Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 16, 2020

517 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest South Central Regional Stockyards report →

light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $120.16/cwt -19.09 vs last sale · ≈ $870/hd at 724 lb · 19 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $143.24/cwt +13.95 vs last sale · ≈ $653/hd at 456 lb · 15 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 bulls $128.92/cwt ≈ $744/hd at 577 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 517 2,336 457
Feeder cattle 273 2,243 193
Slaughter cattle 144 93 125
Replacement cattle 100 — 139

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder supply not sufficient to establish a market trend. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 higher. Special cow sale followed a light feeder offering highlighted by a consignment of young second period black cows. With another light placement figure to be reported this Friday and carcass weights finally working back close to year ago levels it looks like a bit of a leverage shift and some sunshine could finally be headed our way if the next calamity doesn't befall us first.

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
370–390 380 4 168.00–170.00 $168.97 $642 -5.16
410–430 420 4 155.00–168.00 $161.65 $679 -4.01
470–480 477 6 153.00–155.00 $154.34 $736 -4.33
500–540 518 11 136.00–153.00 $145.54 $754 -5.62
610 610 6 135.50–137.00 $136.00 $830 -1.93
710 unweaned 710 4 122.00 $122.00 $866 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
665–680 672 11 133.50–135.50 $134.58 $904 -10.36
755 755 8 131.00 $131.00 $989 +3.79
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 590 4 131.00 $131.00 $773 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 5 151.50 $151.50 $629 -2.35
555–565 560 10 126.00–130.00 $127.66 $715 -14.25
605–645 625 6 121.50–126.00 $123.68 $773 -12.18
660 660 4 122.00 $122.00 $805 -16.47
700–740 724 19 118.00–121.50 $120.16 $870 -19.09
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 3 156.00 $156.00 $554 —
450 thin fleshed 450 9 146.00 $146.00 $657 —
450–480 465 6 137.00–142.50 $139.11 $647 +9.82
540 540 3 124.00 $124.00 $670 -6.82
540–545 544 8 126.00–131.00 $127.24 $692 -3.58
560–575 568 4 120.00–121.00 $120.51 $684 -8.80

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 3 141.50 $141.50 $679 —
510–520 515 6 137.00–141.50 $139.27 $717 +5.10
570–585 577 11 128.00–130.00 $128.92 $744 —
650–680 665 4 112.00–118.00 $115.07 $765 -0.93
715–748 732 4 109.50–114.00 $111.80 $818 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705 705 3 94.00 $94.00 $663 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075 1075 80-85% 1 51.00 $51.00 $548 —
1050–1495 1261 80-85% 4 40.00–42.00 $41.41 $522 -2.87
1070–1525 1284 80-85% 20 46.00–51.50 $48.41 $622 +4.13
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275–1660 1463 75-80% 23 42.00–55.00 $50.74 $742 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1000 943 85-90% 4 10.00–17.00 $15.42 $145 —
990–1385 1167 85-90% 15 37.00–43.00 $41.22 $481 +9.86
1055–1395 1225 85-90% 2 32.00–35.00 $33.71 $413 -5.39

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365–1970 1751 4 52.00–68.00 $59.89 $1,049 —
1320–2215 1795 13 69.00–80.00 $73.01 $1,311 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1155–1485 1292 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 650.00–825.00 $744.55
1295 1295 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 800.00 $800.00
925–1570 1309 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 20 850.00–1,275.00 $1,050.60
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080–1210 1155 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 20 1,400.00–1,700.00 $1,566.88

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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
1050 1050 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 4 1,250.00 $1,250.00 —
1360 1360 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 4 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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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.