light 8-weight L 1 heifers$145.03/cwt≈ $1,182/hd at 815 lb · 68 head
heavy 8-weight L 1 steers$138.00/cwt≈ $1,211/hd at 878 lb · 16 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers$165.46/cwt+22.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,120/hd at 677 lb · 13 head
Receipts
Head
This sale
Last sale
Last year
Total receipts
1,300
1,000
2,000
Feeder cattle
400
300
900
Slaughter cattle
900
700
1,100
Market comments — USDA reporter
Compared to Thursday, Stocker and feeder cattle firm in a light test. CME Feeder cattle futures closed Thursday $1.10 to $1.32 in the red. May feeders expired at $154.57 on a two cent dip to be settled against the index. The 5/25 CME Feeder Cattle Index was $153.80, up by 45 cents. Slaughter cows 4.00-6.00 higher as the shortened holiday week next week will make cull cows scarce. Slaughter bulls steady to firm. Trade active with good demand. USDA reported 20,010 MT of beef sales from the week that ended 5/19. That was down from the last two weeks and from the same week last year. Export shipments from the week were tallied as 17,508 MT. That was an 11 week low, but kept the YTD shipments at a record pace of 366,129 MT.
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.
Cattle Market
Compared to Thursday, Stocker and feeder cattle firm in a light test. CME Feeder cattle futures closed Thursday $1.10 to $1.32 in the red. May feeders expired at $154.57 on a two cent dip to be settled against the index. The 5/25 CME Feeder Cattle Index was $153.80, up by 45 cents. Slaughter cows 4.00-6.00 higher as the shortened holiday week next week will make cull cows scarce. Slaughter bulls steady to firm. Trade active with good demand. USDA reported 20,010 MT of beef sales from the week that ended 5/19. That was down from the last two weeks and from the same week last year. Export shipments from the week were tallied as 17,508 MT. That was an 11 week low, but kept the YTD shipments at a record pace of 366,129 MT.