Cattle Market Pulse

South Branch Valley Livestock Exchange Market Report

Moorefield, West Virginia · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 9, 2020

135 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest South Branch Valley Livestock Exchange report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 135 82 86
Feeder cattle 29 31 4
Slaughter cattle 70 36 40

Market comments — USDA reporter

Fat Cattle Sale included in report; Last Sale of 2020 is next week December 16; No sale December 23 & 30

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1380 1313 3 95.00–99.00 $96.71 $1,270 —
1235–1635 1397 16 100.00–106.00 $103.54 $1,446 —
1350–1720 1466 15 102.00–108.00 $104.85 $1,537 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 120.00 $120.00 $348 —
540 540 2 96.00 $96.00 $518 —
565 565 1 90.00 $90.00 $508 -13.00
823 823 2 106.00 $106.00 $872 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 92.00 $92.00 $451 +1.00
520 520 1 92.00 $92.00 $478 +6.00
610 610 1 87.00 $87.00 $531 -3.00
935 935 1 103.00 $103.00 $963 —
970 970 2 94.00 $94.00 $912 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 1 83.00 $83.00 $490 —
695 695 1 65.00 $65.00 $452 —
898 898 2 93.00 $93.00 $835 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270 1270 1 105.50 $105.50 $1,340 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 136.00 $136.00 $415 —
363 363 2 120.00 $120.00 $436 —
465–490 482 3 102.00–124.00 $116.92 $564 —
508–540 519 3 111.00–122.00 $118.18 $613 -2.82
605 605 1 107.00 $107.00 $647 —
655 655 1 97.00 $97.00 $635 —
715 715 1 89.00 $89.00 $636 —
765 765 1 81.00 $81.00 $620 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1325 1167 85-90% 6 15.00–25.00 $21.29 $248 -7.11
1075–1480 1247 85-90% 9 20.00–37.00 $31.45 $392 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1250 1233 80-85% 2 50.00–58.00 $54.06 $667 —
1080–1725 1443 80-85% 9 29.00–53.00 $40.40 $583 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1730 1730 75-80% 1 45.50 $45.50 $787 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–2075 1589 5 54.00–71.00 $62.06 $986 —

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
26 26 6 61.00 $61.00 -26.50

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Ewes

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
165–188 184 17 69.00–74.00 $72.59 $134 —

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
22 22 3 52.50 $52.50 —
53 53 1 120.00 $120.00 —

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Wethers

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
62 62 5 132.50 $132.50 —

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Wooled

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
85 85 1 57.00 $57.00 $48 —
85–88 87 3 160.00–161.00 $160.67 $140 —

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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.