Compared to last week: Feeder calves were scarcely tested this week thus no trend is available. Extremely cold temperatures were seen over the last couple days with temperatures reaching as cold as 35 below in some locations. Very few cattle are being marketed as a result. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for very light offerings. Cold temperatures have slowed the volume of cows available to packers, which has them searching for offerings for immediate slaughter. Slaughter cow buyers pushed to own as much of the offering as possible, bidding on almost every cow in the offering. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested on boning and breaking cows to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Lean cows sold sharply higher with most sales 8.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to trend, higher undertones were noticed. Many offerings were heifers which freshly lost calves. Feeding demand for these offerings was good as demand for feeder cattle continues to be strong.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to last week: Feeder calves were scarcely tested this week thus no trend is available. Extremely cold temperatures were seen over the last couple days with temperatures reaching as cold as 35 below in some locations. Very few cattle are being marketed as a result. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for very light offerings. Cold temperatures have slowed the volume of cows available to packers, which has them searching for offerings for immediate slaughter. Slaughter cow buyers pushed to own as much of the offering as possible, bidding on almost every cow in the offering. Slaughter cows were too lightly tested on boning and breaking cows to develop an accurate market trend, however higher undertones were noticed. Lean cows sold sharply higher with most sales 8.00-10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls were too lightly tested to develop an accurate market trend, higher undertones were noticed. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed were too lightly tested to trend, higher undertones were noticed. Many offerings were heifers which freshly lost calves. Feeding demand for these offerings was good as demand for feeder cattle continues to be strong.