Compared to last week: Fed steers 6.00 to 8.00 higher, heifers 5.00 to 6.00 higher. Holsteins 2.00 to 5.00 lower. Demand for this nice offering of fed cattle was good. No real premium offered for non implant and drug free cattle today. 5 pot loads along with several small packages allowing buyers to fill loads. Reports are saying that we should expect to see the seasonal weakness as we come into summer. The quantity of cattle on feed more than 120 days is slightly below last year but higher than the 5 year average. Analyst think that cattle will be ready to market in June and July. Time will tell if the winter months were harder on the cattle than the analyst have figured into their numbers. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, consumers are sure to light up the grill and enjoy all things summer. Consumers could be the biggest factor to the continued strength of the cattle prices trading higher. Will they pay higher prices for beef at the retail stores? Slaughter cows 1.00 to 6.00 higher. Bulls 3.00 to 5.00 higher.
Traditional slaughter weight sheep 6.00 to 9.00 lower. The offering for traditional slaughter weight and non traditional slaughter lambs was light again this week. There have not been many new crop slaughter weight lambs coming to the auction. Fleece quality was a little less than desirable on several small packages today. Buyers don't get as excited to continue bidding for lambs that have dirty, poor fleece. 70 lb and 80 lb lambs sold with slightly higher undertones, while 90 lb lambs sold with lower undertones. Lighter offering across the weights for slaughter lambs. Demand was good. Slaughter ewes steady to 5.00 lower. Slaughter ewe numbers continue to be fairly high. Buyers were more active when black face ewes and younger type came in the ring to sell.
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: Fed steers 6.00 to 8.00 higher, heifers 5.00 to 6.00 higher. Holsteins 2.00 to 5.00 lower. Demand for this nice offering of fed cattle was good. No real premium offered for non implant and drug free cattle today. 5 pot loads along with several small packages allowing buyers to fill loads. Reports are saying that we should expect to see the seasonal weakness as we come into summer. The quantity of cattle on feed more than 120 days is slightly below last year but higher than the 5 year average. Analyst think that cattle will be ready to market in June and July. Time will tell if the winter months were harder on the cattle than the analyst have figured into their numbers. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, consumers are sure to light up the grill and enjoy all things summer. Consumers could be the biggest factor to the continued strength of the cattle prices trading higher. Will they pay higher prices for beef at the retail stores? Slaughter cows 1.00 to 6.00 higher. Bulls 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Traditional slaughter weight sheep 6.00 to 9.00 lower. The offering for traditional slaughter weight and non traditional slaughter lambs was light again this week. There have not been many new crop slaughter weight lambs coming to the auction. Fleece quality was a little less than desirable on several small packages today. Buyers don't get as excited to continue bidding for lambs that have dirty, poor fleece. 70 lb and 80 lb lambs sold with slightly higher undertones, while 90 lb lambs sold with lower undertones. Lighter offering across the weights for slaughter lambs. Demand was good. Slaughter ewes steady to 5.00 lower. Slaughter ewe numbers continue to be fairly high. Buyers were more active when black face ewes and younger type came in the ring to sell.