Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 31, 2021

1,842 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $142.74/cwt +3.24 vs last sale · ≈ $1,099/hd at 770 lb · 196 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $152.69/cwt -1.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,041/hd at 682 lb · 162 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $172.61/cwt +6.53 vs last sale · ≈ $989/hd at 573 lb · 155 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,842 957 480
Feeder cattle 1,688 915 417
Slaughter cattle 94 42 61
Replacement cattle 60 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers steady to 5.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 550 lbs mostly steady, instances 5.00-10.00 higher on some better quality light heifers, over 550 lbs 3.00-6.00 higher. Slaughter cows steady. Demand good. Supply moderate. Nice quality feeder offering with several good to outstanding consignments. The advancing feeder cattle market took a hit with the Wednesday morning release of a bullish planting intentions and stocks report that sent corn futures limit higher. The news pushed feeder futures sharply lower although they did move off the days lows as live cattle futures turned higher. The feedlot trade is expected to be higher and certainly needs to be as there is well over $500.00/head difference in the live price of a 1,400 lb steer and his currently reported carcass value as the beef cutout continues to march higher this week.

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
320–345 333 6 192.00–205.00 $198.74 $662 —
375–380 378 4 200.00–207.50 $203.73 $770 -2.38
405–445 422 38 185.00–220.00 $199.94 $844 +2.87
450–495 469 64 181.00–195.00 $187.06 $877 -1.85
505–535 519 68 174.50–190.00 $184.07 $955 +2.48
550–590 573 155 166.00–179.00 $172.61 $989 +6.53
605 605 11 153.50 $153.50 $929 -1.62
605–615 unweaned 612 13 143.00–151.50 $148.91 $911 —
615–645 625 42 150.00–166.25 $156.90 $981 +1.78
650–685 682 162 147.00–153.60 $152.69 $1,041 -1.21
715 unweaned 715 3 132.00 $132.00 $944 —
700–725 722 46 141.00–145.00 $144.70 $1,045 +4.48
760–775 770 196 138.00–147.00 $142.74 $1,099 +3.24
800–825 809 8 128.50–132.00 $130.48 $1,056 +7.32
975–990 983 9 116.25–119.00 $117.79 $1,158 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–295 282 8 183.00–195.00 $188.71 $532 —
375–395 383 5 182.50–197.00 $189.21 $725 +7.21
400–440 420 6 180.00–192.00 $185.27 $778 +7.83
450–460 455 4 174.00–181.00 $177.46 $807 +0.46
510–545 542 36 165.00–175.00 $165.52 $897 -1.18
600–635 621 50 148.00–160.50 $151.65 $942 —
650–660 656 16 142.00–145.00 $143.30 $940 +5.30
735 735 4 138.00 $138.00 $1,014 —
810–845 822 9 128.00–132.00 $130.63 $1,074 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
615 615 5 145.00 $145.00 $892 —
795 795 15 130.00 $130.00 $1,034 —
925 925 5 118.00 $118.00 $1,092 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515 515 3 134.50 $134.50 $693 —
560 560 4 135.00 $135.00 $756 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 3 162.00 $162.00 $518 —
370 370 4 156.00–159.00 $157.50 $583 -0.52
400–445 420 27 158.00–180.00 $168.15 $706 +12.46
420–445 426 8 152.00–157.00 $153.30 $653 -2.39
450–495 477 60 151.00–160.00 $155.03 $739 -0.72
505–545 529 32 143.50–149.00 $146.45 $775 -4.89
550–595 577 65 138.00–149.75 $145.46 $839 +4.65
600–615 610 9 138.00–143.50 $141.70 $864 +12.39
610–620 unweaned 613 11 135.50–136.50 $136.22 $835 —
615 615 16 143.25 $143.25 $881 +13.94
650–695 680 38 128.00–141.00 $137.89 $938 +4.39
700–725 717 34 127.75–133.00 $129.48 $928 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–395 375 9 151.00–153.00 $152.53 $572 —
415–445 422 19 156.00–159.00 $157.99 $667 —
495 495 5 148.50 $148.50 $735 —
515–535 526 8 135.50–145.00 $138.69 $730 +0.97
550–580 573 8 132.00–140.00 $136.73 $783 —
580 580 4 130.00 $130.00 $754 —
620 620 8 142.00 $142.00 $880 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 6 139.75 $139.75 $804 —
770 770 5 118.00 $118.00 $909 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
475 475 3 135.00 $135.00 $641 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–445 415 4 161.00–181.00 $175.64 $729 —
475–490 484 8 155.00–181.50 $170.06 $823 -8.47
505–530 517 6 149.00–165.00 $157.18 $813 +5.07
550–575 569 15 149.00–162.00 $157.59 $897 +5.63
605–630 622 6 133.00–141.00 $135.60 $843 —
670–695 680 4 119.00–135.50 $128.39 $873 +0.39
725 725 3 125.00 $125.00 $906 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–950 917 85-90% 3 40.00–45.00 $41.73 $383 —
910–1215 1105 85-90% 10 50.00–54.00 $52.38 $579 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1560 1305 75-80% 4 66.00–67.00 $66.30 $865 —
1385–1730 1527 75-80% 8 58.00–64.50 $62.37 $952 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1375 1256 80-85% 4 61.00–67.00 $65.35 $821 +4.85
1205–1490 1305 80-85% 5 60.00–64.00 $62.05 $810 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1460 1423 2 70.00–73.00 $71.54 $1,018 —
1910 1910 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,624 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065–1415 1164 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 19 1,050.00–1,275.00 $1,167.00
1080–1525 1268 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 900.00–1,000.00 $948.62

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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
1075–1450 1209 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 8 1,400.00–1,475.00 $1,461.88 —

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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.