Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 22, 2020

546 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 546 319 645
Slaughter cattle 546 319 645

Compard to last week, Slaughter Steers sold mostly 2.00 lower, Slaughter Heifers sold mostly 3.00 lower, and Holstein Steers were steady. Packer demand was good to moderate on a higher offering today.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
988 988 4 112.00 $112.00 $1,107
1313–1755 1429 52 96.00–99.00 $97.93 $1,399 +4.13
1300–1640 1461 23 94.00–95.75 $95.18 $1,391 -9.28
1083–1584 1491 56 100.00–104.25 $102.30 $1,525 -2.16

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
992 992 3 103.00 $103.00 $1,022 -0.17
1088–1375 1201 10 90.00–95.00 $92.91 $1,116
1098–1392 1303 37 100.00–101.75 $100.99 $1,316
1155–1538 1327 45 96.00–99.00 $98.23 $1,304

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1210 1135 16 66.00–80.00 $77.38 $878
1213–1402 1253 38 70.00–78.00 $74.47 $933
1210–1540 1343 52 80.00–89.00 $86.26 $1,158
1208–1624 1497 210 91.00–96.25 $93.62 $1,401

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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.