Powell Livestock Market Report, Smithfield, NC

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 4, 2024

330 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $205.36/cwt +23.04 vs last sale · ≈ $988/hd at 481 lb · 24 head

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $201.40/cwt +5.42 vs last sale · ≈ $749/hd at 372 lb · 15 head

light 3-weight M&L 1 bulls $213.07/cwt -0.51 vs last sale · ≈ $686/hd at 322 lb · 13 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	330	284	309
Feeder cattle	255	200	249
Slaughter cattle	74	84	60
Replacement cattle	1	—	0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Closed 2 weeks for Christmas 6 head baby calves from 30.00-90.00

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
298	298	3	230.00	$230.00	$685	—
344	344	4	225.00	$225.00	$774	—
356–388	377	3	232.50–235.00	$234.21	$883	+9.21
467	467	3	229.00	$229.00	$1,069	+7.67
526 value added	526	10	220.00	$220.00	$1,157	—
542–546	544	2	205.00–217.50	$211.23	$1,149	+5.23
571	571	8	245.00	$245.00	$1,399	+39.20
640	640	1	195.00	$195.00	$1,248	+13.72
650	650	1	195.00	$195.00	$1,268	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
442	442	1	170.00	$170.00	$751	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
342	342	1	187.50	$187.50	$641	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
206–236	221	2	197.50–205.00	$201.00	$444	—
270–298	284	2	200.00	$200.00	$568	+7.57
312–348	325	7	195.00–223.00	$211.08	$686	+18.78
350–398	372	15	187.50–217.50	$201.40	$749	+5.42
404–446	425	8	187.00–207.50	$194.34	$826	+10.39
450–498	481	24	190.00–222.50	$205.36	$988	+23.04
500–548	530	12	175.00–212.50	$193.60	$1,026	+19.53
552–588	570	2	175.00–192.50	$183.47	$1,046	+14.72
612–636	631	5	159.00–167.50	$164.54	$1,038	-5.46
722–732	727	2	157.50–165.00	$161.28	$1,173	-1.22
856	856	3	140.00	$140.00	$1,198	—
928	928	1	137.50	$137.50	$1,276	-22.50

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
206–224	215	2	170.00–175.00	$172.40	$371	—
398	398	1	155.00	$155.00	$617	-19.95
478	478	1	175.00	$175.00	$836	+10.06
556	556	1	160.00	$160.00	$890	—
600	600	1	155.00	$155.00	$930	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
210–238	224	2	167.00–170.00	$168.41	$377	—
288	288	1	160.00	$160.00	$461	—
304	304	1	170.00	$170.00	$517	+10.00
530	530	1	130.00	$130.00	$689	—

Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
204–228	217	3	140.00–155.00	$148.19	$322	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
185	185	1	185.00	$185.00	$342	—
236–244	238	4	222.50–225.00	$224.36	$534	+19.36
270–288	276	6	206.00–227.50	$222.07	$613	+7.07
310–346	322	13	207.00–222.50	$213.07	$686	-0.51
360–392	383	8	202.50–217.50	$212.12	$812	-6.93
408–442	431	4	200.00–210.00	$207.49	$894	-6.04
452–488	463	9	195.00–217.50	$204.87	$949	-11.52
526–530	528	2	185.00–195.00	$189.98	$1,003	-3.54
564–590	577	2	180.00–190.00	$184.89	$1,067	+6.25
622–634	628	2	180.00–192.50	$186.19	$1,169	+28.19
654–690	671	4	160.00–175.00	$168.60	$1,131	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
242	242	2	195.00	$195.00	$472	+13.49
252–286	265	4	182.50–197.50	$192.26	$509	-1.53
336	336	1	180.00	$180.00	$605	-19.21
406	406	1	180.00	$180.00	$731	-1.22
498	498	1	160.00	$160.00	$797	-10.20
574	574	1	162.50	$162.50	$933	±0.00
700–730	715	2	142.50–150.00	$146.17	$1,045	+26.17
852	852	1	93.00	$93.00	$792	—

Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
212–242	222	3	132.50–150.00	$142.05	$315	—
266	266	1	155.00	$155.00	$412	—
300–322	314	3	142.50–150.00	$146.60	$460	-3.40
370	370	1	155.00	$155.00	$574	+25.00
426	426	1	150.00	$150.00	$639	+7.57
660–670	665	2	80.00–102.50	$91.17	$606	+1.17
850	850	1	70.00	$70.00	$595	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
200–220	210	2	165.00–170.00	$167.38	$351	—
314–322	318	2	167.50–175.00	$171.20	$544	—
376	376	1	160.00	$160.00	$602	—
418	418	1	165.00	$165.00	$690	+2.49
470	470	1	160.00	$160.00	$752	—
530	530	1	130.00	$130.00	$689	—
792	792	1	100.00	$100.00	$792	—

Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
518–542	530	2	110.00–117.50	$113.67	$602	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
766–1004	883	85-90%	6	45.00–66.00	$60.84	$537	—
1034	1034	85-90%	1	55.00	$55.00	$569	-26.38
944–1290	1118	85-90%	11	74.00–84.00	$79.40	$888	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1038–1126	1082	80-85%	2	105.00–117.00	$110.76	$1,198	+21.32
914–1384	1159	80-85%	15	84.00–100.00	$90.06	$1,044	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1284	1284	75-80%	1	106.00	$106.00	$1,361	—
1154–1706	1413	75-80%	10	87.00–100.00	$92.33	$1,305	—
1350–1580	1468	75-80%	3	80.00–84.00	$81.44	$1,196	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1084–1558	1314	4	107.00–125.00	$112.35	$1,476	—

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
792	792	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	800.00	$800.00	—

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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.