Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 25, 2021

411 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight N/N/A steers $108.49/cwt ≈ $1,072/hd at 988 lb · 13 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 411 400 386
Slaughter cattle 411 400 386

Compared to last week : Slaughter steers sold mostly 1.oo higher, Slaughter heifers sold mostly 3.00 lower, and Holstein steers sold mostly 2.00 higher. Packer demand was good to moderate on a steady offering today.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
903–1195 988 13 99.00–114.00 $108.49 $1,072
1300–1493 1409 96 103.00–115.00 $110.91 $1,563
1357–1635 1528 46 103.00–113.00 $109.31 $1,670 -2.76

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1125 981 7 107.00–114.00 $110.72 $1,086
1030–1197 1154 9 103.00–113.00 $106.45 $1,228
1200–1386 1310 54 101.00–114.75 $110.83 $1,452 -2.10
1360–1560 1460 55 104.00–115.50 $109.82 $1,603

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1085 1054 11 68.00–74.00 $70.12 $739 -12.10
1130–1357 1294 21 70.00–77.00 $75.40 $976
1223–1405 value added 1318 8 102.00–104.00 $102.77 $1,355
1235–2005 1528 11 80.00–89.00 $85.35 $1,304
1030–1745 1552 80 90.00–99.00 $96.26 $1,494

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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.