Cattle Market Pulse

South Central Regional Stockyards Market Report

Vienna, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 18, 2024

563 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $334.30/cwt -8.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,768/hd at 529 lb · 43 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $301.67/cwt +6.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,858/hd at 616 lb · 24 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $337.85/cwt -6.02 vs last sale · ≈ $1,561/hd at 462 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 563 1,832 282
Feeder cattle 329 1,683 133
Slaughter cattle 94 119 109
Replacement cattle 140 30 40

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday, feeder steers and heifers steady on a limited market test. Slaughter cows 1.00-2.00 higher. Demand good. Supply light. A special cow sale followed the feeders including two consignments of high quality bred heifers and some fancy reputation bred cows.

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
395 395 3 375.00 $375.00 $1,481 -50.03
520–533 value added 529 43 334.00–335.00 $334.30 $1,768 -22.70
551–578 562 8 311.00–321.00 $312.97 $1,759 -11.10
616 616 4 290.00 $290.00 $1,786 -4.35
616 value added 616 20 304.00 $304.00 $1,873 -1.50
712 712 2 254.00 $254.00 $1,808 -15.02
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 value added 443 17 355.00 $355.00 $1,573 —
460–471 462 19 319.00–343.00 $337.85 $1,561 -6.02
508–542 521 7 295.00–321.00 $312.86 $1,630 -17.14
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 4 289.00 $289.00 $1,575 —
625 625 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,688 +7.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
331 331 6 331.00 $331.00 $1,096 -10.26
370 370 2 331.00 $331.00 $1,225 -13.13
400–430 412 6 318.00–327.00 $321.65 $1,325 -8.96
470–480 476 5 279.00–291.00 $283.74 $1,351 -29.99
611 611 3 252.00 $252.00 $1,540 -21.00
665 665 3 236.00 $236.00 $1,569 -20.65
918 918 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,882 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–380 375 4 306.00–320.00 $313.09 $1,174 -7.85
401 401 3 318.50 $318.50 $1,277 —
505 505 2 267.50 $267.50 $1,351 -1.24
606 606 3 249.00 $249.00 $1,509 -6.50
725 725 4 227.50 $227.50 $1,649 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
501–515 506 8 252.00–261.00 $255.43 $1,292 —
637 637 2 229.00 $229.00 $1,459 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
471 471 5 255.00 $255.00 $1,201 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
548 548 3 247.00 $247.00 $1,354 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–326 321 4 362.00–395.00 $369.84 $1,187 —
380–387 384 9 305.00–345.00 $334.37 $1,284 -59.63
432 432 5 310.00 $310.00 $1,339 -60.00
465 465 2 306.00 $306.00 $1,423 —
529–531 530 10 280.00–303.50 $296.24 $1,570 —
596 596 3 275.00 $275.00 $1,639 —
655–660 658 4 234.00–246.00 $239.98 $1,579 —
747 747 2 207.00 $207.00 $1,546 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 6 300.00 $300.00 $1,419 —
531 531 4 257.50 $257.50 $1,367 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265 1265 80-85% 2 106.50 $106.50 $1,347 +4.50
1155–1405 1280 80-85% 20 112.50–120.00 $117.86 $1,509 +5.59
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1085 971 85-90% 15 61.00–93.00 $79.09 $768 —
975–1025 1000 85-90% 2 56.00–61.00 $58.56 $586 -46.44
1130 1130 85-90% 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,300 —
1170–1250 1210 85-90% 2 96.00–104.00 $99.87 $1,208 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1470 1435 75-80% 6 111.00–121.50 $118.01 $1,693 —
1540 1540 75-80% 1 108.50 $108.50 $1,671 -8.26

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1790–2115 1995 5 146.00–154.00 $149.50 $2,983 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1040–1425 1368 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 33 2,600.00–3,400.00 $3,118.37
1205–1537 1405 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 11 1,975.00–2,950.00 $2,644.96
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1005–1062 1043 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 2,300.00–2,350.00 $2,333.94

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
916–1214 1057 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 49 2,850.00–3,275.00 $3,141.55

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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
1300 1300 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 2,600.00 $2,600.00 —

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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.