Compared to last week: Slaughter steers, Holstein steers and Slaughter heifers 3.00 to 4.00 higher. Demand was good for this nice offering of really attractive fairly clean steers and heifers. Packer buyers and two way buyers were equally active, packers were willing to give more this week as the box beef cut out continues to rise. Weighing conditions ran from average to full. Estimated dressed cost this week 174.00 to 178.00. Slaughter cows steady to 4.00 higher, with the full advance on the lean cows, bulls sold with higher undertones.
Traditional slaughter weight lambs sold steady to firm, under 110 lbs and non traditional weights sold sharply higher this week. Feeder lambs not well tested. Slaughter ewes sold steady to firm in a light test. Good to very good demand for this lighter offering of nice slaughter lambs and ewes, very active market on the under 110 lbs non traditional weight lambs.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to last week: Slaughter steers, Holstein steers and Slaughter heifers 3.00 to 4.00 higher. Demand was good for this nice offering of really attractive fairly clean steers and heifers. Packer buyers and two way buyers were equally active, packers were willing to give more this week as the box beef cut out continues to rise. Weighing conditions ran from average to full. Estimated dressed cost this week 174.00 to 178.00. Slaughter cows steady to 4.00 higher, with the full advance on the lean cows, bulls sold with higher undertones. Traditional slaughter weight lambs sold steady to firm, under 110 lbs and non traditional weights sold sharply higher this week. Feeder lambs not well tested. Slaughter ewes sold steady to firm in a light test. Good to very good demand for this lighter offering of nice slaughter lambs and ewes, very active market on the under 110 lbs non traditional weight lambs.