Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Feeder Cattle Special Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock (Special)

Sale of Thursday, April 16, 2026

928 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $530.00/cwt +57.50 vs last sale · ≈ $2,533/hd at 478 lb · 11 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 928 890 1,106
Feeder cattle 928 1,106

Dairy-Holstein feeder special sale. No trend applicable, as there hasn't been a recently reported sale, Mostly smaller strings in the offering today, with many consignments of Jerseys. Good demand throughout the sale.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 11 530.00 $530.00 $2,533 +57.50
561 561 4 500.00 $500.00 $2,805
652 652 7 420.00 $420.00 $2,738 +14.58
723–736 732 9 350.00–395.00 $380.18 $2,783
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
429 429 7 500.00 $500.00 $2,145
534 534 6 470.00 $470.00 $2,510 +70.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423 423 3 530.00 $530.00 $2,242
455–475 466 7 475.00–490.00 $483.73 $2,254
529 529 4 485.00 $485.00 $2,566 +90.00
553–599 584 9 430.00–460.00 $450.53 $2,631 +60.53
646 646 4 410.00 $410.00 $2,649 +15.00

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Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
469 469 4 380.00 $380.00 $1,782
516 516 4 350.00 $350.00 $1,806
593 593 4 375.00 $375.00 $2,224
774 774 5 320.00 $320.00 $2,477
844 844 13 295.00 $295.00 $2,490
914 914 5 285.00 $285.00 $2,605
958 958 8 285.00 $285.00 $2,730
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 6 490.00 $490.00 $1,984
489 489 4 440.00 $440.00 $2,152

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Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367–368 368 6 350.00–375.00 $362.52 $1,334
446 446 5 340.00 $340.00 $1,516
531 531 10 370.00 $370.00 $1,965
785 785 5 330.00 $330.00 $2,590
866 866 12 329.00 $329.00 $2,849
910 910 3 335.00 $335.00 $3,048
954 954 9 307.50 $307.50 $2,934
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
384 384 4 550.00 $550.00 $2,112
402 402 3 520.00 $520.00 $2,090
503–518 509 7 440.00–490.00 $461.79 $2,351
584 584 7 515.00 $515.00 $3,008
743 743 3 395.00 $395.00 $2,935

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Small 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
241 241 21 260.00 $260.00 $627
253 253 9 200.00 $200.00 $506
553 553 5 200.00 $200.00 $1,106
756 756 6 185.00 $185.00 $1,399
817 817 9 187.50 $187.50 $1,532
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,126
485 485 19 260.00 $260.00 $1,261
560 560 3 250.00 $250.00 $1,400
1130 1130 4 205.00 $205.00 $2,316
Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
597 597 7 275.00 $275.00 $1,642
1163 1163 3 250.00 $250.00 $2,908

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Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
303 303 12 475.00 $475.00 $1,439
399 399 7 375.00 $375.00 $1,496
407 407 3 350.00 $350.00 $1,424
520–543 530 16 325.00–330.00 $327.24 $1,734
617–633 628 10 315.00–320.00 $316.47 $1,987
665–687 674 18 310.00–315.00 $311.98 $2,103 +14.91
705 705 22 309.00 $309.00 $2,178
906 906 8 285.00 $285.00 $2,582
995 995 31 268.00 $268.00 $2,667 -27.00
Small 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307–346 336 12 340.00–360.00 $355.43 $1,194
370 370 3 310.00 $310.00 $1,147
413–416 415 12 290.00–320.00 $310.05 $1,287
465–470 467 25 280.00–300.00 $291.95 $1,363
521–531 528 34 265.00–295.00 $286.29 $1,512 +61.29
670 670 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,608
Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
213 213 26 1,600.00 $1,600.00
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
594 594 9 310.00 $310.00 $1,841

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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.