Cattle Market Pulse

Powell Livestock Market Report

Smithfield, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 19, 2026

511 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $481.99/cwt -5.34 vs last sale · ≈ $2,320/hd at 481 lb · 28 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $408.87/cwt +31.79 vs last sale · ≈ $2,079/hd at 508 lb · 28 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $512.57/cwt +10.02 vs last sale · ≈ $2,419/hd at 472 lb · 20 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 511 418 0
Feeder cattle 459 356 0
Slaughter cattle 45 55 0
Replacement cattle 7 7 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were mostly steady. Feeder cattle were mostly steady. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were heavy. 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
320 320 1 530.00 $530.00 $1,696 —
356–384 366 4 510.00–550.00 $529.73 $1,939 +19.73
406–444 419 3 457.50–510.00 $492.97 $2,066 -2.50
458–490 472 20 450.00–530.00 $512.57 $2,419 +10.02
512–542 519 7 435.00–500.00 $483.23 $2,508 +16.99
630 630 1 350.00 $350.00 $2,205 -23.38
668 value added 668 3 396.00 $396.00 $2,645 —
676–692 684 2 317.50–360.00 $338.50 $2,315 —
735 735 3 360.00 $360.00 $2,646 —
752 752 2 320.00 $320.00 $2,406 —
814–834 824 2 316.00–335.00 $325.62 $2,683 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
406–412 409 2 400.00–430.00 $415.11 $1,698 —
472 472 1 435.00 $435.00 $2,053 —
504 504 3 392.00 $392.00 $1,976 -43.00
628 628 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,978 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
224–244 236 5 460.00–525.00 $494.58 $1,167 +40.14
262–296 280 4 450.00–495.00 $481.89 $1,349 +36.82
304–348 331 6 400.00–480.00 $425.56 $1,409 -20.51
352–398 375 12 420.00–450.00 $437.18 $1,639 -11.12
402–440 424 18 407.50–485.00 $457.44 $1,940 +16.06
450–496 475 17 370.00–470.00 $433.15 $2,057 -9.03
504–528 value added 506 22 411.00–460.00 $414.15 $2,096 —
504–530 517 6 377.50–400.00 $389.52 $2,014 +12.44
550–594 575 6 332.50–380.00 $352.41 $2,026 -16.79
630 value added 630 10 350.00 $350.00 $2,205 —
604–646 639 6 310.00–335.00 $327.42 $2,092 -16.53
670–682 676 2 255.00–270.00 $262.43 $1,774 -62.57
677 value added 677 4 330.00 $330.00 $2,234 —
720 value added 720 1 332.50 $332.50 $2,394 —
748 748 1 300.00 $300.00 $2,244 +50.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
234 234 1 380.00 $380.00 $889 -20.00
268 268 1 405.00 $405.00 $1,085 —
374 374 1 410.00 $410.00 $1,533 +10.88
406 406 1 370.00 $370.00 $1,502 -11.08
458–482 472 4 330.00–380.00 $352.18 $1,662 -17.79
504–548 531 4 337.50–350.00 $346.84 $1,842 +16.84
560–572 566 2 297.50–300.00 $298.74 $1,691 —
608 608 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,611 —
718 718 1 230.00 $230.00 $1,651 —
756 756 1 265.00 $265.00 $2,003 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
434 434 1 380.00 $380.00 $1,649 —
466 466 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,305 —
588–596 592 5 265.00–270.00 $267.99 $1,587 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
151 151 3 505.00 $505.00 $763 —
218–226 223 3 510.00–520.00 $513.26 $1,145 +33.26
284–298 293 4 545.00–575.00 $554.83 $1,626 +77.44
300–340 thin fleshed 323 3 530.00–550.00 $539.71 $1,743 —
310–338 325 8 450.00–510.00 $486.06 $1,580 -23.46
356–390 thin fleshed 373 3 525.00–550.00 $537.96 $2,007 —
350–398 377 11 440.00–505.00 $481.36 $1,815 -6.73
400–448 425 13 480.00–525.00 $501.89 $2,133 +1.12
450–468 thin fleshed 460 4 510.00–530.00 $519.89 $2,391 —
450–498 485 24 430.00–500.00 $475.67 $2,307 -11.66
504–546 532 15 425.00–485.00 $454.27 $2,417 -7.29
556 thin fleshed 556 1 465.00 $465.00 $2,585 —
568–594 579 6 370.00–445.00 $404.85 $2,344 -30.96
602–646 622 8 320.00–365.00 $350.13 $2,178 -8.31
656–694 667 10 322.50–392.50 $345.23 $2,303 -8.15
682 682 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,978 -63.38
718–744 724 5 317.50–320.00 $319.50 $2,313 -9.92
771 771 8 318.00 $318.00 $2,452 +13.82
830 830 1 252.50 $252.50 $2,096 —
863–872 865 5 232.50–250.00 $246.47 $2,132 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
324–348 336 3 395.00–400.00 $398.27 $1,338 -1.73
364–388 375 4 400.00–430.00 $416.04 $1,560 -13.45
410–446 426 6 370.00–450.00 $412.03 $1,755 -14.69
462–474 467 3 397.50–420.00 $405.94 $1,896 +5.94
500–536 514 7 349.00–425.00 $383.50 $1,971 -20.53
552–558 555 2 320.00–370.00 $344.86 $1,914 —
644 644 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,964 —
652–698 676 4 300.00–320.00 $304.86 $2,061 —
736 736 1 275.00 $275.00 $2,024 —
760–784 772 2 210.00–257.50 $234.12 $1,807 —
838–848 843 2 220.00–250.00 $234.91 $1,980 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–444 422 2 370.00–380.00 $374.74 $1,581 —
474 474 1 315.00 $315.00 $1,493 —
522–530 527 3 345.00 $345.00 $1,818 —
602 602 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,686 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1220 910 85-90% 6 114.00–145.00 $123.78 $1,126 —
1110–1224 1167 85-90% 2 170.00–175.00 $172.62 $2,014 —
1018–1336 1183 85-90% 4 157.50–165.00 $162.46 $1,922 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1340 1138 80-85% 6 175.00–180.00 $177.24 $2,017 —
1310–1424 1378 80-85% 4 193.00–198.00 $194.70 $2,683 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1474–1778 1586 75-80% 5 180.00–198.00 $185.05 $2,935 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1152–1334 1243 2 222.50–223.00 $222.73 $2,769 —
1002–2110 1457 10 190.00–218.00 $207.45 $3,023 —

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Stock Cows

Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
746 746 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,604
814–820 817 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 2 172.50–180.00 $176.26 $1,440

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1276 1276 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 205.00 $205.00 $2,616

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
926 926 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,725.00 $1,725.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1164 1164 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 2,250.00 $2,250.00 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
500 500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —

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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.