Cattle Market Pulse

Russell Livestock Feeder Cattle Market Report

Russell, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 6, 2025

4,916 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 $303.44/cwt +6.56 vs last sale · ≈ $2,051/hd at 676 lb · 517 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $282.91/cwt +4.26 vs last sale · ≈ $2,053/hd at 726 lb · 462 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $327.25/cwt -3.61 vs last sale · ≈ $1,897/hd at 580 lb · 439 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,916 4,206 5,343
Feeder cattle 4,916 4,206 5,343

No recent auction for comparison. Enough buyers braved the cold today to bring good demand, especially for weaned cattle. Supply was heavy and included several load lots of reputation cattle.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 fancy 381 7 435.00 $435.00 $1,657
389 unweaned 389 28 412.00 $412.00 $1,603
400–435 419 18 392.50–410.00 $400.34 $1,677 +25.13
450–497 481 133 345.00–377.00 $354.50 $1,705 -28.42
507 unweaned 507 20 323.50 $323.50 $1,640 +2.47
500–543 519 84 328.00–354.00 $340.63 $1,768 -6.02
576 fancy 576 30 343.00 $343.00 $1,976
550–599 580 409 312.50–338.00 $326.09 $1,891 -9.37
600–646 625 356 300.00–329.50 $318.50 $1,991 +5.45
651–694 676 517 288.00–316.50 $303.44 $2,051 +5.42
707–731 unweaned 717 10 244.00–245.00 $244.41 $1,752 -28.24
702–748 726 452 277.00–294.00 $283.76 $2,060 +4.62
779 fancy 779 57 279.00 $279.00 $2,173
751–796 788 238 250.00–272.00 $264.16 $2,082 +0.67
810 fancy 810 32 271.00 $271.00 $2,195
805–838 816 157 245.00–265.00 $254.52 $2,077 -6.68
875–891 886 99 240.00–247.00 $241.33 $2,138 +1.33
919–920 919 85 233.00–244.00 $239.06 $2,197
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 7 363.00 $363.00 $1,572 +24.41
470–498 486 55 318.00–336.00 $326.70 $1,588 +13.10
520–540 526 10 305.00–312.50 $310.19 $1,632 -8.16
563–595 581 16 300.00–307.50 $301.36 $1,751 +14.70
601–646 622 30 262.00–290.00 $282.00 $1,754 -3.00
663–693 680 39 250.00–269.00 $257.49 $1,751
717 717 4 252.50 $252.50 $1,810
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
591 591 4 275.00 $275.00 $1,625 -49.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
386 unweaned 386 3 310.00 $310.00 $1,197 -37.75
379–395 388 49 332.50–364.00 $355.48 $1,379 -34.39
400 fancy 400 34 367.00 $367.00 $1,468
413–438 422 10 320.00–350.00 $336.39 $1,420 -33.32
456–491 477 97 307.50–329.00 $320.60 $1,529 -28.44
480 unweaned 480 12 315.00 $315.00 $1,512 -5.00
502–518 fancy 511 32 333.00–341.00 $337.31 $1,724
502–549 520 141 300.00–327.00 $312.95 $1,627 -8.83
529–536 unweaned 530 24 280.00–300.00 $297.47 $1,577 +5.36
556–563 unweaned 562 15 277.50–278.00 $277.90 $1,562 +8.46
555–599 584 337 283.00–310.50 $295.69 $1,727 -3.59
600–645 629 171 256.00–287.00 $274.51 $1,727 +0.88
660–688 667 332 258.00–264.50 $261.56 $1,745 +7.08
705–736 711 164 230.00–258.50 $252.58 $1,796 +16.57
747 unweaned 747 6 255.00 $255.00 $1,905
760–792 785 105 231.00–244.00 $237.27 $1,863 -8.64
870 870 7 220.00 $220.00 $1,914
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418–443 434 12 265.00–312.00 $291.93 $1,267 -8.95
539–544 540 21 279.00–287.50 $285.06 $1,539 +29.29
551–596 586 32 265.00–274.00 $268.88 $1,576 +10.12
626 626 25 253.00 $253.00 $1,584 +5.08
651 651 4 220.00 $220.00 $1,432
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
591 591 4 294.00 $294.00 $1,738 +29.00

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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.