Cattle Market Pulse

Southern Livestock Market Report

Oak Park, Georgia · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 17, 2024

1,070 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Southern Livestock report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $266.80/cwt +12.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,766/hd at 662 lb · 55 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $289.86/cwt +5.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,394/hd at 481 lb · 34 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $325.02/cwt ≈ $1,238/hd at 381 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,070 1,070 663
Feeder cattle 928 834 471
Slaughter cattle 118 194 192
Replacement cattle 24 42 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to a week ago: Slaughter cows 2.00 higher, slaughter bulls mostly steady, feeder steers 9.00 higher, feeder bulls and heifers had limited comparable sales, steer calves 5.00 higher, heifer calves 7.00 higher, bulls calves mostly steady, replacement cows mostly steady.

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
245 245 2 455.00 $455.00 $1,115 —
363–380 370 7 380.00–382.00 $381.12 $1,410 —
463 463 6 340.00 $340.00 $1,574 +4.86
511–518 513 7 320.00–329.00 $326.40 $1,674 +10.26
645 645 3 280.00 $280.00 $1,806 —
660–670 662 55 263.00–268.00 $266.80 $1,766 +12.69
733 733 3 253.00 $253.00 $1,854 +10.84
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–468 464 9 320.00–327.00 $323.08 $1,499 —
518–540 532 12 309.00–318.00 $314.53 $1,673 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 8 332.00–340.00 $338.00 $1,082 —
370–385 375 9 346.00–352.00 $349.95 $1,312 —
565–597 589 4 270.00–271.00 $270.76 $1,595 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 7 333.00–340.00 $334.00 $1,136 —
373–384 381 13 322.00–332.00 $325.02 $1,238 —
466–493 481 34 287.00–292.00 $289.86 $1,394 +5.59
538–540 539 11 276.00–279.00 $278.18 $1,499 +5.61
558–585 576 9 272.00–290.00 $284.19 $1,637 +24.19
661 661 9 243.00 $243.00 $1,606 +8.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–285 283 5 310.00–315.00 $313.02 $886 -3.61
320–345 322 12 310.00–316.00 $315.46 $1,016 +6.70
403–419 415 11 290.00–296.00 $291.99 $1,212 -3.33
452–455 453 5 260.00–270.00 $264.02 $1,196 +2.92
515–520 518 3 250.00–255.00 $251.66 $1,304 -2.21
685–695 690 4 220.00–227.00 $223.53 $1,542 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 278 6 325.00–335.00 $328.17 $912 —
305–325 318 3 320.00–322.00 $320.64 $1,020 -1.96
405–418 416 8 300.00–310.00 $308.78 $1,285 -4.12
460–477 473 9 276.00–285.00 $279.29 $1,321 +2.30
605–629 623 10 230.00–240.00 $237.26 $1,478 +0.04
705–745 732 3 219.00–220.00 $219.32 $1,605 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–335 318 6 350.00–360.00 $353.51 $1,124 —
360–390 380 3 340.00–350.00 $343.16 $1,304 +0.20
410–420 415 4 310.00–315.00 $312.47 $1,297 -1.40
563–570 565 10 245.00–250.00 $247.29 $1,397 -3.94
605–640 623 6 230.00–240.00 $234.05 $1,458 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–349 346 7 362.00–370.00 $363.09 $1,256 +1.77
364–378 369 6 358.00–362.00 $359.37 $1,326 +2.67
670 670 2 225.00–235.00 $230.00 $1,541 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–279 273 6 392.00–395.00 $392.95 $1,073 —
333–335 334 6 375.00–385.00 $379.99 $1,269 —
415–430 423 2 350.00–355.00 $352.46 $1,491 +7.46

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1265 1152 80-85% 7 110.00–116.00 $113.39 $1,306 —
1265–1460 1355 80-85% 7 127.00–133.00 $130.25 $1,765 —
1055–1630 1367 80-85% 11 117.00–125.00 $120.33 $1,645 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–1275 981 85-90% 6 98.00–102.00 $99.51 $976 —
985–1270 1175 85-90% 3 114.00–116.00 $114.56 $1,346 —
1055–1285 1181 85-90% 13 104.00–111.00 $107.48 $1,269 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1570 1415 75-80% 5 126.00–132.00 $128.45 $1,818 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1545–2055 1819 4 137.00–144.00 $140.22 $2,551 -4.05
1875 1875 1 151.00 $151.00 $2,831 —
2090 2090 1 125.00 $125.00 $2,612 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1020–1325 1223 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,650.00–1,775.00 $1,684.74
1245–1425 1335 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,825.00–2,000.00 $1,906.60

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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
1130 1130 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,025.00 $2,025.00 —
1175–1255 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,975.00–2,000.00 $1,987.91 +98.87

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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.