Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Feeder Cattle Special Market Report

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

Sale of Thursday, May 21, 2026

661 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $312.55/cwt ≈ $3,047/hd at 975 lb · 42 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $514.20/cwt -15.80 vs last sale · ≈ $2,340/hd at 455 lb · 23 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $330.26/cwt ≈ $2,602/hd at 788 lb · 19 head
Sheldon 9-weight steers sold at $313/cwt, running $21/cwt below the IA average ($334) and $33/cwt under Creston. IA 9-weight steers are down $17/cwt from the early May peak of $352. What this means — computed from this report and its neighbors

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 661 928 0
Feeder cattle 661 928 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Dairy-Holstein feeder special sale. No trend applicable, as the last auction was over a month ago. Mostly smaller strings in the offering today. Big crowd in the arena, and good demand throughout the sale.

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
452–457 455 23 500.00–525.00 $514.20 $2,340 -15.80
530 530 6 500.00 $500.00 $2,650 —
640 640 5 475.00 $475.00 $3,040 —
725 725 5 425.00 $425.00 $3,081 +44.82
750–795 788 19 325.00–360.00 $330.26 $2,602 —
811–838 822 19 335.00–351.00 $344.14 $2,829 —
964–988 975 42 307.00–318.00 $312.55 $3,047 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1223 1223 4 227.50 $227.50 $2,782 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
572 572 3 450.00 $450.00 $2,574 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
447 447 3 520.00 $520.00 $2,324 -10.00
505–517 514 12 430.00–440.00 $437.54 $2,249 -47.46
597 597 10 430.00 $430.00 $2,567 -20.53
633 633 3 460.00 $460.00 $2,912 +50.00
766 766 16 350.00 $350.00 $2,681 —
897–898 897 13 310.00–311.00 $310.38 $2,784 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
611 611 9 380.00 $380.00 $2,322 —
796 796 8 310.00 $310.00 $2,468 —
810 810 5 290.00 $290.00 $2,349 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1168 1168 6 222.00 $222.00 $2,593 —

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411 411 7 535.00 $535.00 $2,199 +45.00
467–474 468 20 510.00–540.00 $533.93 $2,499 +93.93
582 582 5 430.00 $430.00 $2,503 —
715 715 3 340.00 $340.00 $2,431 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
831 831 6 275.00 $275.00 $2,285 -20.00

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Beef Dairy Steers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
152 152 5 600.00 $600.00 $912 —
421–443 434 18 590.00–605.00 $595.65 $2,585 +255.65
525–533 527 23 535.00–552.50 $548.65 $2,891 +178.65
670 670 4 410.00 $410.00 $2,747 —
750–766 757 9 355.00–365.00 $359.50 $2,721 +29.50

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
394 394 8 310.00 $310.00 $1,221 —
1113–1137 1127 19 232.50–249.00 $242.14 $2,729 —
1158–1193 1176 22 224.00–247.00 $237.48 $2,793 —
1231–1235 1233 7 230.00–247.00 $239.70 $2,956 —
1263 1263 9 225.00 $225.00 $2,842 —
1351 1351 5 233.50 $233.50 $3,155 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
190 190 23 250.00 $250.00 $475 —
957–988 982 18 215.00–234.00 $221.53 $2,175 —
1025 1025 2 233.00 $233.00 $2,388 —
Small 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
130 130 14 300.00 $300.00 $390 —
868 868 4 200.00 $200.00 $1,736 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
521 521 5 400.00 $400.00 $2,084 —
615 615 16 410.00 $410.00 $2,522 —
Small 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561 561 6 275.00 $275.00 $1,543 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
843 843 5 240.00 $240.00 $2,023 —

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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.