Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 16, 2023

458 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 steers $195.73/cwt -5.16 vs last sale · ≈ $726/hd at 371 lb · 31 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $155.84/cwt -7.37 vs last sale · ≈ $670/hd at 430 lb · 27 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $203.83/cwt -1.36 vs last sale · ≈ $872/hd at 428 lb · 25 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 458 415 554
Feeder cattle 399 384 470
Slaughter cattle 59 31 84

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder steers and heifers 4.00 to 6.00 lower, feeder bulls 3.00 to 6.00 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
224–236 230 2 150.00–165.00 $157.30 $362 -38.45
268–288 277 3 154.00–170.00 $160.50 $445 -33.83
326–336 331 2 184.00–187.00 $185.52 $614 -22.28
354–398 371 31 170.00–216.00 $195.73 $726 -8.00
400–448 428 25 180.00–215.00 $203.83 $872 -1.36
450–468 460 11 171.00–220.00 $205.92 $947 +0.34
518–546 528 5 183.00–205.00 $197.82 $1,044 +9.53
530 value added 530 9 219.00 $219.00 $1,161 —
556–590 567 4 159.00–170.00 $164.19 $931 -5.81
616 616 4 158.00–160.00 $158.50 $976 -14.08
654 654 1 150.00 $150.00 $981 -2.00
942 942 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,130 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–236 227 2 130.00–140.00 $135.20 $307 +4.08
262–294 279 6 130.00–150.00 $140.19 $391 +0.19
304–336 319 3 140.00–160.00 $150.33 $480 +0.16
350–384 366 6 133.00–144.00 $138.33 $506 -18.28
420–424 422 2 141.00–153.00 $146.97 $620 -6.02
462–486 471 3 130.00–160.00 $143.60 $676 —
538 538 1 135.00 $135.00 $726 —
596 596 1 120.00 $120.00 $715 —
690 690 1 100.00 $100.00 $690 —
848 848 1 93.00 $93.00 $789 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–244 231 2 119.00–123.00 $120.89 $279 +16.89
310–348 333 3 110.00–121.00 $115.31 $384 +0.23
366 366 1 121.00 $121.00 $443 -9.00
400–410 405 2 120.00–125.00 $122.47 $496 +13.85
468 468 1 110.00 $110.00 $515 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
266–298 292 6 140.00–158.00 $151.22 $442 -7.73
304–342 323 8 138.00–158.00 $147.37 $476 -11.44
354–396 379 16 137.00–163.00 $149.21 $566 -16.36
402–448 427 21 136.00–168.00 $151.60 $647 -11.61
439 value added 439 5 178.00 $178.00 $781 —
446 446 1 134.00 $134.00 $598 -29.21
452–492 471 13 131.00–160.00 $148.98 $702 -11.63
470–492 value added 484 10 160.00–169.00 $163.74 $793 —
500 value added 500 7 164.00 $164.00 $820 —
500–542 523 11 129.00–154.00 $143.14 $749 -4.35
540 540 1 114.00 $114.00 $616 -33.49
568–594 577 7 130.00–140.00 $135.94 $784 -2.41
606–616 611 2 126.00 $126.00 $770 -8.18
648 648 1 113.00 $113.00 $732 -21.18
658–688 675 4 110.00–130.00 $117.89 $796 -12.69
742–744 743 3 109.00–124.00 $114.01 $847 -16.99
768–792 779 3 100.00–102.00 $101.01 $787 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222–234 228 2 123.00–127.50 $125.19 $285 -0.54
272–298 283 4 120.00–128.00 $122.19 $346 -12.81
300–334 319 8 118.00–132.00 $126.20 $403 -3.80
356–392 377 6 112.00–130.00 $125.21 $472 -1.79
410–430 417 5 99.00–133.00 $120.08 $501 -6.54
468 468 1 116.00 $116.00 $543 —
524–530 527 2 107.00–120.00 $113.54 $598 -2.01
558 558 1 113.00 $113.00 $631 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
224 224 1 117.00 $117.00 $262 +21.01
280–298 289 2 90.00–100.00 $95.16 $275 —
328 328 1 88.00 $88.00 $289 —
334–336 335 2 102.00–109.00 $105.49 $353 —
364–380 372 2 83.00–89.00 $85.94 $320 -11.62
366–398 387 3 90.00–100.00 $96.57 $374 -0.99
404 404 1 83.00 $83.00 $335 +12.00
484 484 1 93.00 $93.00 $450 —
534 534 1 90.00 $90.00 $481 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–496 483 14 170.00–215.00 $203.12 $981 +6.74
468–498 485 5 145.00–161.00 $156.38 $758 -40.00
502 502 1 138.00 $138.00 $693 -41.52
500–544 525 22 161.00–204.00 $188.21 $988 +8.69
550–598 575 8 140.00–176.00 $158.11 $909 -4.18
590 590 1 125.00 $125.00 $738 -37.29
608–644 631 6 130.00–145.00 $139.09 $878 -1.98
654–674 665 6 130.00–152.00 $137.95 $917 +0.16
720 720 1 110.00 $110.00 $792 -15.61
750–768 759 2 110.00–130.00 $119.88 $910 +19.88
852 852 1 106.00 $106.00 $903 —
923 923 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,025 —
966 966 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,111 +18.53
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462–484 473 2 122.00–140.00 $131.21 $621 +6.37
596 596 1 120.00 $120.00 $715 —
602–642 628 3 90.00–114.00 $102.33 $643 -7.67
788 788 1 70.00 $70.00 $552 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
504 504 1 86.00 $86.00 $433 —
658 658 1 80.00 $80.00 $526 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
772–1126 932 85-90% 12 39.00–60.00 $47.68 $444 —
770–1248 1004 85-90% 6 62.00–76.00 $68.17 $684 +25.17
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1084–1136 1110 80-85% 2 87.00–90.00 $88.46 $982 -9.88
970–1292 1125 80-85% 11 75.00–85.00 $80.55 $906 -17.79
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1186–1240 1213 75-80% 2 64.00 $64.00 $776 —
1422–1746 1541 75-80% 3 74.00–90.00 $83.12 $1,281 -1.10

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–2128 1450 8 85.00–110.00 $98.66 $1,431 —
1466 1466 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,173 —

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Dairy Steers

Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
446 446 1 85.00 $85.00 $379 —

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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.