Cattle Market Pulse

Russell Livestock Feeder Cattle Market Report

Russell, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 18, 2024

3,675 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Russell Livestock Feeder Cattle report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $299.79/cwt +7.71 vs last sale · ≈ $2,019/hd at 674 lb · 220 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $265.47/cwt +4.25 vs last sale · ≈ $2,043/hd at 769 lb · 205 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $289.08/cwt +17.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,660/hd at 574 lb · 195 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,675 3,782 4,129
Feeder cattle 3,675 3,782 4,129

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago fly-weight steers sold sharply higher on the day, 500 to 650 lbs sold 10.00 to 12.00 higher and over 700 lbs sold 5.00 to 8.00 higher. Fly-weight heifers followed the same trend as their brothers selling sharpy higher on the day. With all other weights of heifers 3.00 to 8.00 higher. Demand was good to very good for mostly longtime weaned steers and heifers with most carrying one of the Iowa's wean vaccination program tags. Mostly packages with few loads on the day. Large crowd of buyers on hand and they bid readily from start to finish. Higher CME live cattle boards on the day and skipping a sale last week helped propel the market higher throughout the day.

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
415–420 419 12 350.00–357.00 $355.27 $1,489 -2.82
427 thin fleshed 427 10 386.00 $386.00 $1,648 —
452–498 481 99 350.00–380.00 $366.43 $1,763 +30.94
480–482 unweaned 481 11 302.50–309.00 $307.22 $1,478 -40.78
515–548 537 15 343.50–357.00 $347.82 $1,868 +18.72
570–582 unweaned 575 8 250.00–277.50 $260.45 $1,498 -29.55
553–592 584 185 323.00–340.00 $334.45 $1,953 +10.71
603–646 624 161 316.50–332.00 $324.16 $2,023 +13.40
654 thin fleshed 654 25 314.50 $314.50 $2,057 —
652–696 676 195 290.50–312.00 $297.90 $2,014 +5.82
700–739 712 129 278.00–287.75 $284.51 $2,026 +8.11
750–786 767 180 259.75–275.00 $266.79 $2,046 +5.57
787 787 25 256.00 $256.00 $2,015 -5.22
820 820 11 253.50 $253.50 $2,079 +1.04
806–836 821 121 256.00–260.75 $258.39 $2,121 +5.93
864–869 865 49 239.50–241.75 $241.29 $2,087 —
854–896 887 76 230.00–235.50 $233.03 $2,067 —
924 924 25 227.50 $227.50 $2,102 -1.32
923–930 926 133 235.50–240.25 $239.33 $2,216 +10.51
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378–398 388 6 370.00–385.00 $377.31 $1,464 +39.81
426–448 439 21 322.50–330.00 $327.54 $1,438 +2.54
462–494 475 70 325.00–357.00 $350.39 $1,664 +40.39
508–547 thin fleshed 538 25 337.00–339.00 $337.45 $1,815 —
552–596 583 70 301.00–329.00 $322.60 $1,881 +97.72
604–620 611 13 292.00–317.00 $305.30 $1,865 +55.30
612–646 thin fleshed 622 30 309.50–312.50 $311.57 $1,938 —
664–693 684 41 280.00–289.00 $287.01 $1,963 —
742 742 7 274.00 $274.00 $2,033 +64.00
805–814 810 29 236.00–244.50 $239.79 $1,942 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
571–584 576 18 282.50–283.00 $282.80 $1,629 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308–349 335 14 360.00–380.00 $369.90 $1,239 +37.19
366 366 6 370.00 $370.00 $1,354 +52.89
400–429 416 23 325.00–340.00 $330.53 $1,375 +34.07
452–481 471 37 319.00–324.00 $321.00 $1,512 +3.10
460–484 unweaned 472 10 260.00–287.00 $273.16 $1,289 —
511 unweaned 511 9 280.00 $280.00 $1,431 -16.85
508–539 525 69 290.00–315.00 $298.88 $1,569 +12.83
561–586 572 178 281.00–296.00 $291.76 $1,669 +18.97
596 596 17 261.00 $261.00 $1,556 -11.79
604–630 622 109 257.00–266.00 $262.61 $1,633 +2.55
650–655 652 151 256.00–262.50 $259.99 $1,695 +0.21
695 695 8 234.50 $234.50 $1,630 -25.28
705–747 732 119 237.75–247.00 $240.20 $1,758 -6.89
750–779 755 49 232.00–237.25 $236.26 $1,784 +14.27
753–794 765 91 234.50–241.00 $238.87 $1,827 +16.88
828 828 53 228.00 $228.00 $1,888 +7.09
857 857 17 218.50 $218.50 $1,873 +6.50
875 875 89 221.50 $221.50 $1,938 +9.50
969 969 60 231.00 $231.00 $2,238 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388–390 390 14 337.00–337.50 $337.11 $1,315 —
406–445 438 36 280.00–317.50 $298.50 $1,307 +27.33
461–469 466 16 305.00–310.00 $307.18 $1,431 +27.96
519–548 539 61 250.00–287.00 $267.96 $1,444 +12.38
551–599 580 22 250.00–266.00 $257.08 $1,491 +11.08
581 thin fleshed 581 26 289.00 $289.00 $1,679 —
628–643 640 18 246.00–252.00 $250.69 $1,604 —
650–692 676 61 236.00–247.00 $243.30 $1,645 —
734 734 7 236.00 $236.00 $1,732 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
586 586 8 241.00 $241.00 $1,412 —
639 639 17 246.00 $246.00 $1,572 —
784 784 23 232.00 $232.00 $1,819 —

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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.