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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 5, 2024

460 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $282.09/cwt +34.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,204/hd at 427 lb · 31 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $248.68/cwt +23.64 vs last sale · ≈ $1,278/hd at 514 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $305.04/cwt ≈ $1,451/hd at 476 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 460 370 377
Feeder cattle 356 307 330
Slaughter cattle 101 61 46
Replacement cattle 3 2 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

No price trend due to no sale last week due to the Federal Holiday.

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
336–346 340 4 295.00–322.50 $308.24 $1,048 —
352 352 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,056 —
361 value added 361 5 341.00 $341.00 $1,231 —
412–422 417 2 306.00–310.00 $307.98 $1,284 —
450–498 474 3 280.00–297.50 $290.79 $1,378 —
469–483 value added 476 16 305.00–312.00 $307.71 $1,465 —
500–504 503 18 269.00–290.00 $273.49 $1,376 +4.71
554–582 value added 579 12 270.00–297.50 $291.54 $1,688 —
584 584 1 262.50 $262.50 $1,533 -7.96
610–642 634 4 256.00–267.00 $264.35 $1,676 +26.88
650–680 670 3 260.00–262.50 $260.81 $1,747 +10.81
782 782 1 231.00 $231.00 $1,806 +28.50
934 934 1 180.00 $180.00 $1,681 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314 314 1 270.00 $270.00 $848 —
460 460 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,104 —
616 616 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,140 -35.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–232 216 2 250.00–265.00 $258.06 $557 —
270–279 275 2 270.00–277.50 $273.81 $753 +28.87
310–345 337 6 270.00–290.00 $279.28 $941 +35.82
366–391 value added 385 4 297.50–299.00 $298.64 $1,150 +31.14
384–394 389 3 260.00–277.50 $268.28 $1,044 +28.01
400–426 417 14 250.00–282.50 $271.88 $1,134 +29.42
435 value added 435 17 290.50 $290.50 $1,264 +25.50
480–498 490 3 240.00–247.00 $242.34 $1,187 +6.11
504–524 value added 506 12 247.50–251.00 $250.70 $1,269 —
524 thin fleshed 524 1 272.50 $272.50 $1,428 —
508–544 528 6 230.00–252.50 $240.66 $1,271 +15.62
562 value added 562 10 252.00 $252.00 $1,416 —
562–574 567 3 227.50–242.50 $234.96 $1,332 +3.34
602–620 610 3 217.50–222.50 $220.02 $1,342 +7.55
644 value added 644 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,546 —
680–690 683 3 210.00–238.00 $226.75 $1,549 +11.73
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–244 227 2 220.00–225.00 $222.69 $506 —
300–340 323 3 225.00–237.50 $230.57 $745 +9.33
354 354 1 215.00 $215.00 $761 -4.92
410 410 2 172.50–220.00 $196.25 $805 -20.43
460–470 465 2 225.00–230.00 $227.47 $1,058 +7.47
525 525 4 200.00 $200.00 $1,050 +6.54
579 579 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,274 +40.00
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
222 222 1 207.50 $207.50 $461 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
246 246 1 280.00 $280.00 $689 —
290–292 291 2 282.50–320.00 $301.31 $877 +27.53
306–348 323 11 267.50–327.50 $303.44 $980 +26.30
356–392 374 8 272.50–315.00 $293.39 $1,097 +29.99
412 412 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,071 +1.95
412–444 436 14 260.00–310.00 $291.70 $1,272 +33.65
450–492 470 12 260.00–305.00 $283.92 $1,334 +53.92
519 value added 519 9 255.00 $255.00 $1,323 —
500–542 528 4 260.00–282.50 $271.24 $1,432 +9.18
552–598 575 7 242.50–260.00 $251.15 $1,444 +3.78
602–628 614 4 230.00–252.50 $245.72 $1,509 +0.15
680 680 1 242.50 $242.50 $1,649 +2.27
706–720 713 2 210.00–225.00 $217.43 $1,550 +57.43
780 780 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,560 +23.75
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–278 264 3 240.00–275.00 $252.80 $667 +18.17
308–330 319 2 237.50–247.50 $242.33 $773 +7.15
360 360 2 260.00–270.00 $265.00 $954 +32.47
416–440 428 4 230.00–250.00 $240.06 $1,027 +10.22
450–498 470 4 200.00–240.00 $219.11 $1,030 +19.11
500–545 522 3 212.50–220.00 $217.51 $1,135 -2.49
622–624 623 2 171.00–207.00 $189.03 $1,178 -1.31
652–694 673 2 170.00–195.00 $182.89 $1,231 —
834 834 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,376 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 2 172.50–202.50 $187.50 $375 —
266 266 1 160.00 $160.00 $426 —
568 568 1 150.00 $150.00 $852 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870 870 85-90% 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,088 —
870–1098 970 85-90% 4 80.00–90.00 $85.54 $830 +5.54
856–1196 1022 85-90% 5 92.00–118.00 $107.35 $1,097 —
1024 1024 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $512 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1028–1030 1029 2 115.00–125.00 $120.00 $1,235 —
1164 1164 1 158.00 $158.00 $1,839 —
1030–1614 1380 3 127.00–135.00 $130.16 $1,796 —

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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
880 880 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 —

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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.