Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 23, 2021

497 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 2 heifers $112.94/cwt ≈ $599/hd at 530 lb · 12 head
light 2-weight M&L 2 heifers $138.50/cwt ≈ $302/hd at 218 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 497 498 159
Feeder cattle 430 424 142
Slaughter cattle 67 74 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder cattle steady. Feeder and replacement cows steady in light test.

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
260–280 270 4 150.00–160.00 $154.81 $418 —
410–440 420 3 150.00–155.00 $153.25 $644 +0.86
460–480 475 4 132.50–142.50 $134.92 $641 -5.04
650–695 675 3 115.00–117.50 $115.84 $782 —
710–730 725 4 100.00–105.00 $103.13 $748 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 370 2 137.50 $137.50 $509 —
460–470 468 4 125.00–130.00 $126.23 $591 +1.32

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–240 218 11 135.00–140.00 $138.50 $302 —
310–340 333 8 127.00–135.00 $128.86 $429 -2.28
360–380 370 4 127.50–132.50 $129.93 $481 +2.56
410–430 420 2 125.00–127.50 $126.28 $530 -1.22
455–485 480 6 125.00–130.00 $125.79 $604 +7.90
520–540 530 12 110.00–117.00 $112.94 $599 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230–240 236 5 147.50–155.00 $150.42 $355 —
410–440 420 3 130.00–132.50 $131.63 $553 -2.46
460–480 467 3 130.00–132.50 $131.64 $615 -0.79
520–540 535 4 123.00–130.00 $124.70 $667 +1.02
560–580 570 6 117.00–120.00 $118.47 $675 +0.53
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 333 6 120.00–125.00 $121.60 $405 —
360–380 367 3 117.50–125.00 $120.09 $441 +2.10
460–490 472 5 100.00–110.00 $105.85 $500 -4.15

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–340 321 5 145.00–155.00 $146.90 $472 —
360–385 379 8 140.00–147.50 $141.78 $537 -8.02
460–480 473 3 132.50–142.50 $135.74 $642 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 331 7 130.00–135.00 $131.34 $435 —
360–380 372 5 130.00–137.50 $132.90 $494 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 330 4 162.50–170.00 $166.14 $548 —
355–385 375 3 162.50–170.00 $164.87 $618 +0.01
420–430 423 3 160.00–165.00 $163.31 $691 +0.87

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1520 1280 80-85% 27 57.00–62.00 $59.42 $761 —
1300–1585 1517 80-85% 5 65.00–68.00 $66.23 $1,005 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1190 1110 85-90% 10 49.00–53.00 $51.57 $572 +1.41

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1785–2015 1900 2 99.00 $99.00 $1,881 —

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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.