Cattle Market Pulse

Sand Mountain Stockyards Inc. Market Report

Kilpatrick, Alabama · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 18, 2024

309 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Sand Mountain Stockyards Inc. report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 309 630 582
Feeder cattle 261 564 531
Slaughter cattle 25 44 34
Replacement cattle 23 22 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows sold steady to 3.00 higher, slaughter bulls sold 3.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder steers and bulls sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower, feeder heifers sold 1.00 to 5.00 lower. Trade active with good demand on feeder cattle. Replacement cattle 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
360–380 370 3 380.00–395.00 $386.53 $1,430 -9.48
405–435 420 2 350.00–355.00 $352.41 $1,480 -12.54
500–530 510 4 305.00–312.00 $308.04 $1,571 -28.56
550 550 1 302.00 $302.00 $1,661 +4.89
620–640 632 3 280.00–292.50 $285.77 $1,806 —
650 650 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,788 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
630–635 633 2 270.00–277.00 $273.51 $1,731 —
715–720 718 2 237.00–240.00 $238.49 $1,712 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 287.00 $287.00 $1,449 —
580 580 1 275.00 $275.00 $1,595 -2.53
640 640 1 265.00 $265.00 $1,696 -5.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 325.00 $325.00 $926 -10.00
325–335 330 2 320.00 $320.00 $1,056 -5.00
330–335 fancy 333 2 335.00–340.00 $337.52 $1,124 —
365 fancy 365 1 325.00 $325.00 $1,186 -5.00
380–385 383 2 305.00–315.00 $309.97 $1,187 -6.32
405–430 416 5 285.00–300.00 $291.87 $1,214 -16.20
450 450 1 277.00 $277.00 $1,246 -20.03
595 595 1 252.00 $252.00 $1,499 —
615–635 627 6 240.00–255.00 $247.86 $1,554 —
655 fancy 655 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,670 —
665 665 2 230.00–245.00 $237.50 $1,579 +5.03
720 fancy 720 1 235.00 $235.00 $1,692 —
740 740 1 222.00 $222.00 $1,643 -3.00
800 fancy 800 3 223.00 $223.00 $1,784 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 320.00 $320.00 $704 —
255–285 270 2 310.00–317.00 $313.69 $847 -1.31
395 395 1 295.00 $295.00 $1,165 -3.66
410–425 418 2 275.00–282.00 $278.56 $1,164 -4.81
460–470 465 2 262.00–265.00 $263.48 $1,225 -17.85
510 510 1 255.00 $255.00 $1,300 -1.62
550–585 572 3 242.00–245.00 $244.04 $1,396 +3.65
640 640 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,472 —
690 690 1 220.00 $220.00 $1,518 —
745 745 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,602 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 310.00 $310.00 $682 —
285 285 1 300.00 $300.00 $855 —
395 395 1 280.00 $280.00 $1,106 -2.41
485 485 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,212 -17.00
515 515 1 240.00 $240.00 $1,236 -1.61
560–595 579 4 232.00–235.00 $234.23 $1,356 —
715 715 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,430 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–315 310 2 375.00–385.00 $379.92 $1,178 +9.92
380–395 390 4 350.00–365.00 $359.98 $1,404 +3.59
405–440 425 9 322.00–340.00 $330.98 $1,407 -15.98
460–485 473 3 310.00–330.00 $316.48 $1,497 -15.32
500–545 527 5 292.00–300.00 $296.38 $1,562 -13.24
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 360.00 $360.00 $1,008 —
330 330 1 355.00 $355.00 $1,172 —
355–375 365 2 325.00–330.00 $327.43 $1,195 -15.14
440 440 2 315.00 $315.00 $1,386 -10.15
470 470 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,434 -5.00
500–525 514 4 282.00–290.00 $286.68 $1,474 -5.77
560–580 570 2 270.00–275.00 $272.46 $1,553 -5.06
615 615 1 260.00 $260.00 $1,599 —
720 720 1 237.00 $237.00 $1,706 —
775 775 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,744 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 340.00 $340.00 $867 —
305 305 1 330.00 $330.00 $1,006 +5.00
405–445 425 2 300.00–302.00 $301.05 $1,279 —
465–485 475 3 282.00–292.00 $288.01 $1,368 —
505–525 517 3 270.00–280.00 $275.67 $1,425 +0.07
570–595 583 2 265.00–267.00 $266.02 $1,551 +4.02
600–645 623 2 255.00 $255.00 $1,589 —
770 770 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,617 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010 1010 85-90% 1 90.00 $90.00 $909 —
925–1245 1085 85-90% 2 96.00–98.00 $97.15 $1,054 —
1190–1200 1195 85-90% 2 82.00 $82.00 $980 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 80-85% 1 113.00 $113.00 $1,362 +3.94
1325–1350 1338 80-85% 2 108.00–109.00 $108.50 $1,452 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1395 1395 75-80% 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,646 —
1535 1535 75-80% 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,627 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1885 1652 3 124.00–126.00 $125.32 $2,070 —
1900 1900 1 132.00 $132.00 $2,508 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
— — Young (2-4 yrs)Open 8 1,144.00–1,323.00 $1,224.63

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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)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00
— — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,500.00–1,825.00 $1,608.33
— fancy — Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 2,125.00 $2,125.00

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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.