Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 26, 2021

2,422 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $164.46/cwt -1.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,021/hd at 621 lb · 378 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $175.29/cwt +0.29 vs last sale · ≈ $913/hd at 521 lb · 282 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $162.56/cwt -6.04 vs last sale · ≈ $940/hd at 578 lb · 259 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,422 2,042 562
Feeder cattle 2,338 1,936 276
Slaughter cattle 72 104 186
Replacement cattle 12 2 100

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers under 500 lbs 3.00-6.00 higher, 500-650 lbs near steady and over 650 lbs 2.00-3.00 higher. Feeder heifers 500-600 lbs 3.00-6.00 higher with other weights steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 higher. Demand good to very good. Supply heavy. More of the areas top fall calves were in the yards this week but with a much higher percentage of weaned cattle along with a few consignments of greener yearlings. Corn clawed back a bit on Wednesday while feeder contracts lost ground. Beef demand remains very strong although a seasonal crest may be looming with cutout values down slightly on Wednesday. Another strong offering of feeders is expected next 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
325–330 328 4 196.00–200.00 $198.02 $650 +9.96
365–385 372 26 182.00–187.00 $184.64 $687 -5.03
400–445 429 34 180.00–196.00 $192.42 $825 +9.47
450–490 469 105 178.50–190.50 $186.89 $877 +6.61
500–540 521 282 161.00–182.25 $175.29 $913 +0.29
550–595 578 233 152.25–170.00 $163.60 $946 -5.00
580 580 17 154.50 $154.50 $896 -14.10
580–595 585 9 147.50–152.50 $150.80 $882 -17.80
600–645 620 334 155.00–169.25 $164.75 $1,021 -1.65
625 unweaned 625 44 162.25 $162.25 $1,014 -1.75
660–665 unweaned 662 16 147.50–149.50 $148.13 $981 —
650–685 674 75 148.50–158.00 $155.14 $1,046 +6.22
700–735 726 38 142.00–154.50 $146.15 $1,061 +4.64
765 765 13 139.25 $139.25 $1,065 +10.31
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 321 4 178.00–197.00 $187.44 $602 +2.44
360–390 374 5 179.00–185.00 $181.72 $680 +3.84
400–415 403 9 176.00–178.00 $177.54 $715 +10.67
450–480 467 7 161.00–173.00 $167.72 $783 +7.06
500–540 515 28 155.00–173.00 $163.45 $842 +5.93
560–590 570 38 150.00–162.00 $157.59 $898 +8.65
610 610 13 143.00–151.00 $148.23 $904 +6.61
655–690 682 17 144.00–151.75 $148.14 $1,010 —
700 700 3 135.50 $135.50 $948 +5.50

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 5 160.00 $160.00 $592 +7.26
405–440 428 32 145.00–155.00 $151.31 $648 +1.68
450–495 470 120 147.00–157.00 $152.92 $719 +8.96
500–530 520 134 145.00–157.75 $154.12 $801 +6.82
535 535 3 138.00 $138.00 $738 -9.30
550–580 570 174 140.00–155.00 $147.82 $843 +8.27
595 595 6 130.00 $130.00 $774 -9.55
600 thin fleshed 600 15 145.00 $145.00 $870 —
600–645 620 31 130.00–140.75 $136.38 $846 +2.53
620 unweaned 620 4 132.00 $132.00 $818 —
660–675 663 12 133.50–141.50 $138.23 $916 +4.49
700–710 703 8 128.50–130.00 $129.62 $911 -1.38
750–755 753 4 116.50–123.50 $119.99 $904 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–325 316 8 142.00–157.00 $150.53 $476 +2.56
375–385 379 13 146.00–153.00 $150.03 $569 —
415–445 441 20 142.00–148.50 $146.92 $648 —
460–490 470 22 140.00–149.00 $144.56 $679 +3.56
510–525 519 5 132.00–135.00 $133.18 $691 -5.50
550–595 575 11 131.00–150.00 $139.28 $801 +4.39
600–640 630 18 125.00–128.00 $126.88 $799 +2.74
690 690 19 119.50 $119.50 $825 -2.67
845 845 4 104.00 $104.00 $879 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 4 119.00 $119.00 $547 -1.00

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 2 148.00 $148.00 $622 —
485 485 2 154.00 $154.00 $747 +2.42
500–540 519 7 130.00–148.50 $139.88 $726 -0.18
610 610 2 130.00 $130.00 $793 +4.37
675 675 2 124.00 $124.00 $837 +4.80
705 705 9 120.00 $120.00 $846 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860 860 85-90% 1 35.00 $35.00 $301 —
935–1145 1061 85-90% 9 50.00–56.00 $53.39 $566 —
1000–1175 1081 85-90% 9 42.00–48.00 $44.48 $481 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1330 1226 80-85% 13 57.00–64.00 $61.13 $749 +1.00
1130–1335 1233 80-85% 2 65.00–68.00 $66.62 $821 +6.49
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485–1766 1563 75-80% 6 61.00–63.75 $62.39 $975 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–1380 1325 2 64.00–72.00 $67.83 $899 —
1950–2010 1978 4 85.00–90.00 $87.77 $1,736 +9.77
2440 2440 1 94.00 $94.00 $2,294 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060–1310 1147 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 985.00–1,050.00 $1,010.93
1235–1450 1308 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 775.00–840.00 $808.46

↑ Back to top

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.