Cattle Market Pulse

Shenandoah Valley Livestock Graded Feeder Cattle Sale Market Report

Harrisonburg, Virginia · USDA-reported Auction Livestock (Special Graded)

Sale of Saturday, December 5, 2020

864 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Shenandoah Valley Livestock Graded Feeder Cattle Sale report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $119.01/cwt -0.47 vs last sale · ≈ $680/hd at 572 lb · 89 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $131.85/cwt +5.85 vs last sale · ≈ $636/hd at 482 lb · 52 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $134.42/cwt +6.12 vs last sale · ≈ $565/hd at 420 lb · 47 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 864 399 830
Feeder cattle 864 399 830

Market comments — USDA reporter

State Graded Feeder Cattle (Steers 228, Heifers 391, Bulls 245) Value Added cattle are Weaned and Vaccinated

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 397 2 163.50 $163.50 $649 +1.00
486 486 15 163.00 $163.00 $792 +6.00
550 value added 550 5 155.00 $155.00 $852 +1.00
574 574 35 151.00 $151.00 $867 +4.01
645 value added 645 4 140.00 $140.00 $903 —
659–680 661 22 119.00–126.25 $125.25 $828 -4.75
747 747 12 120.00 $120.00 $896 —
1016 value added 1016 10 116.00 $116.00 $1,179 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
576 value added 576 6 128.00 $128.00 $737 —
692 value added 692 25 103.00–124.00 $119.80 $829 —
841 value added 841 36 134.25 $134.25 $1,129 —
862 862 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,103 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 6 163.00 $163.00 $557 —
385 385 2 161.00 $161.00 $620 +1.00
427 427 12 162.50 $162.50 $694 +11.50
485 485 8 160.50 $160.50 $778 +11.50
518 value added 518 9 129.00 $129.00 $668 —
556 value added 556 8 134.00 $134.00 $745 —
567 567 2 139.00 $139.00 $788 ±0.00
663 663 3 120.00 $120.00 $796 -2.00
777 777 2 117.00 $117.00 $909 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 133.00 $133.00 $432 -4.80
380 380 7 137.00 $137.00 $521 +3.00
430 430 21 129.00 $129.00 $555 -2.04
450–490 489 30 124.00–127.50 $127.39 $623 +0.39
500–545 529 4 111.00 $111.00 $587 —
570 570 64 119.50 $119.50 $681 +0.02
561–588 value added 576 25 93.00–124.50 $117.77 $678 —
641 641 22 106.00 $106.00 $679 -3.00
643 value added 643 4 106.00 $106.00 $682 —
697 697 2 92.00 $92.00 $641 —
805 805 1 116.00 $116.00 $934 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 21 133.50 $133.50 $441 -2.50
374 374 5 134.50 $134.50 $503 +4.24
406–435 420 47 128.50–140.00 $134.42 $565 +6.12
481–484 482 52 129.50–133.00 $131.85 $636 +5.85
534 534 7 120.00 $120.00 $641 —
562 562 9 116.50 $116.50 $655 -1.50
668 668 6 109.00 $109.00 $728 -6.00
725 725 1 110.50 $110.50 $801 -3.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568 568 12 119.50 $119.50 $679 —
677 value added 677 4 112.00 $112.00 $758 -8.00
735 735 17 112.00 $112.00 $823 -3.00
761 value added 761 11 118.50 $118.50 $902 —
849 849 5 113.50 $113.50 $964 —
945 value added 945 13 114.00 $114.00 $1,077 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 149.00 $149.00 $589 -12.00
425–430 425 14 153.00–160.00 $159.49 $678 —
470 470 1 136.00 $136.00 $639 -6.44
502 502 19 144.00 $144.00 $723 —
575 575 30 127.00 $127.00 $730 -3.95
605 605 1 130.50 $130.50 $790 —
672–697 675 20 109.00–117.00 $116.17 $784 -4.33
710 710 1 102.00 $102.00 $724 -12.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 40 143.00 $143.00 $758 —
669 669 23 118.00 $118.00 $789 —
749 749 11 109.00 $109.00 $816 -5.50
829 829 8 103.00 $103.00 $854 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318–345 322 10 154.00–163.00 $162.06 $522 -3.94
391–397 396 33 164.00–168.00 $167.52 $663 +10.55
427–429 428 7 155.00–156.50 $156.07 $668 +6.57
485 485 5 138.00 $138.00 $669 +12.39
564 564 12 130.50 $130.50 $736 +3.50
661 661 7 110.00 $110.00 $727 -5.31

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Reading this report

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.