Cattle Market Pulse

Shenandoah Valley Livestock Graded Feeder Cattle Sale Market Report

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

Sale of Saturday, May 4, 2024

324 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $259.00/cwt +9.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,290/hd at 498 lb · 31 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $245.10/cwt ≈ $1,642/hd at 670 lb · 23 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $280.00/cwt ≈ $1,918/hd at 685 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 324 501 750
Feeder cattle 324 501 750

Market comments — USDA reporter

State Graded Feeder Cattle (Steers 84, Heifers 155, Bulls 85) 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
370 370 1 337.50 $337.50 $1,249 +8.50
433 433 5 312.50 $312.50 $1,353 +7.50
476 value added 476 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,428 —
486 486 4 282.50 $282.50 $1,373 +1.50
527 527 4 297.50 $297.50 $1,568 -3.50
563 563 8 291.00 $291.00 $1,638 -1.04
623 value added 623 5 281.00 $281.00 $1,751 —
630 630 1 252.50 $252.50 $1,591 +1.50
670 670 1 278.00 $278.00 $1,863 +12.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
457 value added 457 2 312.50 $312.50 $1,428 —
685 value added 685 22 280.00 $280.00 $1,918 —
805 value added 805 6 236.00 $236.00 $1,900 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327 327 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,014 -15.00
382 382 7 329.00 $329.00 $1,257 +39.00
430 value added 430 1 295.00 $295.00 $1,268 +5.00
457 457 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,371 ±0.00
524 value added 524 5 280.00 $280.00 $1,467 -22.50
500–547 531 3 272.50–280.00 $274.85 $1,459 —
622 value added 622 2 262.50 $262.50 $1,633 +3.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
371 371 3 280.00 $280.00 $1,039 +12.03
435 435 12 232.50–277.00 $273.29 $1,189 +7.29
498 498 31 259.00 $259.00 $1,290 +9.78
566–585 568 10 225.00–230.00 $229.48 $1,303 -7.81
655–676 669 6 165.00–237.00 $188.50 $1,261 —
705–720 713 2 210.00 $210.00 $1,497 —
775 value added 775 2 231.00 $231.00 $1,790 +7.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 value added 460 6 254.00 $254.00 $1,168 —
508 value added 508 3 247.00 $247.00 $1,255 —
573–594 value added 580 15 236.00–253.00 $247.20 $1,434 -14.80
667–672 value added 670 23 240.00–249.00 $245.10 $1,642 —
820 820 2 197.00 $197.00 $1,615 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 3 252.50 $252.50 $808 -24.34
375–384 383 10 270.00–287.00 $285.34 $1,093 -0.66
410–442 429 5 227.50–262.50 $235.22 $1,009 -44.88
439 value added 439 7 267.50 $267.50 $1,174 —
480–487 485 3 207.00–254.00 $238.48 $1,157 -12.53
563 value added 563 10 249.00 $249.00 $1,402 —
597 597 2 245.00 $245.00 $1,463 -5.39

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
346 346 3 330.00 $330.00 $1,142 +10.00
363 363 3 330.00 $330.00 $1,198 +11.00
428 428 8 313.00 $313.00 $1,340 +12.00
492 492 7 299.00 $299.00 $1,471 +21.00
530–540 535 2 256.00 $256.00 $1,370 +8.50
561 value added 561 5 257.50 $257.50 $1,445 —
573 573 13 263.00 $263.00 $1,507 +6.00
661 661 9 244.00 $244.00 $1,613 —
743 743 3 221.00 $221.00 $1,642 +13.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 333 3 312.50 $312.50 $1,041 -10.00
400–427 425 18 272.00–317.00 $313.04 $1,330 +8.04
470–495 483 2 267.50–282.50 $275.19 $1,329 +3.19
555–584 580 7 237.00–263.00 $259.44 $1,505 +21.86
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 2 240.00 $240.00 $984 +7.00

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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.