Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 1, 2020

547 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Townsend Livestock Auction report →

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $140.52/cwt +1.17 vs last sale · ≈ $603/hd at 429 lb · 13 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $142.58/cwt -0.41 vs last sale · ≈ $746/hd at 523 lb · 13 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 steers $151.68/cwt +0.34 vs last sale · ≈ $645/hd at 425 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 547 565 438
Feeder cattle 468 434 407
Slaughter cattle 79 93 31
Replacement cattle — 38 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: All Florida Markets closed the previous week for Thanksgiving holiday.

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
180–190 187 3 225.00–230.00 $228.39 $427 —
320–340 330 4 167.50–175.00 $171.14 $565 —
360–380 378 9 165.00–172.50 $165.79 $627 -5.85
420–440 433 3 160.00–170.00 $163.23 $707 -10.96
455–490 476 8 147.50–155.00 $150.87 $718 +0.06
515–540 523 13 132.50–147.50 $142.58 $746 -0.41
550–580 567 7 125.00–140.00 $134.54 $763 -9.58
620–640 630 4 125.00–127.50 $126.23 $795 -3.73
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 336 5 162.50–167.50 $163.45 $549 —
360–390 377 6 155.00–162.50 $159.12 $600 —
420–440 425 13 147.50–155.00 $151.68 $645 +0.34
460–490 479 8 140.00–147.50 $142.70 $684 -0.44
560–580 575 4 120.00–127.50 $121.83 $701 -10.62

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 266 5 160.00–170.00 $167.82 $446 +19.12
310–340 337 9 155.00–160.00 $155.51 $524 +7.40
360–385 379 8 145.00–152.50 $146.78 $556 +2.20
410–445 429 13 137.50–142.50 $140.52 $603 +1.17
455–480 469 8 132.50–137.50 $135.58 $636 +14.96
510–540 525 11 115.00–117.50 $115.84 $608 -1.83
560–585 568 3 115.00–120.00 $118.28 $672 +3.09
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–240 230 4 150.00–160.00 $154.78 $356 +1.56
260–280 275 8 135.00–142.00 $136.65 $376 -0.76
360–380 370 8 137.50–142.50 $139.97 $518 +4.10
410–445 438 10 132.50–135.00 $132.97 $582 +1.81

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 330 4 160.00–165.00 $162.42 $536 -12.39
360–380 368 5 160.00–162.50 $161.47 $594 —
460–480 467 3 147.50–152.50 $150.79 $704 +10.38

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1005 987 85-90% 10 40.00–45.00 $41.95 $414 —
960–1090 1047 85-90% 9 44.00–49.00 $45.53 $477 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1520 1307 80-85% 5 48.00–52.00 $50.14 $655 —
1325 1325 80-85% 1 58.00 $58.00 $768 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1600 1581 7 77.00–83.00 $77.79 $1,230 —

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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.