Compared to last week: Slaughter steers and heifers 1.00 to 3.00 lower, Holstein steers mostly steady. Demand was light to moderate for this very large offering of hard fed, high quality grading steers and heifer, over 40 full loads in the offering. As packer bids in the country as hard to come by many producers opting to ship their cattle to auction where they can get paid for their cattle today. Overall the quality of the cattle was very eye appealing, as was the weighing condition as most cattle came in over night. Much warmer temperatures created sloppier conditions which resulted in many cattle carrying 1% of their weight in tag. Estimated dressed cost 176.00 - 180.00. Two way buyers weren't very active as few two way cattle were offered. Slaughter cows were steady. Slaughter Bulls 3.00 lower compared to last Wednesday.
Traditional slaughter weight lambs 6.00 to 10.00 higher, few instances steady on lambs over 150 lbs. Non traditional weight lambs sold with sharply lower undertones. Slaughter ewes 15.00 to 30.00 lower, except Good 4-5 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Good demand for this large offering of nice quality slaughter lambs and slaughter ewes.
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 and heifers 1.00 to 3.00 lower, Holstein steers mostly steady. Demand was light to moderate for this very large offering of hard fed, high quality grading steers and heifer, over 40 full loads in the offering. As packer bids in the country as hard to come by many producers opting to ship their cattle to auction where they can get paid for their cattle today. Overall the quality of the cattle was very eye appealing, as was the weighing condition as most cattle came in over night. Much warmer temperatures created sloppier conditions which resulted in many cattle carrying 1% of their weight in tag. Estimated dressed cost 176.00 - 180.00. Two way buyers weren't very active as few two way cattle were offered. Slaughter cows were steady. Slaughter Bulls 3.00 lower compared to last Wednesday. Traditional slaughter weight lambs 6.00 to 10.00 higher, few instances steady on lambs over 150 lbs. Non traditional weight lambs sold with sharply lower undertones. Slaughter ewes 15.00 to 30.00 lower, except Good 4-5 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Good demand for this large offering of nice quality slaughter lambs and slaughter ewes.