Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 6, 2023

1,792 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $259.42/cwt -3.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,498/hd at 577 lb · 144 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $221.07/cwt +5.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,297/hd at 586 lb · 88 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $225.85/cwt -9.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,506/hd at 667 lb · 84 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,792 1,632 2,022
Feeder cattle 1,667 1,496 1,884
Slaughter cattle 125 136 138

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers 2.00-6.00 lower. Feeder heifers steady to 5.00 lower. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 lower. Demand moderate. Supply moderate. Highly volatile feeder futures were at it again midday Wednesday plunging 450-575 points lower and softening the feeder trade. The demand side of the beef equation continues to be a problem with fed prices and beef cutouts both lower again so far 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
350 unweaned 350 4 292.00 $292.00 $1,022 —
450–485 459 35 287.00–318.00 $305.16 $1,401 -3.13
475 value added 475 8 300.00 $300.00 $1,425 -14.17
480 unweaned 480 4 265.00 $265.00 $1,272 -9.72
500–540 524 62 264.00–286.00 $275.52 $1,444 -16.66
550–590 573 113 241.00–286.00 $261.47 $1,498 -2.99
590 unweaned 590 4 231.00 $231.00 $1,363 -1.61
585–595 value added 594 27 255.00–255.50 $255.05 $1,515 -13.91
605 605 5 231.00 $231.00 $1,398 -14.99
605–630 value added 618 19 242.50–258.00 $249.69 $1,543 +0.29
620 unweaned 620 8 221.00–226.00 $223.50 $1,386 -2.50
615–640 622 33 231.00–250.00 $243.10 $1,512 -2.89
650–680 unweaned 657 23 202.00–215.00 $212.07 $1,393 —
650–690 667 51 225.00–237.50 $233.61 $1,558 -1.66
675–695 689 10 218.00 $218.00 $1,502 -17.27
705–715 710 6 215.00–216.00 $215.50 $1,530 -14.41
705–720 712 13 217.00–226.00 $221.20 $1,575 -8.71
715 value added 715 19 227.00 $227.00 $1,623 -5.44
750–795 763 7 217.00–221.00 $219.81 $1,677 -4.33
810 810 4 206.00 $206.00 $1,669 -21.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 371 13 270.00–282.50 $278.77 $1,034 -11.00
405–440 427 16 276.00–282.00 $279.83 $1,195 +8.61
455–475 461 7 262.50–289.00 $273.66 $1,262 -4.18
500–510 507 7 250.00–265.00 $260.77 $1,322 +8.94
535–545 unweaned 539 10 220.00–226.00 $223.57 $1,205 —
600–645 620 43 229.00–239.00 $235.83 $1,462 -6.45
710–740 727 9 209.00–214.00 $211.17 $1,535 —
750–780 774 14 206.00 $206.00 $1,594 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 4 251.00 $251.00 $1,355 —
700–730 723 9 188.00–220.00 $194.88 $1,409 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–530 519 7 211.00–213.50 $212.40 $1,102 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 3 215.00 $215.00 $1,140 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 15 250.00–261.00 $252.93 $961 -21.14
430 value added 430 5 255.00 $255.00 $1,096 -11.10
420–445 439 46 254.00–255.00 $254.64 $1,118 -10.64
440 unweaned 440 4 239.00 $239.00 $1,052 —
450–495 476 44 237.00–256.00 $251.90 $1,199 -1.44
480–490 unweaned 483 7 221.00–239.00 $233.78 $1,129 -6.22
490 value added 490 21 250.00 $250.00 $1,225 -4.31
505 unweaned 505 5 227.00 $227.00 $1,146 —
500–545 524 73 228.50–254.00 $242.70 $1,272 -1.74
565–580 unweaned 573 15 208.50–218.00 $212.55 $1,218 -2.45
550–590 576 29 219.00–228.50 $222.25 $1,280 -5.41
580 value added 580 6 226.00 $226.00 $1,311 —
595 595 16 227.00 $227.00 $1,351 -0.66
605 605 6 215.50 $215.50 $1,304 -19.28
600–640 618 24 212.00–224.50 $218.00 $1,347 -16.78
620 value added 620 32 223.50 $223.50 $1,386 -0.98
635 635 7 222.00 $222.00 $1,410 -1.72
655–690 670 25 204.00–210.00 $208.86 $1,399 -17.54
680 unweaned 680 6 195.50 $195.50 $1,329 —
765–775 767 16 185.00–195.25 $193.31 $1,483 +0.80
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 6 246.00–255.00 $251.00 $991 —
425–435 428 12 237.00–246.00 $241.30 $1,033 -3.38
455 unweaned 455 3 202.00 $202.00 $919 —
465–490 484 19 220.00–239.00 $232.51 $1,125 -8.24
515–545 530 17 215.00–227.00 $220.94 $1,171 -4.87
565 unweaned 565 4 202.50 $202.50 $1,144 —
550–590 578 37 216.00–219.75 $219.05 $1,266 +3.18
595 value added 595 47 224.25 $224.25 $1,334 —
640 640 3 206.00 $206.00 $1,318 —
655–670 659 7 200.00–207.00 $204.97 $1,351 +1.73
875 875 11 172.00 $172.00 $1,505 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 7 180.00 $180.00 $864 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 6 204.00 $204.00 $1,010 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
695 695 3 180.00 $180.00 $1,251 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
625–645 632 9 178.50–186.00 $183.45 $1,159 —
675 675 3 178.50 $178.50 $1,205 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110–1380 1239 80-85% 22 84.00–89.00 $86.56 $1,072 —
1210–1595 1317 80-85% 8 78.00–84.00 $81.48 $1,073 -8.68
1295–1435 1365 80-85% 2 92.00–94.00 $93.05 $1,270 -2.45
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 85-90% 1 72.00 $72.00 $680 —
975 975 85-90% 1 62.00 $62.00 $604 —
1065–1160 1113 85-90% 18 78.00–86.00 $82.74 $921 +5.74
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1635 1471 75-80% 16 86.00–91.50 $88.80 $1,306 —
1730 1730 75-80% 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,644 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1865 1596 7 82.00–95.00 $89.43 $1,427 —
1730–2090 1876 4 96.00–103.00 $99.86 $1,873 —

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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.