Compared to last week: Feeder cattle offerings were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Todays sale featured weigh up cows, breds and cow-calf pairs. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Packers showed very good demand for cows for immediate harvest with cows going to slaughter in several different states. Several packers were present this week with some buying over the internet. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Cow quality was average to attractive today. Weigh up conditions were mostly mixed with both full and empty cows seen. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Several very high yielding bulls were seen this sale and these offerings were met with very good demand. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-10.00 higher. Cows which lost calves sold with the best demand again this week. Feeding quality cows sold at a discount to cows suitable to rebreed. Most young cows that had not had a calf sold 10.00-15.00 behind wet bagged cows. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Over 600 pairs sold on todays sale and demand was mostly moderate. Pair quality was mixed from average to attractive. A moderate size crowd was on hand for todays pair special.
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 cattle offerings were too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Todays sale featured weigh up cows, breds and cow-calf pairs. Weigh up cows sold on good to very good demand for light offerings. Packers showed very good demand for cows for immediate harvest with cows going to slaughter in several different states. Several packers were present this week with some buying over the internet. Slaughter cows sold mostly steady to 1.00 higher on breaking and boning cows, lean cows sold mostly 2.00-4.00 higher. Feeding cows sold mostly 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Cow quality was average to attractive today. Weigh up conditions were mostly mixed with both full and empty cows seen. Slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 5.00 higher in a narrow comparison. Several very high yielding bulls were seen this sale and these offerings were met with very good demand. Young age cows suitable to feed or rebreed sold 5.00-10.00 higher. Cows which lost calves sold with the best demand again this week. Feeding quality cows sold at a discount to cows suitable to rebreed. Most young cows that had not had a calf sold 10.00-15.00 behind wet bagged cows. Quality this week was mostly average to attractive. Over 600 pairs sold on todays sale and demand was mostly moderate. Pair quality was mixed from average to attractive. A moderate size crowd was on hand for todays pair special.