Cattle Market Pulse

South Branch Valley Livestock Exchange Market Report

Moorefield, West Virginia · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Saturday, May 23, 2026

162 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $412.82/cwt -13.17 vs last sale · ≈ $2,151/hd at 521 lb · 16 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 162 313 0
Feeder cattle 66 82 0
Slaughter cattle 38 114 0
Replacement cattle 8 105 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

**Baby Calves range from $700-$1525**

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 580.00 $580.00 $1,856 —
395 395 1 540.00 $540.00 $2,133 -36.59
420 420 2 505.00 $505.00 $2,121 -30.00
463–475 467 3 500.00–510.00 $503.39 $2,351 —
610 610 4 402.50 $402.50 $2,455 -42.50
785 785 2 347.00 $347.00 $2,724 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 525.00 $525.00 $1,811 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 1 225.00 $225.00 $1,192 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 580.00 $580.00 $1,856 -70.00
520–522 521 16 402.50–417.50 $412.82 $2,151 -13.17
580–585 581 5 355.00–395.00 $386.94 $2,248 +1.93
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,080 —
255 255 1 315.00 $315.00 $803 —
503–535 515 4 350.00–385.00 $373.57 $1,924 -24.48
678 678 2 325.00 $325.00 $2,204 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382–393 386 5 250.00–425.00 $353.80 $1,366 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 320.00 $320.00 $912 —
385 385 1 450.00 $450.00 $1,732 —
485 485 1 250.00 $250.00 $1,212 -100.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 600.00 $600.00 $1,800 —
410 410 1 515.00 $515.00 $2,112 +9.57
540 540 1 540.00 $540.00 $2,916 +55.06
620 620 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,410 -152.50
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 3 252.50 $252.50 $1,245 —
Medium and Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 2 300.00 $300.00 $1,095 —
965 965 1 205.50 $205.50 $1,983 —
Medium 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865 865 1 215.00 $215.00 $1,860 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
755–905 830 85-90% 2 70.00–75.00 $72.73 $604 -162.21
1010–1340 1232 85-90% 11 144.00–172.00 $157.17 $1,936 -5.03
1130–1385 1235 85-90% 6 126.00–169.00 $154.32 $1,906 -7.88
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100 1100 80-85% 1 215.00 $215.00 $2,365 —
1170–1505 1315 80-85% 6 171.00–183.00 $174.38 $2,293 —
1030–1550 1378 80-85% 9 115.00–179.00 $156.88 $2,162 -12.13
1625 1625 80-85% 1 178.00 $178.00 $2,892 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1800–1910 1855 2 210.00–215.00 $212.57 $3,943 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1555–1775 1665 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 2,700.00–2,900.00 $2,806.61

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 4,150.00 $4,150.00

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Bucks

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
155 155 1 150.00 $150.00 $232 ±0.00

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Bucks Billies

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
15 15 1 40.00 $40.00 —
21 21 7 35.00 $35.00 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
88 88 2 225.00 $225.00 $198 —
205 205 1 205.00 $205.00 $420 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
955–1500 1228 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 4,225.00–4,700.00 $4,515.22 —
1330 1330 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 1 4,350.00 $4,350.00 —
1400 1400 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 4,250.00 $4,250.00 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
815 815 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 2,900.00 $2,900.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 1 420.00 $420.00 $1,995 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 thin fleshed 715 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,037 —

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Ewes

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
165 165 1 130.00 $130.00 $214 —

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Kids

N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
25 25 1 52.50 $52.50 —
25–28 27 3 50.00–52.50 $51.73 —
50 50 2 85.00 $85.00 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
35 35 1 290.00 $290.00 $102 —

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Lambs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
69 69 7 355.00 $355.00 $245 —
80 80 12 362.50 $362.50 $290 —

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Nannies Does

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
40 40 1 225.00 $225.00 $90 —
55 55 2 235.00 $235.00 $129 +35.00
80 80 1 225.00 $225.00 $180 +25.00
345 345 1 345.00 $345.00 $1,190 —
N/N/A ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
20 20 1 57.50 $57.50 —

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Wethers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
40 40 1 260.00 $260.00 $104 —
60 60 1 240.00 $240.00 $144 —
90 90 2 210.00 $210.00 $189 —

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Wooled

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
60 60 1 300.00 $300.00 $180 -100.00

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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.