Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 1, 2021

411 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 411 301 0
Slaughter cattle 411 301 0

Compared to last week : Slaughter steers and Slaughter heifers sold mostly 4.00 to 5.00 higher, and Slaughter Holstein steers sold mostly 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Packer demand was good to moderate on a slightly 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
1265 1265 2 116.00 $116.00 $1,467
1312–1497 1430 55 107.00–123.50 $117.82 $1,685
1500–1613 1552 35 111.00–122.50 $118.51 $1,839

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1195 1166 18 102.00–108.00 $106.97 $1,247 -2.90
1225–1395 1293 46 102.00–117.00 $112.24 $1,451 -0.76
1406–1489 1459 54 115.75–119.00 $116.99 $1,707 +5.90
1525–1655 1564 10 103.00–121.00 $115.92 $1,813

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008–1275 1154 35 70.00–81.00 $76.36 $881
1035–1615 1277 17 80.00–89.50 $84.64 $1,081
1088–1533 1364 86 90.00–99.00 $95.69 $1,305
1193–1527 1410 34 101.00–107.00 $104.38 $1,472
1610–1645 1626 9 103.50–110.00 $104.89 $1,706

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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.