Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 11, 2021

344 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 344 450 0
Slaughter cattle 344 450 0

Compared to last week : no change in the Slaughter steers and heifers, Slaughter Holstein steers sold mostly 2.00 lower. Packer demand was good to moderate on a slightly lower offering today.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
953–1270 1188 10 100.00–108.00 $104.52 $1,242
1337–1493 1451 77 102.00–113.75 $107.10 $1,554
1518–1616 1546 35 111.00–115.25 $113.17 $1,750
1502–1673 1591 28 103.00–109.50 $107.70 $1,714 -2.04

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1051 1036 8 104.50–105.00 $104.81 $1,086 -7.41
1202–1378 1293 26 90.00–108.50 $104.17 $1,347 -0.95
1414–1518 1457 61 100.00–115.25 $110.01 $1,603 +1.09

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1087–1195 1119 10 80.50–82.50 $81.86 $916
1195–1640 1321 8 72.00–77.00 $74.56 $985
1220–1775 1343 18 82.00–88.00 $86.85 $1,166
1370–1655 1493 63 90.00–99.00 $93.70 $1,399 -1.88

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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.