Compared to last week: Slaughter steers and heifers mostly steady. Good demand for steers and heifers. A lighter offering, however there were some long strings, loads and multiple load lots of very eye appealing, high quality grading steers and heifers. The market was fairly active with all packer buyers participating. 3 full loads of steers, 4 full loads of heifers, balance part loads and stock trailer loads.
Slaughter lambs unevenly steady. Feeder lambs sold with higher undertones. Slaughter ewes 10.00 to 15.00 lower. Good demand for all weights of slaughter lambs, Very good demand for the light fleshed feeder lambs offered. Good demand for slaughter ewes. The slaughter lamb market was rather active, slaughter ewe market was not as active as it has been in recent weeks as the supply of ewes has been pretty heavy.
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 mostly steady. Good demand for steers and heifers. A lighter offering, however there were some long strings, loads and multiple load lots of very eye appealing, high quality grading steers and heifers. The market was fairly active with all packer buyers participating. 3 full loads of steers, 4 full loads of heifers, balance part loads and stock trailer loads. Slaughter lambs unevenly steady. Feeder lambs sold with higher undertones. Slaughter ewes 10.00 to 15.00 lower. Good demand for all weights of slaughter lambs, Very good demand for the light fleshed feeder lambs offered. Good demand for slaughter ewes. The slaughter lamb market was rather active, slaughter ewe market was not as active as it has been in recent weeks as the supply of ewes has been pretty heavy.