Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 23, 2023

542 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $179.78/cwt -8.89 vs last sale · ≈ $678/hd at 377 lb · 23 head
light 3-weight M&L 1 steers $238.00/cwt +24.04 vs last sale · ≈ $767/hd at 322 lb · 20 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $199.90/cwt -21.52 vs last sale · ≈ $948/hd at 474 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 542 399 244
Feeder cattle 480 345 188
Slaughter cattle 62 53 56
Replacement cattle — 1 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Slaughter cattle were mostly steady. Feeder cattle were 4.00 to 8.00 lower. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offering of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
228 228 12 248.00 $248.00 $565 —
274–296 286 3 226.00–232.50 $228.58 $654 +13.53
320 value added 320 13 245.00 $245.00 $784 —
310–348 327 7 215.00–232.50 $225.00 $736 +11.04
350–370 359 3 220.00–222.50 $221.51 $795 +1.02
403–444 424 7 211.00–227.50 $220.47 $935 -10.47
454–496 475 2 199.00–200.00 $199.48 $948 -27.25
485 value added 485 9 220.00 $220.00 $1,067 —
502–548 528 8 180.00–209.00 $198.50 $1,048 -11.33
554–555 555 4 191.00–204.00 $200.75 $1,114 -7.71
628 value added 628 4 182.00 $182.00 $1,143 —
731 value added 731 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,206 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
234–242 239 3 182.50–230.00 $204.41 $489 —
258 258 1 177.50 $177.50 $458 -15.00
314–332 323 2 182.50–192.50 $187.36 $605 -7.88
354–360 357 2 177.50–193.00 $185.32 $662 +5.32
430 430 1 189.00 $189.00 $813 +9.50
474 474 1 188.00 $188.00 $891 -1.45
586 586 1 162.50 $162.50 $952 —
616–642 629 2 130.00–145.00 $137.66 $866 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214–232 225 3 160.00–177.50 $166.02 $374 —
278 278 1 160.00 $160.00 $445 -17.50
306–328 317 4 152.50–180.00 $168.88 $535 +13.88
402 402 1 170.00 $170.00 $683 —
516 516 1 153.00 $153.00 $789 —
608 608 1 120.00 $120.00 $730 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–444 420 5 120.00–140.00 $128.80 $541 -1.56

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 172.50 $172.50 $397 -15.00
260–296 282 4 175.00–182.50 $179.49 $506 +2.23
306–348 329 8 162.50–196.00 $175.22 $576 -26.42
350–392 377 23 162.50–195.00 $179.78 $678 -8.89
410–448 432 11 160.00–180.00 $165.89 $717 -13.60
453–496 465 12 157.00–177.50 $168.87 $785 -3.36
526 526 1 132.00 $132.00 $694 -33.71
502–548 530 12 140.00–163.00 $152.26 $807 -13.45
554–584 573 15 138.00–165.00 $148.76 $852 -5.40
604–640 626 4 136.00–142.50 $139.17 $871 -18.00
652–698 673 11 125.00–153.00 $142.76 $961 -6.70
708–742 726 6 120.00–143.00 $135.44 $983 -8.89
756–760 758 2 121.00–134.00 $127.52 $967 —
856 856 1 134.00 $134.00 $1,147 +40.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
218–244 236 5 150.00–162.50 $157.36 $371 —
286 286 2 156.00–160.00 $158.00 $452 -5.00
306–348 326 4 160.00 $160.00 $522 +1.99
356–392 378 6 150.00–160.00 $155.97 $590 -3.62
456 456 1 120.00 $120.00 $547 -40.20
488 488 1 131.00 $131.00 $639 -29.20
532 532 1 139.00 $139.00 $739 -12.00
598 598 2 124.00–129.00 $126.50 $756 -21.51
600–644 618 5 103.00–122.50 $115.78 $716 +25.78
654–686 668 4 102.00–124.00 $115.57 $772 -5.43
764 764 1 116.00 $116.00 $886 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
268–282 275 2 145.00–147.50 $146.28 $402 —
306–348 327 2 140.00 $140.00 $458 ±0.00
384 384 1 140.00 $140.00 $538 +1.32
406–434 420 2 110.00–130.00 $119.67 $503 -5.33
456–480 467 5 120.00–135.00 $126.15 $589 —
502–530 516 2 105.00–108.00 $106.54 $550 —
606–640 620 3 94.00–100.00 $97.94 $607 +6.94
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
214 214 1 114.00 $114.00 $244 -7.00
258 258 1 127.50 $127.50 $329 —
320–336 328 2 100.00 $100.00 $328 —
436 436 1 127.50 $127.50 $556 +7.50

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
208–227 221 3 217.50–227.50 $224.36 $496 —
266–298 281 4 200.00–232.50 $221.24 $622 -6.26
304–332 319 9 200.00–227.50 $217.64 $694 +6.21
354–394 372 12 200.00–224.00 $210.49 $783 -10.03
410–446 433 16 180.00–215.00 $208.41 $902 -5.24
454–488 474 16 179.00–212.50 $203.13 $963 -18.29
474–478 476 2 168.00–180.00 $174.03 $828 -47.39
504–546 523 10 178.00–194.00 $184.15 $963 -21.02
551–596 584 16 156.00–174.00 $162.73 $950 -38.12
584–598 591 2 144.00–155.00 $149.57 $884 -51.28
630–648 639 2 133.00–149.00 $140.89 $900 -21.11
656–674 664 3 138.00–140.00 $139.00 $923 —
704–744 724 2 109.00–138.00 $123.90 $897 -27.40
726 726 1 112.00 $112.00 $813 -39.30
750–760 755 2 129.00–130.00 $129.50 $978 —
820–844 832 5 110.00–124.00 $119.63 $995 -25.37
854–858 856 2 118.00–123.00 $120.49 $1,031 -12.06
928 928 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,067 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424–440 429 3 160.00–175.00 $168.56 $723 -16.44
498 498 1 163.00 $163.00 $812 -16.64
510–536 524 5 140.00–167.00 $157.50 $825 -21.22
552 552 1 140.00 $140.00 $773 —
566–592 580 4 128.00–158.00 $147.08 $853 -20.96
636–644 640 2 120.00 $120.00 $768 -24.00
658 658 1 120.00 $120.00 $790 ±0.00
738 738 1 106.00 $106.00 $782 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 160.00 $160.00 $368 -10.00
304–348 326 2 150.00–160.00 $154.66 $504 -12.84
414–427 424 4 147.00–155.00 $153.05 $649 -9.67
450–454 452 2 120.00–150.00 $135.07 $611 —
508–544 529 3 115.00–140.00 $128.24 $678 -52.76
556–576 563 3 110.00 $110.00 $619 -30.00
664 664 1 120.00 $120.00 $797 +27.03
800 800 1 103.00 $103.00 $824 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
512 512 1 111.00 $111.00 $568 +11.00
732 732 1 84.00 $84.00 $615 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
918–1330 1147 80-85% 15 89.00–101.00 $93.77 $1,076 -0.58
1072–1520 1240 80-85% 10 105.00–115.00 $109.90 $1,363 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850 850 85-90% 1 94.00 $94.00 $799 —
732–1036 871 85-90% 4 57.00–70.00 $62.63 $546 —
806–1218 987 85-90% 6 75.00–91.00 $84.64 $835 +19.54
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1304–1602 1403 75-80% 7 90.00–109.00 $102.13 $1,433 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
924 924 1 89.00 $89.00 $822 —
958–1720 1253 9 91.00–114.00 $104.82 $1,313 —
1468 1468 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,762 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
842 842 1 90.00 $90.00 $758 —

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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.