Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 4, 2024

2,067 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 $314.07/cwt +12.17 vs last sale · ≈ $1,816/hd at 578 lb · 214 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $289.93/cwt +5.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,833/hd at 632 lb · 176 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $275.46/cwt +6.24 vs last sale · ≈ $2,004/hd at 728 lb · 101 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,067 1,138 1,792
Feeder cattle 1,927 1,067 1,667
Slaughter cattle 120 71 125
Replacement cattle 20 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to the sale two weeks ago, feeder steers under 600 lbs 10.00-20.00 higher, over 600 lbs 3.00-6.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 650 lbs 5.00-20.00 higher, over 650 lbs steady. Slaughter cows steady. Demand good to very good. Supply heavy. Producers received figures never seen before on several light cattle as the market for grazing flesh cattle is dollars higher this week and there were numerous consignments on hand with the quality and condition to generate premium prices.

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
326 326 6 400.00 $400.00 $1,304 —
365–375 367 9 381.00–432.50 $400.99 $1,472 —
400–442 416 34 365.00–432.50 $410.32 $1,707 +63.32
435 unweaned 435 4 380.00 $380.00 $1,653 +19.00
460 thin fleshed 460 6 405.00 $405.00 $1,863 —
471 value added 471 16 382.00 $382.00 $1,799 +26.00
459–499 477 40 352.00–391.00 $374.91 $1,788 +29.08
484 unweaned 484 8 330.50 $330.50 $1,600 -18.00
500–505 value added 501 31 349.00–360.00 $351.15 $1,759 —
515–549 540 61 314.00–352.00 $344.02 $1,858 +24.53
551 551 3 300.00 $300.00 $1,653 -2.90
554–593 unweaned 566 10 279.00–315.00 $303.68 $1,719 +7.68
550–592 568 113 305.50–338.00 $321.57 $1,827 +18.67
590–597 value added 594 88 302.25–309.75 $306.11 $1,818 +3.94
609–635 value added 629 31 297.00–301.50 $297.98 $1,874 —
612–647 633 145 277.50–299.00 $288.21 $1,824 +4.05
651–687 674 40 270.00–288.50 $283.05 $1,908 +8.41
691 unweaned 691 3 253.50 $253.50 $1,752 —
712–733 724 28 268.00–278.00 $274.05 $1,984 +5.34
729 value added 729 73 276.00 $276.00 $2,012 +5.75
760 value added 760 9 277.00 $277.00 $2,105 —
752–795 773 9 258.00–275.00 $265.72 $2,054 +2.12
786 unweaned 786 8 244.50 $244.50 $1,922 —
820–847 829 6 257.00–257.50 $257.33 $2,133 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–436 427 7 340.00–385.00 $364.43 $1,556 +46.43
460–485 477 22 320.00–350.00 $339.59 $1,620 —
490 value added 490 14 334.00 $334.00 $1,637 —
527–530 529 4 316.00–324.00 $319.99 $1,693 +29.78
551–595 577 21 283.50–310.00 $290.12 $1,674 +12.12
598 598 4 272.00 $272.00 $1,627 -6.00
608–625 620 19 274.50–280.00 $277.35 $1,720 —
673 673 6 265.00 $265.00 $1,783 -1.75
741 741 4 248.50 $248.50 $1,841 -3.14
770–777 772 7 245.00–251.00 $246.73 $1,905 -1.27
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 436 3 319.00 $319.00 $1,391 —
566 566 9 256.00 $256.00 $1,449 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
281 281 5 332.00 $332.00 $933 —
303 thin fleshed 303 6 356.00 $356.00 $1,079 —
308–340 329 9 332.00–350.00 $344.39 $1,133 —
352 thin fleshed 352 7 371.00 $371.00 $1,306 —
370–398 382 17 338.00–352.00 $346.94 $1,325 —
404–425 thin fleshed 414 11 342.00–343.00 $342.53 $1,418 —
406–448 429 32 306.00–341.00 $328.16 $1,408 +11.27
458–494 474 70 294.00–335.00 $311.68 $1,477 +15.45
500 value added 500 16 308.00 $308.00 $1,540 +4.50
508 thin fleshed 508 8 314.00 $314.00 $1,595 —
510–548 528 32 281.00–313.00 $298.45 $1,576 +18.45
553 value added 553 18 307.00 $307.00 $1,698 —
563 unweaned 563 3 266.00 $266.00 $1,498 —
553–595 567 75 267.00–301.00 $283.17 $1,606 +10.38
607–643 635 95 255.00–267.00 $259.40 $1,647 -4.60
650 650 3 242.00 $242.00 $1,573 -2.50
680 value added 680 22 256.75 $256.75 $1,746 -0.25
707–745 717 13 231.00–240.50 $236.04 $1,692 -6.42
970 970 4 209.50 $209.50 $2,032 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–390 381 11 290.00–312.00 $305.17 $1,163 —
403–414 409 15 312.00–338.00 $326.02 $1,333 +40.02
455–495 472 14 271.00–300.00 $290.40 $1,371 —
497 value added 497 10 295.00 $295.00 $1,466 —
530 unweaned 530 4 260.00 $260.00 $1,378 —
515–543 535 30 263.00–290.00 $276.87 $1,481 +13.87
560–575 571 10 259.00–265.00 $260.77 $1,489 -0.83
620–625 622 5 240.00–241.00 $240.60 $1,497 -2.94
741 741 4 221.00 $221.00 $1,638 +6.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
488 488 5 230.00 $230.00 $1,122 —
748 748 5 221.00 $221.00 $1,653 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 436 3 243.00 $243.00 $1,059 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
492 492 2 308.00 $308.00 $1,515 —
581 581 4 241.00 $241.00 $1,400 -14.77

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
832–1020 895 85-90% 3 52.00–62.00 $55.80 $499 —
1000–1214 1159 85-90% 13 68.50–93.00 $82.85 $960 -13.71
1050–1230 1201 85-90% 17 100.00–107.00 $104.95 $1,260 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1275–1300 1288 80-85% 2 102.00–105.50 $103.73 $1,336 -10.07
1205–1365 1301 80-85% 9 105.00–114.00 $111.37 $1,449 —
1295–1335 1315 80-85% 2 116.50–119.50 $117.98 $1,551 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1455–1585 1514 75-80% 5 119.00–122.00 $120.88 $1,830 +3.88
1380–1710 1546 75-80% 8 113.00–118.00 $115.90 $1,792 -1.10

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1670 1670 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,971 —
1515–2105 1803 4 138.50–151.50 $145.73 $2,628 —
2525 2525 1 168.00 $168.00 $4,242 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1110–1225 1184 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,800.00–2,350.00 $2,136.18

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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.