Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 28, 2021

967 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $173.35/cwt -13.79 vs last sale · ≈ $827/hd at 477 lb · 72 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $146.70/cwt -10.22 vs last sale · ≈ $841/hd at 573 lb · 52 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $138.53/cwt -7.65 vs last sale · ≈ $856/hd at 618 lb · 52 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 967 1,092 1,562
Feeder cattle 771 1,012 1,253
Slaughter cattle 136 72 139
Replacement cattle 60 8 170

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers 6.00-10.00 lower. Feeder heifers 2.00-4.00 lower. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 lower. Demand moderate. Supply moderate. Offering mostly fall calves again but without some of the larger reputation consignments we saw last week. Feeders are lower this week with feed costs continuing to rise although corn futures did ease back on Wednesday. Projected cost of gain for cattle going on feed is now around 1.15/lb. On the fed side, prices have faded after making a push higher a few weeks ago with sales steady to 1.00 lower so far this week and no signs of any leverage to improve the market on the horizon.

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
300–315 308 4 191.00–192.00 $191.51 $590 -10.72
360–395 385 17 171.00–181.00 $178.09 $686 -9.95
415–435 420 17 176.00–182.00 $179.37 $753 -9.24
450–495 477 72 162.00–185.00 $173.35 $827 -13.79
515–545 527 24 151.00–171.00 $163.65 $862 +4.65
550–585 573 52 142.50–151.25 $146.70 $841 -5.30
605–625 608 15 137.00 $137.00 $833 —
620 unweaned 620 23 138.00 $138.00 $856 -7.50
615–635 625 14 141.00–141.50 $141.04 $882 -5.96
705 705 6 134.00 $134.00 $945 -11.00
750 750 4 125.25 $125.25 $939 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–240 226 7 204.00–209.00 $206.72 $467 —
385–390 388 4 172.00–173.00 $172.50 $669 —
405–440 424 20 159.00–168.00 $166.15 $704 -11.15
450–495 469 8 155.00–161.00 $158.15 $742 -14.51
555 555 3 139.00 $139.00 $771 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 3 147.00 $147.00 $713 —
615–640 628 6 123.00–131.00 $127.08 $798 —
670 670 3 118.00 $118.00 $791 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 4 159.50 $159.50 $471 -5.50
350–390 383 25 142.00–151.50 $147.73 $566 -15.93
400–440 420 32 142.00–148.50 $146.21 $614 -10.25
450–490 463 23 140.00–145.50 $144.67 $670 -3.20
510–545 527 45 135.00–140.25 $138.06 $728 -1.37
555–570 563 22 128.50–137.25 $134.32 $756 -1.86
590 590 17 122.50 $122.50 $723 -13.68
605–640 620 27 125.75–131.75 $129.09 $800 —
640 unweaned 640 17 115.00 $115.00 $736 —
670–695 684 7 125.00–129.00 $126.68 $866 -4.39
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 14 174.00 $174.00 $444 —
425 425 5 144.00 $144.00 $612 —
450–480 463 7 140.00–144.00 $141.70 $656 +4.70
525–535 531 5 131.50–135.00 $132.88 $706 +0.97
550–595 579 8 126.50–128.50 $127.49 $738 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 thin fleshed 395 3 162.00 $162.00 $640 —
465–485 473 6 137.00–144.00 $141.00 $667 -10.32
535 535 5 128.50–134.00 $131.80 $705 -13.20
580 580 2 123.50 $123.50 $716 -17.90
600–635 615 10 123.00–125.50 $123.70 $761 —
700 700 4 121.00 $121.00 $847 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805–1130 963 85-90% 16 35.00–45.00 $40.81 $393 —
1060–1350 1157 85-90% 24 48.00–56.00 $51.75 $599 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1415 1228 80-85% 19 56.00–62.50 $59.91 $736 -1.46
1160–1350 1240 80-85% 3 63.25–64.50 $63.82 $791 +2.45
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205–1590 1384 75-80% 13 56.00–63.00 $60.19 $833 —
1655 1655 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $1,076 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1540–2250 1778 4 72.00–80.00 $74.46 $1,324 —
1490–2060 1786 10 82.00–91.50 $85.37 $1,525 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1205–1520 1343 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 14 870.00–1,220.00 $970.53

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
885–890 888 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 5 850.00–1,000.00 $940.20

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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
975–1210 1101 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 1,400.00–1,740.00 $1,647.50 —

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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.