Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 26, 2023

241 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 $129.72/cwt -8.32 vs last sale · ≈ $748/hd at 577 lb · 13 head

light 4-weight M 2 steers $135.15/cwt -5.61 vs last sale · ≈ $553/hd at 409 lb · 11 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	241	490	386
Feeder cattle	204	395	304
Slaughter cattle	37	95	82

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were steady to 3.00 lower. Feeder cattle were 6.00 to 12.00 lower. The demand was moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offering of cattle were light. Cattle quality was plain to average. Small sale due to very wet conditions.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
254–290	276	3	120.00–141.00	$130.71	$361	-4.88
304–331	324	8	130.00–156.00	$146.05	$473	-2.19
372–392	385	4	130.00–143.00	$137.96	$531	-4.19
401–436	409	11	124.00–144.00	$135.15	$553	-8.56
503–506	504	4	131.00–135.00	$132.00	$665	+22.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
256–276	266	2	151.00–157.00	$153.89	$409	-27.21
372–392	385	6	151.00–171.00	$167.29	$644	-16.59
402–422	410	4	156.00–181.00	$168.42	$691	+7.90
491	491	3	175.00	$175.00	$859	+5.71
600	600	1	157.00	$157.00	$942	+2.01
748	748	1	133.00	$133.00	$995	-19.00

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
216–246	231	2	100.00–108.00	$103.74	$240	+3.74
272	272	2	100.00–113.00	$106.50	$290	-15.50
312–316	314	2	104.00–114.00	$108.97	$342	—
368	368	1	117.00	$117.00	$431	+7.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
240–244	242	2	130.00–133.00	$131.49	$318	—
325	325	3	134.00	$134.00	$436	-16.90
358–394	376	5	130.00–151.00	$137.07	$515	-11.43
407–448	421	8	130.00–150.00	$134.64	$567	-0.84
458–466	462	2	133.00–145.00	$139.05	$642	-9.26
542–544	543	3	124.00–132.00	$128.00	$695	-17.83
552–598	577	13	123.00–135.00	$129.72	$748	-8.32
640	640	1	125.00	$125.00	$800	-9.39
662–664	663	2	122.00–123.00	$122.50	$812	-11.43
754	754	1	105.00	$105.00	$792	—
774	774	1	99.00	$99.00	$766	-27.00

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
284	284	1	120.00	$120.00	$341	-5.95
318–330	324	8	116.00–130.00	$120.78	$391	-9.22
364–388	375	7	110.00–131.00	$118.89	$446	-12.12
414	414	3	123.00–128.00	$124.67	$516	+1.43
450–490	467	7	101.00–124.00	$114.04	$533	-14.06
500–544	521	5	100.00–117.00	$110.47	$576	-8.89
550–582	567	3	92.00–116.00	$106.94	$606	-8.07

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
440	440	2	93.00–94.00	$93.50	$411	-16.50
464	464	1	81.00	$81.00	$376	—
498 thin fleshed	498	1	70.00	$70.00	$349	—
642	642	1	72.00	$72.00	$462	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
454–498	479	5	140.00–149.00	$143.73	$688	-20.60
492	492	1	131.00	$131.00	$645	-33.33
500–546	523	2	140.00–147.00	$143.35	$750	-10.96
530–548	537	4	129.00–132.00	$130.75	$702	-23.56
560–584	572	2	133.00–142.00	$137.41	$786	-7.70
620–644	633	3	130.00–136.00	$133.01	$842	+9.01
650–668	661	3	130.00–136.00	$134.03	$886	+0.09
730	730	1	126.00	$126.00	$920	-1.67
752–790	771	2	119.00–120.00	$119.51	$921	-4.49

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
454–498	471	5	102.00–135.00	$120.98	$570	-9.15
530–536	535	4	110.00–120.00	$116.52	$623	—
564–594	579	2	110.00–127.00	$118.28	$685	-9.72
604	604	1	100.00	$100.00	$604	-9.00
720–730	725	2	100.00–102.00	$100.99	$732	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
702–1026	871	85-90%	3	34.00–45.00	$40.41	$352	—
894	894	85-90%	2	72.00	$72.00	$644	—
834–1292	1062	85-90%	9	54.00–64.00	$60.26	$640	-1.05

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
908–1270	1044	80-85%	7	66.00–74.00	$69.93	$730	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1104–1540	1304	75-80%	5	65.00–78.50	$73.35	$956	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
910–1698	1288	8	80.00–102.00	$91.68	$1,181	—
1556–2058	1807	2	105.00–108.00	$106.29	$1,921	—

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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.