Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 3, 2021

807 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $173.43/cwt -0.57 vs last sale · ≈ $916/hd at 528 lb · 54 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $150.61/cwt +7.50 vs last sale · ≈ $792/hd at 526 lb · 51 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $155.41/cwt +5.12 vs last sale · ≈ $990/hd at 637 lb · 48 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 807 1,212 940
Feeder cattle 717 1,117 875
Slaughter cattle 65 65 63
Replacement cattle 25 30 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers under 650 lbs steady to 3.00 higher, over 650 lbs 1.00-2.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 650 lbs steady to 4.00 higher with a few packages over 650 lbs near steady. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 lower. Demand uneven. Supply light. The stocker/feeder divide seems to be growing at the moment with the inability to advance the fed trade combined with high feed cost making the feedlot weight cattle harder to sell while the need for grass cattle and the expectation for lighter numbers down the road have the lighter cattle in a better supply/demand position. Hoped for increases in feedlot prices have not materialized the past two weeks and this weeks trade appears to once again be at 114.00/cwt.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 3 193.00 $193.00 $627 —
375–395 392 7 180.00–183.00 $181.86 $713 -10.87
400–445 411 19 175.00–183.00 $178.84 $735 -8.46
505–545 528 54 160.00–182.00 $173.43 $916 -0.57
560–595 581 10 160.50–167.00 $162.51 $944 +1.53
600–645 637 48 151.00–163.00 $155.41 $990 +4.14
690 690 3 138.00 $138.00 $952 -6.98
710–745 723 14 128.00–136.00 $132.81 $960 -6.86
760 760 7 128.00 $128.00 $973 ±0.00
830–835 832 8 121.00–125.00 $123.49 $1,027 —
855–880 873 7 118.00–122.00 $119.12 $1,040 -7.13
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–445 433 13 165.00–175.00 $168.32 $729 -4.87
465–475 470 8 159.00–170.00 $163.51 $768 -4.75
500–545 519 14 152.00–170.00 $164.46 $854 +1.38
560–585 567 7 162.50–164.00 $163.56 $927 +6.13
600–625 618 17 140.00–155.00 $152.82 $944 +10.37
660–685 671 12 131.00–136.00 $133.46 $896 -4.10
710–725 722 15 130.00–132.00 $131.61 $950 +1.16
755–770 763 4 125.00 $125.00 $954 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–475 464 8 130.00–147.00 $139.93 $649 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–380 371 10 156.00–162.50 $159.15 $590 -3.06
400–440 430 18 147.00–159.00 $150.16 $646 -2.12
450–490 480 24 142.00–150.00 $144.21 $692 -6.31
500–540 524 38 138.00–154.00 $149.28 $782 +6.17
530 thin fleshed 530 13 154.50 $154.50 $819 —
550–575 561 41 135.00–154.50 $144.37 $810 +3.53
605–640 621 15 128.50–138.00 $134.15 $833 +0.46
650–675 657 13 122.00–124.00 $122.69 $806 -6.92
720–730 725 4 125.00–125.50 $125.25 $908 -0.80
750–755 753 6 115.00–116.00 $115.67 $871 -10.33
805–845 832 18 110.00–116.00 $114.54 $953 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430–435 432 6 140.00–147.00 $144.34 $624 -3.88
450–455 452 5 131.00 $131.00 $592 —
500–540 524 10 124.00–138.00 $130.19 $682 -8.81
555–580 576 12 131.00–143.50 $141.49 $815 +15.49
600–605 603 6 129.00–133.00 $130.33 $786 +6.33
645 645 3 118.00 $118.00 $761 -6.00
655–690 683 15 120.50–126.50 $124.79 $852 +1.75
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–485 468 6 115.00–123.00 $117.68 $551 +2.68

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 4 168.00 $168.00 $714 —
460–465 463 4 144.00–146.00 $144.99 $671 —
500–535 518 8 136.00–144.00 $139.69 $724 —
565–595 585 3 133.50–134.50 $133.82 $783 -11.18
600–625 613 4 128.00–129.50 $128.73 $789 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 3 130.50 $130.50 $705 —
770 770 3 110.00 $110.00 $847 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 85-90% 1 20.00 $20.00 $204 —
1050–1280 1151 85-90% 10 44.00–52.00 $48.30 $556 —
1265 1265 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $506 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1235–1665 1351 80-85% 8 52.00–56.00 $52.88 $714 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1515 1406 75-80% 5 52.00–55.00 $52.59 $739 -8.41

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1655–2330 1885 4 66.00–75.00 $71.08 $1,340 —
1905–2220 2092 3 77.00–78.00 $77.34 $1,618 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1080–1580 1274 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 7 730.00–1,150.00 $933.78

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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
950 950 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 5 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —

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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.