Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, April 29, 2021

240 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 $117.19/cwt ≈ $1,129/hd at 963 lb · 16 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 240 527 0
Slaughter cattle 240 527 0

Compared to last week : Slaughter Steers sold mostly 2.00 to 3.00 lower, Slaughter Heifers sold mostly 3.00 to 4.00 lower , and Slaughter Holstein Steers sold mostly 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Packer demand was good to moderate on a 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
930–977 963 16 113.00–120.00 $117.19 $1,129
1200–1473 1300 8 71.00–81.00 $75.57 $982 -15.70
1248–1400 1304 5 91.00–95.00 $93.01 $1,213 +1.74
1415–1421 1418 9 107.00–114.00 $110.10 $1,561 -7.18
1315–1480 1435 19 117.50–124.50 $120.56 $1,730 +3.28
1543–1587 1556 43 119.50–124.75 $122.66 $1,909
1521–1754 1565 23 109.00–117.00 $114.51 $1,792

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
853–1026 959 8 105.00–107.00 $105.67 $1,013
1334–1335 1334 9 114.00–117.50 $116.33 $1,552 -4.40
1348–1379 1367 8 105.00–107.00 $105.74 $1,445
1470–1568 1536 6 112.00–114.00 $113.02 $1,736 +0.75
1569–1630 1575 10 103.00–108.00 $103.52 $1,630

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1413 1250 6 74.00–77.00 $75.72 $946
1155–1422 1349 25 88.00–96.75 $95.13 $1,283

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1386–1715 1490 27 94.00–100.50 $97.83 $1,458 +0.25
1540 1540 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,371
1340–1676 1617 17 75.00 $75.00 $1,213

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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.