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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 12, 2023

391 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 $146.51/cwt +15.53 vs last sale · ≈ $833/hd at 568 lb · 18 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $163.59/cwt ≈ $1,086/hd at 664 lb · 17 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $151.24/cwt +15.24 vs last sale · ≈ $635/hd at 420 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 391 313 407
Feeder cattle 314 249 299
Slaughter cattle 74 60 106
Replacement cattle 3 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week , slaughter cattle were 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder cattle were 8.00 to 15.00 higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. 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
250–296 280 4 174.00–185.00 $179.38 $502 +27.24
300–342 324 11 166.00–191.00 $178.78 $579 +12.29
354–396 369 13 169.00–193.00 $177.54 $655 +17.67
406–434 419 9 159.00–181.00 $173.81 $728 +11.44
516–544 530 2 156.00–169.00 $162.67 $862 +10.15
622 622 1 160.00 $160.00 $995 +10.48
650–675 664 17 161.00–164.75 $163.59 $1,086 —
704–740 711 7 135.00–146.00 $142.25 $1,011 —
750 750 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,058 —
813 813 2 141.00 $141.00 $1,146 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
178–190 184 2 132.50–134.00 $133.27 $245 —
226–245 236 2 137.50–160.00 $149.20 $352 +8.68
260–292 278 3 131.00–154.00 $141.23 $393 +12.95
302–342 327 6 140.00–164.00 $152.81 $500 +14.78
356–396 368 7 141.00–166.00 $155.07 $571 +19.64
402–440 418 9 141.00–166.00 $153.98 $644 +20.65
456–494 475 4 132.00–150.00 $139.37 $662 +5.04
534 534 1 142.00 $142.00 $758 —
574 574 1 139.00 $139.00 $798 —
906 thin fleshed 906 1 86.00 $86.00 $779 —
980 980 1 88.00 $88.00 $862 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
274–276 275 2 100.00–112.00 $106.02 $292 -12.84
340 340 1 124.00 $124.00 $422 +22.81
352 352 1 119.00 $119.00 $419 +13.08
444–446 445 2 101.00–121.00 $111.02 $494 -0.97

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
244 244 1 148.00 $148.00 $361 +5.24
274 274 1 152.00 $152.00 $416 +16.47
312–344 328 4 144.00–157.00 $151.25 $496 +13.69
350–398 376 12 148.00–168.00 $158.80 $597 +25.01
396 396 1 138.00 $138.00 $546 +4.21
408 408 1 138.00 $138.00 $563 +2.00
400–444 421 14 140.00–163.00 $152.19 $641 +16.19
456–498 480 11 146.00–158.00 $151.00 $725 +9.76
520 520 1 129.00 $129.00 $671 -20.51
510–538 524 4 143.00–146.00 $144.25 $756 -5.26
556–580 565 3 134.00 $134.00 $757 +1.02
558–578 569 15 137.00–157.00 $149.01 $848 +16.03
600–644 620 12 124.00–146.00 $136.94 $849 +9.74
672–696 685 5 126.00–139.00 $133.64 $915 +10.16
704 704 1 131.00 $131.00 $922 +12.19
796 796 2 118.00 $118.00 $939 +5.46
860–882 871 2 116.00–117.00 $116.51 $1,015 —
908 908 1 110.00 $110.00 $999 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
188 188 1 135.00 $135.00 $254 —
204–210 207 2 130.00–131.00 $130.49 $270 —
256–292 274 2 125.00–126.00 $125.53 $344 +2.53
324–326 325 2 126.00–135.00 $130.51 $424 +6.59
380–384 382 2 124.00–134.00 $128.97 $493 +13.97
426–430 428 3 111.00–135.00 $123.32 $528 +1.20
450–494 467 8 100.00–134.00 $121.82 $569 -3.18
512–518 515 2 108.00–114.00 $110.98 $572 -5.02
566 566 1 120.00 $120.00 $679 +20.00
656 656 1 112.00 $112.00 $735 +16.41
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308–322 315 2 98.00–109.00 $103.62 $326 -6.38

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
466–494 487 12 158.00–179.00 $162.29 $790 +14.44
508–528 520 6 151.00–160.00 $155.51 $809 +27.51
552–578 565 4 150.00–158.00 $154.24 $871 +20.08
576 576 1 135.00 $135.00 $778 +0.84
604–640 629 6 140.00–151.00 $143.27 $901 +16.27
656–694 674 3 123.00–142.00 $134.18 $904 +7.71
744 744 2 120.00 $120.00 $893 +22.50
766–797 782 2 106.00–118.00 $111.88 $875 -8.57
828–830 829 2 101.00–106.00 $103.50 $858 —
900 900 1 90.00 $90.00 $810 —
936 936 1 80.00 $80.00 $749 —
966–968 967 2 90.00–96.00 $93.00 $899 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–480 473 5 120.00–143.00 $132.25 $626 +12.48
500–544 522 3 110.00–131.00 $123.37 $644 -3.63
556–582 569 2 117.00–129.00 $122.86 $699 +5.35
614 614 1 110.00 $110.00 $675 +2.00
718 718 1 93.00 $93.00 $668 +3.00
758 758 1 101.00 $101.00 $766 +11.00
826 826 1 82.00 $82.00 $677 -2.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–840 830 2 70.00–71.00 $70.49 $585 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1216–1736 1502 75-80% 22 70.00–81.00 $73.23 $1,100 —
1906 1906 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $1,239 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1002–1300 1104 80-85% 14 64.00–76.00 $70.41 $777 —
1078–1462 1255 80-85% 7 79.00–86.00 $81.34 $1,021 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
726–1066 892 85-90% 9 30.00–54.00 $39.70 $354 —
778–1080 929 85-90% 5 57.00–65.00 $61.58 $572 +17.96

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1402–1458 1430 2 60.00–77.00 $68.33 $977 —
1456–1668 1539 4 79.00–82.00 $81.25 $1,250 —
1414–2136 1816 3 107.00–110.00 $108.44 $1,969 —

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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
834–910 872 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 925.00–930.00 $927.39 —
1166 1166 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
676 676 1 89.00 $89.00 $602 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
694 694 1 93.00 $93.00 $645 —

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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.