Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 2, 2023

366 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $183.50/cwt +24.43 vs last sale · ≈ $843/hd at 460 lb · 18 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $211.94/cwt +26.60 vs last sale · ≈ $1,136/hd at 536 lb · 16 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $213.73/cwt +10.03 vs last sale · ≈ $900/hd at 421 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 366 522 350
Feeder cattle 329 468 271
Slaughter cattle 30 54 64
Replacement cattle 7 — 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder cattle were sharply higher. Demand was very good ; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offering 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
280–298 286 3 188.00–194.00 $190.08 $544 -20.29
302–336 315 9 181.00–212.50 $193.97 $611 -15.52
350–392 378 12 195.00–230.00 $216.29 $818 +14.33
412 412 1 174.00 $174.00 $717 -29.70
400–444 422 13 190.00–230.00 $216.79 $915 +13.09
468–486 479 3 226.00–230.00 $227.34 $1,089 +24.23
510–544 526 4 220.00–228.00 $223.88 $1,178 +15.25
550–557 556 13 180.00–221.00 $212.56 $1,182 +3.56
626–638 632 2 166.00–170.00 $167.98 $1,062 +9.76
792 792 1 146.00 $146.00 $1,156 +16.00
1010 1010 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,192 -18.50
1086 1086 1 116.00 $116.00 $1,260 —
1160 1160 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,311 —
1248 1248 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,510 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
212 212 1 168.00 $168.00 $356 —
250–298 271 3 141.00–177.00 $161.29 $437 -7.59
354–390 377 6 164.00–184.00 $174.77 $659 +9.07
404–420 414 3 148.00–170.00 $155.78 $645 -5.65
500–540 526 3 140.00–150.00 $143.42 $754 -2.97
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
268 268 1 142.50 $142.50 $382 +11.99
324 324 1 140.00 $140.00 $454 +31.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242 242 1 145.00 $145.00 $351 —
262–292 278 3 153.00–166.00 $157.89 $439 -9.11
318–326 321 6 150.00–167.00 $162.96 $523 -2.78
352–394 371 8 147.00–175.00 $162.88 $604 -13.34
408 408 1 143.00 $143.00 $583 -24.00
401–448 417 10 154.00–179.00 $168.77 $704 +1.77
455–480 458 17 159.00–190.00 $185.88 $851 +26.81
486 486 1 143.00 $143.00 $695 -16.07
510–546 528 11 140.00–166.00 $155.64 $822 +5.24
574–598 578 6 130.00–143.00 $136.78 $791 -14.01
610 value added 610 7 163.00 $163.00 $994 —
616–646 636 4 130.00–146.00 $139.63 $888 -1.91
660–682 671 3 120.00–140.00 $129.89 $872 -7.06
726 726 1 122.00 $122.00 $886 +24.00
788 788 1 113.00 $113.00 $890 —
790 790 1 103.00 $103.00 $814 —
840 840 1 93.00 $93.00 $781 -9.00
980 980 1 100.00 $100.00 $980 —
1122 1122 1 103.00 $103.00 $1,156 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
226 226 1 130.00 $130.00 $294 -2.96
276–290 283 2 138.00–142.00 $139.95 $396 +4.55
314–334 321 5 120.00–140.00 $131.84 $423 -8.89
352–354 353 2 138.00–140.00 $139.00 $491 +1.00
444 444 1 134.00 $134.00 $595 +8.77
450–494 467 5 111.00–131.00 $120.13 $561 -1.87
554–590 571 5 101.00–120.00 $111.23 $635 +1.78
722 722 1 92.00 $92.00 $664 +5.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–292 277 3 100.00–120.00 $108.70 $301 —
300–344 315 3 112.00–115.00 $113.09 $356 +3.09
390–394 391 3 94.00–111.00 $101.97 $399 —
414 414 1 110.00 $110.00 $455 —
450 450 1 110.00 $110.00 $495 +40.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–494 481 8 180.00–228.00 $215.51 $1,037 +49.51
504–547 536 16 180.00–220.00 $211.94 $1,136 +26.60
552–588 565 10 165.00–207.00 $187.71 $1,061 +15.22
608–648 629 6 150.00–178.00 $160.60 $1,010 +21.70
686 686 1 130.00 $130.00 $892 -6.87
706–732 718 3 127.00–140.00 $132.42 $951 +32.75
788 788 1 124.00 $124.00 $977 +12.00
912 912 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,094 +6.00
962 962 1 111.00 $111.00 $1,068 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482–484 483 2 120.00–130.00 $125.01 $604 -16.18
500–538 519 2 140.00–150.00 $144.82 $752 +21.49
590 590 1 122.00 $122.00 $720 -4.89
610 610 1 122.00 $122.00 $744 -1.08

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700–1044 834 85-90% 13 40.00–60.00 $49.82 $415 —
1120–1130 1125 85-90% 2 64.00–70.00 $66.99 $754 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1172 1172 80-85% 1 84.00 $84.00 $984 -2.38
1206 1206 80-85% 2 104.00 $104.00 $1,254 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1404 1404 75-80% 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,418 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
948–1882 1367 11 90.00–111.00 $105.75 $1,446 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
605–835 732 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 7 600.00–875.00 $745.54 —

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Dairy Heifers

Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 64.00 $64.00 $378 —
632–640 635 3 70.00–79.00 $74.69 $474 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
984 984 1 94.00 $94.00 $925 —

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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.