Cattle Market Pulse

Sheldon Livestock Slaughter Cattle Market Report

Sheldon, Iowa · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 5, 2022

488 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 488 545 306
Slaughter cattle 488 545 306

Compared to the sale two weeks ago, choice slaughter steers were 2.7 lower, choice slaughter heifers 1.3 lower. Demand good. Active trade.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980 980 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,078
1250–1287 1279 8 139.00–143.75 $142.95 $1,828
1350–1363 1359 3 120.00–126.00 $121.99 $1,658
1360–1560 1460 2 110.00–115.00 $112.67 $1,645 -21.81
1299–1745 1520 178 137.00–152.50 $146.51 $2,227 -2.72
1295–1765 1573 9 121.00–134.00 $128.96 $2,029
1885–1912 1905 4 128.00–134.00 $129.48 $2,467

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1193 1092 5 108.00–118.00 $111.98 $1,223
1050–1226 1101 23 134.00–146.00 $137.66 $1,516 +1.91
1010–1198 1151 4 122.00–128.00 $126.68 $1,458
1230–1758 1425 133 135.00–149.75 $144.67 $2,062 +26.10
1305–1815 1477 3 122.00–126.00 $124.41 $1,838
1403–1633 1478 8 110.00–116.00 $112.16 $1,658

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1113–1197 1155 6 87.00–99.00 $93.22 $1,077
1333–1845 1565 15 110.00–114.75 $114.18 $1,787 +2.45

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N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430–1625 1469 51 112.00–115.00 $112.32 $1,650
1445–1873 1626 33 117.50–127.00 $120.63 $1,961 -10.95

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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.