.