Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 26, 2023

580 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $183.05/cwt -5.11 vs last sale · ≈ $961/hd at 525 lb · 41 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $166.37/cwt +1.46 vs last sale · ≈ $1,055/hd at 634 lb · 40 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $171.12/cwt -11.49 vs last sale · ≈ $962/hd at 562 lb · 25 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 580 488 572
Feeder cattle 474 402 503
Slaughter cattle 102 84 69
Replacement cattle 4 2 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 3.00 to 4.00 lower. Feeder cattle were 4.00 to 6.00 lower. Demand was light to moderate; market activity and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were heavy. Cattle quality was plain to average. 5 head baby calves from 60.00-120.00

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
461 461 3 203.00 $203.00 $936 -2.00
536 536 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,045 -18.13
552 552 8 201.00 $201.00 $1,110 -2.16
659–662 659 9 192.50–195.00 $194.72 $1,283 +2.22
810 810 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,336 —
900 900 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,260 —
964 964 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,350 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 182.50 $182.50 $931 +2.50
556–588 572 2 150.00–189.00 $168.95 $966 -11.05
800 800 2 147.50 $147.50 $1,180 —
978 978 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,222 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
296 296 1 180.00 $180.00 $533 -17.44
334–340 338 4 190.00–192.50 $190.62 $644 -8.17
382–390 385 3 180.00–193.00 $187.67 $723 -11.87
418–446 430 9 180.00–189.00 $184.22 $792 -7.21
452–496 470 12 180.00–197.50 $186.37 $876 -12.05
502–544 525 41 176.00–187.50 $183.05 $961 -5.11
561–580 562 25 171.00–174.00 $171.12 $962 -11.49
610–635 634 40 150.00–167.00 $166.37 $1,055 -0.99
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
248 248 1 170.00 $170.00 $422 -10.00
280 280 1 160.00 $160.00 $448 -19.45
324–334 330 3 172.50–177.50 $174.14 $575 +0.55
350–384 370 4 162.50–177.50 $171.14 $633 -11.36
414–436 425 2 160.00–175.00 $167.69 $713 -4.81
456–494 474 6 150.00–175.00 $166.78 $791 -10.75
494 494 1 147.50 $147.50 $729 -30.03
510–524 517 2 140.00–160.00 $150.14 $776 -12.46
532 532 1 137.50 $137.50 $732 -25.10
550–588 572 8 145.00–167.50 $156.53 $895 -13.47
616–636 628 3 120.00–150.00 $138.20 $868 -8.80
652–676 662 7 120.00–135.00 $125.82 $833 —
820 820 6 119.00 $119.00 $976 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262–292 277 2 122.50–137.50 $129.59 $359 —
306–334 323 4 130.00–140.00 $135.08 $436 —
366–390 377 4 115.00–145.00 $123.89 $467 —
424–426 425 2 120.00–122.50 $121.25 $515 —
464–498 478 3 110.00–127.50 $116.57 $557 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258–264 261 3 150.00–167.50 $158.28 $413 -9.22
304–338 321 3 145.00–160.00 $151.40 $486 -13.60
370 370 1 150.00 $150.00 $555 -5.00
432–434 433 2 150.00–157.50 $153.74 $666 -3.05
460–486 473 2 140.00 $140.00 $662 -13.70
502–526 514 2 121.00–122.50 $121.77 $626 -26.64

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276–294 283 4 190.00–207.50 $199.39 $564 -10.70
306–348 320 10 187.50–210.00 $203.17 $650 -2.97
376–380 378 2 190.00 $190.00 $718 -15.45
400–436 423 6 190.00–211.00 $201.61 $853 -0.48
452–498 468 3 190.00–202.50 $194.04 $908 -1.83
510–544 529 10 180.00–192.50 $186.37 $986 +1.63
588 588 1 182.50 $182.50 $1,073 -1.63
610–620 615 2 170.00–180.00 $174.96 $1,076 +6.87
668 668 3 167.50 $167.50 $1,119 +10.09
708–720 711 7 125.00–153.00 $143.38 $1,019 +0.85
750–794 759 5 133.00–150.00 $146.44 $1,111 -6.14
933 933 2 112.00 $112.00 $1,045 -23.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
288 288 1 182.50 $182.50 $526 -0.76
336 336 1 182.50 $182.50 $613 -0.96
374–378 376 2 170.00–174.00 $171.99 $647 -10.78
408–446 426 9 170.00–180.00 $177.23 $755 -9.57
458–482 470 2 167.50–170.00 $168.78 $793 -14.15
504–546 525 8 150.00–170.00 $159.13 $835 -0.87
538–540 539 2 145.00 $145.00 $782 -15.00
558–592 571 4 150.00–160.00 $152.49 $871 -11.10
572–594 583 2 125.00–130.00 $127.55 $744 -36.04
600–646 626 7 130.00–156.00 $137.14 $858 -1.95
656–696 683 4 120.00–152.50 $136.05 $929 -6.26
712–734 726 3 100.00–120.00 $109.99 $799 —
760–776 769 3 92.50–122.50 $109.93 $845 —
860 860 1 100.00 $100.00 $860 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–242 235 4 122.50–140.00 $131.68 $309 -18.32
258–296 276 3 125.00–157.50 $145.97 $403 +5.97
318–348 331 4 132.50–150.00 $140.81 $466 —
370–392 378 4 145.00–152.50 $148.71 $562 +2.89
456 456 2 117.50–130.00 $123.75 $564 -18.72
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
262 262 1 160.00 $160.00 $419 -6.38
338 338 1 165.00 $165.00 $558 -3.81
390 390 1 157.50 $157.50 $614 -11.23
400–416 406 3 155.00–170.00 $161.63 $656 +2.82
616 616 1 110.00 $110.00 $678 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308 308 1 115.00 $115.00 $354 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
842–1022 904 85-90% 5 46.00–49.00 $46.87 $424 —
742–1216 957 85-90% 15 50.00–69.00 $60.46 $579 —
778–1342 1120 85-90% 17 70.00–82.00 $76.23 $854 -3.49
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1942 1476 75-80% 17 84.00–96.00 $88.25 $1,303 —
1366–1872 1533 75-80% 6 72.00–83.00 $78.77 $1,208 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1066–1246 1156 80-85% 2 91.00–94.00 $92.38 $1,068 —
984–1382 1191 80-85% 16 83.00–88.00 $85.78 $1,022 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1198 1198 1 87.50 $87.50 $1,048 —
1564–1894 1689 3 104.00–112.00 $107.30 $1,812 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1252–1268 1260 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 1,075.00–1,200.00 $1,137.10 —
1304 1304 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,475.00 $1,475.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
810 810 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 775.00 $775.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
442 442 1 115.00 $115.00 $508 —
622 622 1 127.50 $127.50 $793 —

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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.