Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 5, 2021

269 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $141.43/cwt -5.63 vs last sale · ≈ $675/hd at 477 lb · 20 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $121.99/cwt +3.02 vs last sale · ≈ $579/hd at 475 lb · 16 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $139.44/cwt ≈ $661/hd at 474 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 269 385 347
Feeder cattle 200 338 299
Slaughter cattle 69 34 48
Replacement cattle — 13 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Townsend Livestock closed the previous two weeks for holidays. No trends reported.

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
360–380 377 6 142.50–147.50 $143.30 $540 -13.29
420–440 432 5 137.50–142.50 $139.44 $602 -12.34
460–490 477 20 137.50–145.00 $141.43 $675 -5.63
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 370 4 135.00–137.50 $136.22 $504 -15.78
410–440 425 2 135.00–140.00 $137.41 $584 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 282 8 120.00–140.00 $128.97 $364 —
320–345 338 7 132.50–137.50 $133.85 $452 +0.77
360–375 364 8 132.50–140.00 $134.43 $489 -2.97
410–440 425 6 132.50–140.00 $136.12 $579 +14.49
460–490 475 16 120.00–125.00 $121.99 $579 +3.02
530–540 535 4 112.50–117.50 $115.02 $615 +2.01
560–580 570 4 115.00–117.50 $116.23 $663 +6.49
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–240 230 4 120.00–130.00 $124.78 $287 —
260–280 270 4 127.50–132.50 $130.09 $351 —
310–345 332 6 122.50–130.00 $127.44 $423 +6.16
365–385 375 4 120.00–127.50 $123.65 $464 +2.52
405–410 408 6 120.00–125.00 $123.35 $503 +8.99
460–485 475 8 115.00–117.50 $116.22 $552 +1.44

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–285 274 4 147.50–155.00 $150.58 $413 —
315–330 321 5 142.50–147.50 $145.44 $467 -11.42
365–390 378 4 137.50–142.50 $139.92 $529 -16.56
460–485 474 15 137.50–142.50 $139.44 $661 —
525–540 533 4 127.50–132.50 $129.96 $693 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–290 273 5 142.50–150.00 $147.48 $403 —
305–345 324 9 137.50–142.50 $139.64 $452 —
360–380 373 6 130.00–137.50 $132.54 $494 —
410–440 430 3 135.00–140.00 $138.41 $595 -10.31
520–540 530 4 120.00–127.50 $123.68 $656 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1080 1005 85-90% 4 42.00–44.00 $43.07 $433 —
860–1195 1140 85-90% 13 42.00–52.00 $47.61 $543 +1.17
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1875 1454 80-85% 13 56.00–59.00 $56.72 $825 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1755 1755 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,562 —

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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.