Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 19, 2023

490 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $142.84/cwt -0.43 vs last sale · ≈ $883/hd at 618 lb · 25 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $148.64/cwt -2.60 vs last sale · ≈ $620/hd at 417 lb · 21 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $164.33/cwt +2.04 vs last sale · ≈ $790/hd at 481 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 490 391 0
Feeder cattle 395 314 0
Slaughter cattle 95 74 0
Replacement cattle — 3 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cows were steady to 3 cents higher. Feeder cattle were steady to 5 cents higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest was 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
274–296 285 2 165.00–196.00 $181.10 $516 +1.72
300–336 319 7 162.00–203.00 $179.78 $573 +1.00
300–346 323 2 153.00–160.00 $156.25 $505 -22.53
352–388 369 14 163.00–200.00 $183.88 $679 +6.34
400–432 416 2 160.00–161.00 $160.52 $668 -13.29
406–446 427 13 164.00–197.00 $181.35 $774 +7.54
452–482 464 9 162.00–174.00 $169.29 $786 —
612–646 626 5 153.00–159.00 $154.99 $970 -5.01
650–696 673 2 154.00–157.00 $155.45 $1,046 -8.14
734 734 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,116 +9.75
768–790 779 2 136.00–149.00 $142.41 $1,109 +1.41
828 828 2 139.00–144.00 $141.50 $1,172 +0.50
860–866 863 2 130.00–134.00 $131.99 $1,139 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–240 228 3 130.00–142.00 $135.93 $310 -13.27
254–292 269 8 120.00–156.00 $135.59 $365 -5.64
300–346 328 8 140.00–154.00 $148.24 $486 -4.57
350–394 369 6 129.00–157.00 $142.15 $525 -12.92
400–418 406 5 132.00–160.00 $143.71 $583 -10.27
406 406 1 126.00 $126.00 $512 -27.98
454 454 1 132.00 $132.00 $599 -7.37
536 536 1 110.00 $110.00 $590 -32.00
624 624 1 140.00 $140.00 $874 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–248 231 2 100.00 $100.00 $231 —
282 282 1 122.00 $122.00 $344 +15.98
398 398 1 110.00 $110.00 $438 —
408–436 425 3 100.00–110.00 $104.77 $445 -6.25

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
274–298 283 4 140.00–153.00 $145.92 $413 -6.08
306–346 326 8 141.00–160.00 $150.90 $492 -0.35
350–392 368 7 139.00–164.00 $148.50 $546 -10.30
400–446 417 19 143.00–158.00 $150.03 $626 -2.16
402–440 421 2 135.00–136.00 $135.48 $570 -16.71
452–498 473 13 143.00–158.00 $148.31 $702 -2.69
500–548 531 12 130.00–156.00 $145.83 $774 +1.58
552–598 578 9 130.00–145.00 $138.04 $798 -10.97
604–606 605 2 120.00 $120.00 $726 -16.94
600–648 622 8 130.00–138.00 $134.39 $836 -2.55
658 658 1 118.00 $118.00 $776 -15.64
655–694 666 7 120.00–143.00 $133.93 $892 +0.29
700–736 714 10 120.00–139.00 $130.91 $935 -0.09
790 790 1 126.00 $126.00 $995 +8.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
204–238 221 2 119.00–120.00 $119.54 $264 -10.95
282–298 292 5 120.00–130.00 $125.95 $368 +0.42
312–336 323 3 130.00 $130.00 $420 -0.51
374–396 385 3 130.00–132.00 $131.01 $504 +2.04
418–440 430 7 117.00–130.00 $123.24 $530 -0.08
454–488 470 7 110.00–136.00 $128.10 $602 +6.28
508–518 512 3 110.00–126.00 $119.36 $611 +8.38
582–598 590 2 114.00–116.00 $115.01 $679 -4.99
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
224–246 235 3 100.00–116.00 $109.75 $258 —
356 356 1 115.00 $115.00 $409 —
388 thin fleshed 388 1 80.00 $80.00 $310 —
424 424 1 110.00 $110.00 $466 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–496 481 16 149.00–173.00 $164.33 $790 +2.04
506–548 524 15 142.00–166.00 $154.31 $809 -1.20
554–582 567 7 139.00–159.00 $145.11 $823 -9.13
602–646 618 24 128.00–153.00 $143.63 $888 +0.36
626 626 1 124.00 $124.00 $776 -19.27
650–692 673 9 128.00–145.00 $133.94 $901 -0.24
706–736 731 15 125.00–130.00 $127.67 $933 +7.67
756 756 1 124.00 $124.00 $937 +12.12
776–794 thin fleshed 785 2 96.00–110.00 $102.92 $808 —
806–816 814 5 100.00–113.00 $110.43 $899 +6.93
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–498 473 5 120.00–140.00 $130.13 $616 -2.12
560 560 1 128.00 $128.00 $717 +5.14
600–604 602 2 108.00–110.00 $109.00 $656 -1.00
844 thin fleshed 844 1 82.00 $82.00 $692 —
876 876 1 86.00 $86.00 $753 —
886 thin fleshed 886 1 80.00 $80.00 $709 —
948 948 1 79.00 $79.00 $749 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
660–666 663 2 81.00–106.00 $93.44 $620 —
856 856 1 70.00 $70.00 $599 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
744–1282 984 85-90% 16 30.00–50.00 $40.47 $398 —
768–1332 1053 85-90% 17 54.00–66.00 $61.31 $646 —
1154–1156 1155 85-90% 2 70.00 $70.00 $808 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1094–1158 1126 80-85% 2 91.00 $91.00 $1,025 +20.59
1028–1486 1194 80-85% 19 64.00–77.00 $71.35 $852 —
1242–1414 1328 80-85% 2 60.00 $60.00 $797 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1516 1404 75-80% 7 69.00–86.00 $76.82 $1,079 —
1436 1436 75-80% 1 60.00 $60.00 $862 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1014–1464 1223 3 60.00–76.00 $69.06 $845 —
1020–1972 1337 11 80.00–100.00 $90.98 $1,216 —
1410–2080 1745 2 105.00–109.00 $106.62 $1,861 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
632 632 1 50.00 $50.00 $316 —

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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.