Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 9, 2023

530 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $169.67/cwt +14.03 vs last sale · ≈ $911/hd at 537 lb · 52 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $187.67/cwt +21.24 vs last sale · ≈ $833/hd at 444 lb · 43 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $227.84/cwt +14.10 vs last sale · ≈ $973/hd at 427 lb · 35 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 530 366 575
Feeder cattle 473 329 513
Slaughter cattle 57 30 62
Replacement cattle — 7 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week slaughter cattle were 2.00 to 6.00 higher. Feeder cattle were 4.00 to 8.00 higher. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest active. Offerings of cattle 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
202 202 1 230.00 $230.00 $465 —
304–342 331 6 190.00–225.00 $209.30 $693 +15.33
350–398 370 11 194.00–230.00 $216.83 $802 +0.54
402–444 427 13 184.00–235.00 $208.17 $889 -8.62
408–442 427 3 178.00–180.00 $179.02 $764 -37.77
427 value added 427 19 249.00 $249.00 $1,063 —
486–491 488 7 230.00–237.00 $233.98 $1,142 +6.64
500–532 516 5 181.00–215.00 $202.92 $1,047 -20.96
521 value added 521 20 236.00 $236.00 $1,230 —
572–576 573 5 215.00–218.00 $217.40 $1,246 +4.84
602–644 611 7 161.00–186.00 $180.55 $1,103 +12.57
680–696 681 12 155.00–177.00 $175.13 $1,193 —
711 711 2 150.00 $150.00 $1,066 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–246 238 2 160.00–164.00 $162.07 $386 -5.93
286–296 291 2 148.00–163.00 $155.63 $453 -5.66
302–348 324 7 136.00–182.00 $161.40 $523 —
352–392 374 7 137.00–178.00 $158.49 $593 -16.28
402–416 410 4 147.00–173.00 $160.80 $659 +5.02
496 496 1 176.00 $176.00 $873 —
590–596 593 2 133.00–136.00 $134.49 $798 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254–282 273 4 110.00–131.00 $122.77 $335 -19.73
348 348 1 140.00 $140.00 $487 ±0.00
366–396 379 6 120.00–140.00 $130.58 $495 —
414–418 416 2 101.00–144.00 $122.40 $509 —
492 492 1 130.00 $130.00 $640 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
212–248 235 3 147.50–154.00 $151.35 $356 +6.35
272–296 283 3 149.00–167.00 $158.43 $448 +0.54
304–340 326 9 148.00–183.00 $160.73 $524 -2.23
358–398 372 8 156.00–195.00 $170.96 $636 +8.08
410–446 434 7 150.00–180.00 $162.79 $707 -5.98
438–447 value added 446 36 190.00–193.00 $192.51 $859 —
456–498 470 14 146.00–179.00 $164.33 $772 -21.55
500–548 526 16 134.00–159.00 $148.69 $782 -6.95
542 value added 542 36 179.00 $179.00 $970 —
550–594 577 17 138.00–157.50 $148.96 $859 +12.18
600–644 623 12 119.00–147.00 $135.39 $843 -4.24
650–670 660 2 133.00–134.00 $133.49 $881 +3.60
732 732 1 130.00 $130.00 $952 +8.00
766 766 1 132.00 $132.00 $1,011 +19.00
784 784 1 110.00 $110.00 $862 -3.00
856 856 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,002 —
902 902 1 107.00 $107.00 $965 —
912 912 1 94.00 $94.00 $857 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
238–244 241 2 135.00–143.00 $139.05 $335 +9.05
298 298 1 130.00 $130.00 $387 -9.95
300–344 323 8 131.00–145.00 $141.03 $456 +9.19
364–394 386 7 123.00–145.00 $133.56 $516 -5.44
402–442 418 5 121.00–139.00 $132.02 $552 -1.98
480–484 482 2 134.00–137.00 $135.51 $653 +15.38
508–526 518 4 114.00–131.00 $121.29 $628 —
586 586 1 110.00 $110.00 $645 -1.23
606–638 623 3 91.00–110.00 $103.51 $645 —
654 654 1 100.00 $100.00 $654 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–282 265 3 110.00–121.00 $117.18 $311 +8.48
312–328 319 3 92.50–125.00 $104.92 $335 -8.17
368–376 372 2 110.00–118.00 $113.96 $424 +11.99

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–494 472 12 190.00–229.00 $213.47 $1,008 -2.04
500–530 515 2 171.00–176.00 $173.57 $894 -38.37
504–542 522 10 181.00–223.00 $206.09 $1,076 -5.85
564 564 1 163.00 $163.00 $919 -24.71
558–589 581 9 180.00–202.00 $191.78 $1,114 +4.07
600–620 610 5 140.00–170.00 $154.08 $940 -6.52
614 614 1 132.00 $132.00 $810 -28.60
652–694 673 3 136.00–149.00 $143.57 $966 +13.57
700–730 715 2 128.00–146.00 $136.81 $978 +4.39
804 804 1 120.00 $120.00 $965 —
888–890 889 2 115.00–120.00 $117.50 $1,045 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452 452 1 170.00 $170.00 $768 +44.99
502–524 511 6 121.00–168.00 $145.73 $745 +0.91
576–592 584 2 139.00–149.00 $144.07 $841 +22.07
624 624 1 124.00 $124.00 $774 +2.00
654 654 1 110.00 $110.00 $719 —
708–748 729 4 90.00–101.00 $95.48 $696 —
842 842 1 90.00 $90.00 $758 —
860 860 1 90.00 $90.00 $774 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568–584 576 2 100.00–118.00 $108.88 $627 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
926–1480 1120 80-85% 14 80.00–99.00 $89.55 $1,003 —
1018–1398 1184 80-85% 6 100.00–110.00 $106.20 $1,257 +22.20
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
722–1148 876 85-90% 12 60.00–84.00 $74.55 $653 —
884 884 85-90% 1 87.00 $87.00 $769 —
864–972 933 85-90% 3 50.00–60.00 $56.56 $528 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1036–1378 1207 75-80% 2 84.00–97.00 $91.42 $1,103 —
1428–1566 1474 75-80% 3 107.00–110.00 $108.06 $1,593 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
974–2038 1399 11 95.00–121.00 $105.90 $1,482 +0.15
1766–1770 1768 2 122.00–124.00 $123.00 $2,175 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
386 386 1 111.00 $111.00 $428 —

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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.