Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 23, 2023

522 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $167.00/cwt +11.16 vs last sale · ≈ $716/hd at 429 lb · 32 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $159.07/cwt +3.67 vs last sale · ≈ $768/hd at 483 lb · 32 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $176.22/cwt +27.01 vs last sale · ≈ $673/hd at 382 lb · 27 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 522 458 572
Feeder cattle 468 399 480
Slaughter cattle 54 59 92

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week Slaughter cattle were 4.00 to 8.00 higher. Feeder cattle were 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Demand was good: market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were heavy. 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
210–242 228 5 188.00–210.00 $204.61 $467 +47.31
252–296 274 8 180.00–228.00 $210.37 $576 +49.87
302–340 326 14 180.00–221.00 $209.49 $683 +23.97
350–399 375 16 170.00–219.00 $201.96 $757 +6.23
400–448 419 25 177.50–215.00 $203.70 $854 -0.13
454–494 478 5 194.00–217.00 $203.11 $971 -2.81
500–530 516 10 200.00–212.00 $208.63 $1,077 +10.81
584 584 3 209.00 $209.00 $1,221 +44.81
606–618 613 3 140.00–175.00 $158.22 $970 -0.28
622 value added 622 5 180.00 $180.00 $1,120 —
670 670 1 154.00 $154.00 $1,032 +4.00
718 718 1 158.00 $158.00 $1,134 —
760 760 1 130.00 $130.00 $988 —
858 858 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,115 —
1034–1036 1035 2 136.00–137.00 $136.50 $1,413 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254–294 267 3 163.00–173.00 $168.88 $451 +28.69
304–342 319 5 150.00–178.00 $167.11 $533 +16.78
354–390 375 8 148.00–178.00 $165.70 $621 +27.37
406–442 432 9 150.00–170.00 $161.43 $697 +14.46
496 496 1 150.00 $150.00 $744 +6.40
504–532 517 3 144.00–150.00 $146.39 $757 +11.39
574 574 1 146.00 $146.00 $838 +26.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
264–276 270 2 130.00–131.00 $130.51 $352 —
346 346 1 109.00 $109.00 $377 -6.31
364–372 368 2 109.00–110.00 $109.49 $403 -11.51

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
252–294 282 9 140.00–197.50 $167.00 $471 +15.78
308–348 328 8 147.00–180.00 $165.74 $544 +18.37
352–394 382 27 150.00–190.00 $176.22 $673 +27.01
400–448 429 32 142.00–183.00 $167.00 $716 +15.40
452–498 483 32 142.00–179.00 $159.07 $768 +10.09
500–546 525 22 139.00–163.00 $150.40 $790 +7.26
553–592 566 16 138.00–161.00 $150.79 $853 +14.85
603–638 625 12 125.00–149.00 $141.54 $885 +15.54
660–684 674 5 120.00–143.00 $136.95 $923 +19.06
702–720 710 3 133.00–137.00 $135.32 $961 +21.31
724 724 1 98.00 $98.00 $710 -16.01
812 812 1 96.00 $96.00 $780 —
818 818 1 102.00 $102.00 $834 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242–248 245 2 130.00–136.00 $132.96 $326 +7.77
256–286 270 3 132.00–138.00 $135.40 $366 +13.21
322–328 325 2 139.00–142.50 $140.73 $457 +14.53
358 358 1 138.00 $138.00 $494 +12.79
436–448 443 3 110.00–136.00 $125.23 $555 +5.15
450 450 1 122.00 $122.00 $549 +6.00
500–536 523 3 110.00–123.00 $115.46 $604 +1.92
554–560 557 2 100.00–119.00 $109.45 $610 -3.55
600–606 603 2 90.00–120.00 $104.93 $633 —
646 646 1 89.00 $89.00 $575 —
700 700 1 87.00 $87.00 $609 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
236 236 1 110.00 $110.00 $260 -7.00
340 340 1 110.00 $110.00 $374 +4.51
456 456 1 70.00 $70.00 $319 -23.00
454–494 479 4 94.00–103.00 $98.51 $472 +5.51

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
454–496 477 18 174.00–217.00 $199.64 $952 -3.48
482 482 1 166.00 $166.00 $800 -37.12
500–548 517 19 161.00–205.00 $185.34 $958 -2.87
550–584 568 12 157.00–194.00 $172.49 $980 +14.38
606–636 621 6 130.00–156.00 $138.90 $863 -0.19
658–698 672 5 130.00–144.00 $136.87 $920 -1.08
706 706 1 130.00 $130.00 $918 +20.00
708–728 716 3 99.00–100.00 $99.67 $714 -10.33
772 772 1 112.00 $112.00 $865 -7.88
906 906 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,033 +3.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–496 473 3 130.00–162.00 $141.19 $668 +9.98
512–548 530 3 120.00–130.00 $123.33 $654 —
558–592 569 5 110.00–140.00 $126.89 $722 +6.89
604–636 620 2 120.00–126.00 $123.08 $763 +20.75
652–660 656 2 110.00–120.00 $114.97 $754 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 1 120.00 $120.00 $552 —
506–524 514 3 90.00–101.00 $96.03 $494 +10.03
630 630 1 81.00 $81.00 $510 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1074–1358 1194 80-85% 16 80.00–92.00 $86.38 $1,031 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
702–1190 942 85-90% 3 45.00–59.00 $53.84 $507 +6.16
820–1278 1070 85-90% 11 64.00–81.00 $73.81 $790 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1424–1566 1495 75-80% 2 90.00–97.00 $93.33 $1,395 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
972–1698 1335 4 88.00–111.00 $103.33 $1,379 —
1550 1550 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,194 —

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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.