Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 9, 2021

436 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 3-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.05/cwt -4.41 vs last sale · ≈ $458/hd at 334 lb · 14 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $129.69/cwt -9.74 vs last sale · ≈ $552/hd at 426 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 436 315 467
Feeder cattle 336 250 434
Slaughter cattle 100 47 33
Replacement cattle — 18 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Feeder cattle steady to firm.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 333 3 160.00–167.50 $162.40 $541 +3.72
360–380 370 6 145.00–150.00 $147.43 $545 -12.40
460–485 476 8 130.00–137.50 $132.72 $632 -4.70
520–545 533 5 120.00–127.50 $123.48 $658 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–345 339 4 177.50–185.00 $179.27 $608 +4.20
510–540 522 5 135.00–137.50 $136.47 $712 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–285 275 6 140.00–147.50 $143.61 $395 —
320–345 334 14 135.00–140.00 $137.05 $458 -4.41
360–390 379 8 135.00–140.00 $136.78 $518 -5.72
410–440 426 11 127.50–132.50 $129.69 $552 -9.74
460–490 480 9 127.50–130.00 $128.30 $616 -7.85
520–540 531 9 125.00–129.00 $126.31 $671 +0.61
560–585 577 3 115.00–120.00 $116.62 $673 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–285 273 4 132.50–137.50 $134.89 $368 -6.84
340–345 343 7 125.00–130.00 $127.13 $436 -10.39
360–380 370 8 125.00–132.50 $128.65 $476 -5.50
420–440 431 7 120.00–125.00 $122.09 $526 -1.53
460–490 475 6 115.00–120.00 $117.42 $558 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–280 268 5 167.50–175.00 $171.87 $461 —
320–340 335 4 160.00–170.00 $162.39 $544 -11.84
360–390 370 9 150.00–157.50 $154.86 $573 -6.54
410–440 434 5 157.50–165.00 $158.92 $690 +5.08
460–485 478 7 145.00–150.00 $146.38 $700 —
520–540 532 5 140.00–145.00 $141.95 $755 —
560–580 570 2 127.50–132.50 $129.96 $741 —
630–635 633 5 112.50–117.50 $114.49 $725 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–285 274 8 150.00–157.50 $153.77 $421 -2.00
325–340 334 5 140.00–150.00 $146.11 $488 -9.91
360–385 373 4 140.00–147.50 $143.62 $536 +8.24
510–545 529 7 125.00–130.00 $127.09 $672 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1365 1270 80-85% 41 56.00–62.00 $59.13 $751 -6.37
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1285 1203 85-90% 22 50.00–55.00 $52.43 $631 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1545–1835 1655 5 83.00–89.00 $86.71 $1,435 —

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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.