Cattle Market Pulse

Shenandoah Valley Livestock Graded Feeder Cattle Sale Market Report

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

Sale of Saturday, September 23, 2023

619 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 $222.67/cwt +0.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,241/hd at 557 lb · 57 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $223.73/cwt +21.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,123/hd at 502 lb · 39 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $252.49/cwt -3.16 vs last sale · ≈ $1,230/hd at 487 lb · 34 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 619 875 572
Feeder cattle 619 875 572

Market comments — USDA reporter

State Graded Feeder Cattle (Steers 173, Heifers 323, Bulls 123) 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
350–380 370 3 250.00–265.00 $260.27 $963 -2.73
434 434 5 262.00 $262.00 $1,137 -7.00
465–493 487 34 240.00–258.00 $252.49 $1,230 -3.43
535 535 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,273 -5.54
563–585 567 20 215.00–257.00 $252.30 $1,431 +16.90
593 value added 593 7 241.00 $241.00 $1,429 +11.61
628 628 26 238.00 $238.00 $1,495 —
650–675 663 15 235.00–240.00 $237.29 $1,573 +9.61
767 767 4 215.00 $215.00 $1,649 +39.00
921 value added 921 5 227.00 $227.00 $2,091 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 value added 550 8 240.00 $240.00 $1,320 —
651 value added 651 5 242.00 $242.00 $1,575 —
723 value added 723 7 228.00 $228.00 $1,648 —
843 value added 843 14 234.00 $234.00 $1,973 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
331 331 3 252.50 $252.50 $836 +15.00
390 390 1 240.00 $240.00 $936 -21.00
400–435 426 4 240.00–252.00 $249.18 $1,062 -4.82
475 475 1 237.50 $237.50 $1,128 -8.58
501 501 6 243.00 $243.00 $1,217 —
660 value added 660 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,287 —
680 680 1 238.00 $238.00 $1,618 +4.00
750 750 2 235.00 $235.00 $1,762 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
332 332 6 231.00 $231.00 $767 —
370–383 382 10 220.00–238.00 $236.26 $903 -2.36
440 440 14 227.00 $227.00 $999 -10.00
450–492 478 3 212.50–214.00 $213.53 $1,021 -11.95
500–512 502 39 223.00–227.00 $223.73 $1,123 +21.73
550 550 27 225.00 $225.00 $1,238 +8.41
560–565 564 30 207.00–228.00 $220.57 $1,244 +3.98
668 value added 668 13 224.00 $224.00 $1,496 —
800 value added 800 5 212.00 $212.00 $1,696 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314 314 5 235.00 $235.00 $738 -1.00
355–382 380 15 217.50–236.00 $234.85 $892 -4.54
410–431 429 11 214.00–226.00 $224.96 $965 -2.39
450–497 494 33 190.00–225.00 $220.51 $1,089 -5.23
540 value added 540 1 152.50 $152.50 $824 —
570–582 576 14 223.00–228.00 $225.47 $1,299 +11.47
600 value added 600 12 232.00 $232.00 $1,392 —
681 681 3 213.00 $213.00 $1,451 +6.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 12 234.00 $234.00 $915 —
443 443 20 232.00 $232.00 $1,028 —
527 value added 527 7 233.00 $233.00 $1,228 -14.00
548 548 10 222.00 $222.00 $1,217 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 15 223.00 $223.00 $1,004 —
557 557 11 193.00 $193.00 $1,075 -50.00
644 644 7 223.00 $223.00 $1,436 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 3 250.00 $250.00 $788 —
373 373 3 260.00 $260.00 $970 +5.71
431–440 436 20 227.50–240.00 $234.06 $1,021 -16.57
522 522 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,253 ±0.00
552–582 562 6 217.50–238.00 $230.92 $1,298 +12.03
640 640 9 209.00–217.50 $211.83 $1,356 —
732 732 2 202.50 $202.50 $1,482 +5.50
826 value added 826 4 172.50 $172.50 $1,425 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 8 215.00 $215.00 $727 —
441 441 18 235.00 $235.00 $1,036 —
508 508 8 227.50 $227.50 $1,156 +24.50
587 587 12 228.00 $228.00 $1,338 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 232.50 $232.50 $872 +0.70
400 400 2 245.00 $245.00 $980 +5.17
482 482 17 222.00 $222.00 $1,070 -7.00
557 557 4 227.50 $227.50 $1,267 +24.23
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
547 547 4 210.00 $210.00 $1,149 —

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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.