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Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 19, 2024

274 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 274 289 284
Feeder cattle 207 230 200
Slaughter cattle 67 59 84

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder cattle bulls and steers were sharply higher, while heifers were mostly steady. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were light. Cattle quality was plain to average. 3 head baby calves; 200.00-310.00

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
752–770 761 2 192.50–210.00 $201.15 $1,531 —
922 922 4 181.00 $181.00 $1,669 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,148 —
384 384 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,296 +34.50
462 462 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,594 +36.00
528 528 1 310.00 $310.00 $1,637 +40.10
906 906 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,676 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
246 246 1 253.00 $253.00 $622 —
270 270 1 265.00 $265.00 $716 -12.67
328–340 337 4 260.00–287.50 $271.98 $917 -8.74
374–398 388 5 250.00–282.50 $273.52 $1,061 -2.81
400–420 410 5 255.00–265.00 $261.04 $1,070 -3.47
450–492 474 8 240.00–270.00 $254.10 $1,204 +6.03
510–534 515 5 241.00–242.50 $241.31 $1,243 -2.38
578–590 584 2 222.50–227.50 $224.97 $1,314 -11.91
622–628 625 2 220.00–227.50 $223.73 $1,398 -2.90
708 708 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,522 +2.77
786 786 2 210.00 $210.00 $1,651 —
946 946 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,845 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
294 294 1 245.00 $245.00 $720 +15.00
330 330 1 247.50 $247.50 $817 +8.17
362 362 2 217.50–245.00 $231.25 $837 +11.25
420–436 426 4 220.00–240.00 $227.50 $969 -13.72
456–474 465 2 200.00–230.00 $214.71 $998 -10.25
554–578 566 2 190.00–205.00 $197.66 $1,119 -30.34
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254 254 1 220.00 $220.00 $559 —
328 328 1 210.00 $210.00 $689 +7.50
350 350 1 212.50 $212.50 $744 +2.50
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
212 212 1 195.00 $195.00 $413 -5.00
450 450 1 180.00 $180.00 $810 —
568 568 1 160.00 $160.00 $909 +30.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
154 154 1 312.50 $312.50 $481 —
300–346 327 8 300.00–342.50 $320.10 $1,047 +8.18
350–392 373 9 295.00–347.50 $311.74 $1,163 +1.40
412–440 429 7 285.00–340.00 $311.98 $1,338 +7.96
462–486 476 6 260.00–312.50 $289.61 $1,379 +24.42
516–546 531 9 260.00–305.00 $285.99 $1,519 +24.82
550–598 581 3 240.00–287.50 $261.82 $1,521 —
604–648 625 7 237.50–266.00 $248.07 $1,550 +21.78
654–682 668 2 217.50–237.50 $227.29 $1,518 -21.04
844 844 1 192.50 $192.50 $1,625 —
944 944 1 152.50 $152.50 $1,440 —
986 986 1 175.00 $175.00 $1,726 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
178 178 1 240.00 $240.00 $427 —
248 248 1 245.00 $245.00 $608 +10.00
264–298 281 4 245.00–280.00 $264.61 $744 -13.82
310–344 331 3 250.00–297.50 $269.37 $892 +2.63
370–384 377 2 240.00–247.50 $243.82 $919 -26.18
406–444 425 3 240.00–280.00 $257.53 $1,095 +1.88
454 454 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,146 —
526–548 543 4 234.00–242.50 $236.06 $1,282 -3.94
602–646 620 3 200.00–214.00 $208.00 $1,290 +12.88
798 798 1 187.50 $187.50 $1,496 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 182.50 $182.50 $766 —
458–478 474 5 187.50–225.00 $217.75 $1,032 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
194 194 1 225.00 $225.00 $436 —
220 220 1 230.00 $230.00 $506 —
394 394 1 220.00 $220.00 $867 —
456 456 1 200.00 $200.00 $912 —
536 536 1 185.00 $185.00 $992 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–284 282 2 210.00–220.00 $215.04 $606 —
366 366 1 200.00 $200.00 $732 —
490 490 1 172.50 $172.50 $845 —
862 862 1 127.50 $127.50 $1,099 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
822–940 881 85-90% 2 80.00 $80.00 $705 —
972–1050 1011 85-90% 2 42.50–50.00 $46.39 $469 —
756–1258 1032 85-90% 17 90.00–112.50 $101.99 $1,053 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
956–1150 1048 80-85% 8 127.00–146.00 $134.07 $1,405 —
934–1312 1122 80-85% 12 107.50–127.50 $117.06 $1,313 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1600 1391 75-80% 10 110.00–126.00 $117.87 $1,640 +2.87

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–2100 1695 6 125.00–145.00 $132.43 $2,245 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456 456 1 140.00 $140.00 $638 —

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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.