Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 4, 2021

427 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $120.18/cwt ≈ $636/hd at 529 lb · 11 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2 bulls $116.96/cwt -14.63 vs last sale · ≈ $559/hd at 478 lb · 10 head
light 5-weight M&L 2 bulls $113.53/cwt -6.04 vs last sale · ≈ $602/hd at 530 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 427 266 316
Feeder cattle 340 189 252
Slaughter cattle 87 77 64

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle steady. Feeder calves mostly steady.

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
310–340 325 6 140.00–147.50 $143.58 $467 -12.32
360–385 378 7 140.00–147.50 $142.04 $537 -12.14
420–440 429 9 130.00–137.50 $134.08 $575 —
460–480 470 2 117.50–122.50 $119.95 $564 —
510–540 525 6 127.50–132.50 $129.93 $682 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 322 5 155.00–162.50 $159.33 $513 —
440–445 441 4 137.50–142.50 $141.24 $623 —
460–475 465 3 140.00–142.50 $141.65 $659 —
505–540 531 4 135.00–142.50 $136.78 $726 —
560–580 572 5 130.00–137.50 $132.94 $760 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–280 270 2 130.00–140.00 $134.81 $364 —
315–345 329 5 132.50–135.00 $134.52 $443 —
360–385 382 9 125.00–132.50 $125.78 $480 —
405–440 422 9 130.00–132.50 $131.63 $555 -0.01
460–485 475 5 127.50–130.00 $128.47 $610 —
520–540 529 11 117.50–122.50 $120.18 $636 —
560–585 577 6 110.00–115.00 $111.62 $644 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 327 7 127.50–135.00 $130.55 $427 -2.34
365–385 376 9 115.00–125.00 $119.31 $449 -8.12

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 375 6 135.00–142.50 $138.60 $520 -10.84
420–440 436 5 122.50–130.00 $123.94 $540 -10.16
465–485 478 10 115.00–120.00 $116.96 $559 -14.63
520–540 530 10 110.00–117.50 $113.53 $602 -6.04
560–580 575 4 110.00–117.50 $111.83 $643 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–285 273 4 155.00–162.00 $158.34 $432 —
305–310 308 2 157.50–160.00 $158.74 $489 —
460–485 473 7 120.00–127.50 $123.13 $582 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 375 4 107.50–115.00 $111.10 $417 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060–1210 1129 80-85% 7 67.00–70.00 $67.98 $767 —
1180–1735 1312 80-85% 26 63.00–66.00 $64.90 $851 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1420 1126 85-90% 8 55.00–60.00 $56.87 $640 +0.99

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–1825 1655 3 83.00–92.00 $88.04 $1,457 —

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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.