Cattle Market Pulse

Roanoke Stockyards Market Report

Roanoke, Alabama · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 28, 2021

1,215 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Roanoke Stockyards report →

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $120.50/cwt ≈ $975/hd at 809 lb · 36 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $115.81/cwt +5.67 vs last sale · ≈ $844/hd at 729 lb · 31 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 2 steers $157.72/cwt -7.28 vs last sale · ≈ $561/hd at 356 lb · 29 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,215 1,059 785
Feeder cattle 852 802 695
Slaughter cattle 200 177 51
Replacement cattle 163 80 39

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Feeder steers sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower, feeder heifers sold unevenly steady, feeder bulls sold 4.00 to 6.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 4.00 to 8.00 higher. Replacement cows and pairs sold steady.

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
345 345 3 176.00 $176.00 $607 —
425 425 4 163.00 $163.00 $693 -0.80
465–475 471 7 156.00–161.00 $158.12 $745 -2.66
510–538 535 16 144.00–150.00 $144.72 $774 -6.68
605–625 618 3 134.00–137.00 $136.02 $841 -3.98
688–695 688 20 129.00 $129.00 $888 —
809 809 36 120.50 $120.50 $975 —
975 975 5 103.00 $103.00 $1,004 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–365 356 29 156.00–158.00 $157.72 $561 -7.28
415–420 418 7 146.00–155.00 $149.83 $626 -7.15
475–495 489 13 145.00–150.00 $147.88 $723 -4.40
510–515 513 6 136.00–143.00 $139.52 $716 -2.14
575–580 577 3 130.00–135.00 $133.32 $769 -6.10
615 615 6 130.00 $130.00 $800 ±0.00
652–685 658 12 120.50–124.00 $121.11 $797 —
730 730 3 120.00 $120.00 $876 ±0.00
785 785 1 110.00 $110.00 $864 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 329 4 145.00–146.00 $145.76 $480 —
415 415 3 140.00 $140.00 $581 -10.00
510 510 5 132.00 $132.00 $673 +4.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 4 150.00 $150.00 $382 —
325 325 4 144.00 $144.00 $468 -1.33
355–380 362 9 136.00–140.00 $138.84 $503 +1.10
410–420 415 8 130.00–136.00 $133.04 $552 -1.94
465–480 476 7 124.00–129.00 $127.60 $607 -5.80
510–545 523 13 122.00–128.00 $125.45 $656 -0.22
555–565 558 17 116.00–121.00 $120.53 $673 +0.78
620–631 628 10 109.50–116.00 $110.83 $696 -4.17
730 730 3 95.00 $95.00 $694 -14.00
795 795 1 90.00 $90.00 $716 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–415 409 7 138.00–140.00 $138.87 $568 -3.66
475 475 3 136.00 $136.00 $646 -3.20
525 525 3 130.00 $130.00 $682 -1.50
575 575 2 126.00 $126.00 $724 +2.00
605–615 613 4 118.00–120.00 $118.49 $726 +0.49
705–730 729 31 110.00–116.00 $115.81 $844 +5.67
785 785 1 95.00 $95.00 $746 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 5 138.00 $138.00 $407 —
395 395 4 129.00 $129.00 $510 -2.51
425–430 428 5 127.00–128.00 $127.60 $546 +3.27
515–540 523 10 115.00–118.00 $116.90 $611 +1.68
555–565 557 5 110.00–114.00 $110.81 $617 -2.46
610 610 5 105.00 $105.00 $640 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 4 168.00 $168.00 $454 -6.00
305–310 308 8 158.00–166.00 $160.97 $496 -5.67
375–380 378 8 150.00–156.00 $152.98 $578 -7.67
460–480 472 5 139.00–144.00 $142.05 $670 -4.65
515 515 4 140.00 $140.00 $721 +3.00
565 565 4 132.00 $132.00 $746 -1.00
635 635 4 121.00 $121.00 $768 +2.24
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–335 329 10 142.00–150.00 $146.89 $483 -16.09
365–380 375 9 145.00–146.00 $145.32 $545 -7.03
420–430 424 8 140.00–146.00 $143.72 $609 -3.92
485 485 3 133.00 $133.00 $645 -5.97
510 510 3 130.00 $130.00 $663 —
585 585 4 124.00 $124.00 $725 +1.60
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 7 140.00 $140.00 $462 -16.00
410 410 6 135.00 $135.00 $554 -5.00
535 535 4 120.00 $120.00 $642 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770–1475 1088 80-85% 25 62.00–67.00 $64.96 $707 +5.93
810–1660 1106 80-85% 49 68.00–74.00 $70.79 $783 +4.59
955–1360 1124 80-85% 38 75.00–80.00 $77.03 $866 +10.83
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820–1120 948 85-90% 23 50.00–56.00 $53.28 $505 —
720–1180 972 85-90% 18 57.00–63.00 $59.61 $579 +12.24
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 75-80% 1 72.00 $72.00 $868 —
1250–1625 1444 75-80% 5 65.00–71.00 $68.87 $994 +3.87

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1590 1437 5 78.00–83.00 $80.70 $1,160 -3.88
1275–1940 1562 12 85.00–90.00 $87.96 $1,374 —
2125 2125 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,955 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 15 950.00–1,200.00 $1,065.00
— fancy — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,225.00–1,450.00 $1,310.71
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 25 600.00–875.00 $716.00
— fancy — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,325.00–1,475.00 $1,400.00
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 9 1,025.00–1,250.00 $1,136.11
Medium and Large 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 17 700.00–900.00 $814.71
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 550.00 $550.00
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 675.00–775.00 $718.75
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 600.00–650.00 $625.00

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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
— fancy — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 22 1,600.00–1,800.00 $1,693.18 —
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 68 1,025.00–1,550.00 $1,378.68 —
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 12 675.00–975.00 $829.17 —

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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.