Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 15, 2020

385 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $113.01/cwt -8.91 vs last sale · ≈ $591/hd at 523 lb · 18 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 2 heifers $121.13/cwt -11.88 vs last sale · ≈ $465/hd at 384 lb · 10 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $114.36/cwt -12.60 vs last sale · ≈ $497/hd at 435 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 385 682 299
Feeder cattle 338 582 266
Slaughter cattle 34 62 33
Replacement cattle 13 38 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady. Feeder cattle mostly steady. Feeder and replacement cows not well tested.

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
360–385 377 6 155.00–160.00 $156.59 $590 -13.81
410–440 433 4 150.00–157.50 $151.78 $657 -8.48
455–480 473 7 145.00–152.50 $147.06 $696 -1.36
520–540 533 6 134.00–140.00 $135.95 $725 -7.21
560–580 575 4 130.00–134.00 $130.97 $753 -8.01
620–640 633 8 125.00–132.00 $127.57 $808 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 372 5 152.00 $152.00 $565 -5.93
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–440 435 4 125.00–135.00 $127.41 $554 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 332 5 130.00–138.00 $133.08 $442 -19.88
355–385 370 6 135.00–140.00 $137.40 $508 -3.65
420–440 436 9 120.00–125.00 $121.63 $530 -11.93
460–490 475 4 118.00–120.00 $118.97 $565 -14.17
520–540 523 18 112.00–115.00 $113.01 $591 -8.91
560–585 580 5 108.00–117.00 $109.74 $636 -6.25
615–640 620 5 105.00–109.00 $105.83 $656 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 333 6 120.00–124.00 $121.28 $404 -15.91
360–390 384 10 120.00–126.00 $121.13 $465 -11.88
425–440 435 10 112.00–118.00 $114.36 $497 -12.60
465–485 477 5 114.00–116.00 $114.78 $548 -12.38
565–590 580 5 105.00–109.00 $106.56 $618 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–220 213 8 110.00–118.00 $112.07 $239 —
360–385 375 5 110.00–115.00 $111.92 $420 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 334 5 155.00–165.00 $156.86 $524 -7.29
360–385 377 9 152.50–162.50 $156.48 $590 -9.21
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–440 430 6 147.50–150.00 $148.72 $639 -0.84
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–445 428 6 122.00–130.00 $125.84 $539 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1660 1513 80-85% 8 48.00–52.00 $49.69 $752 —
1575–1670 1607 80-85% 3 56.00–58.00 $57.02 $916 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1190 1126 85-90% 7 45.00–47.00 $46.44 $523 +5.38

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1440 1413 3 82.00–84.00 $83.35 $1,178 —
1365–1715 1580 4 72.00–74.00 $73.57 $1,162 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1115–1310 1213 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 49.00–59.00 $54.40 $660

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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.