Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 18, 2021

454 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 3-weight M&L 2 heifers $128.01/cwt -1.91 vs last sale · ≈ $426/hd at 333 lb · 32 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $131.61/cwt +0.09 vs last sale · ≈ $634/hd at 482 lb · 15 head
light 5-weight M&L 2 heifers $116.10/cwt -2.24 vs last sale · ≈ $619/hd at 533 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 454 384 517
Feeder cattle 384 334 452
Slaughter cattle 59 50 30
Replacement cattle 11 — 35

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Feeder cattle fully 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Replacement cows steady in light test.

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
360–390 380 3 155.00–165.00 $158.16 $601 —
410–440 430 6 152.52–160.00 $154.90 $666 +11.21
450–480 477 9 142.50–150.00 $143.29 $683 -0.02
520–540 533 6 140.00–147.50 $142.44 $759 +2.44
560–585 573 6 137.50–142.50 $139.95 $802 +2.49
600–635 614 4 127.50–132.50 $131.21 $806 +2.04
650–680 663 5 120.00–130.00 $127.01 $842 +8.53
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 374 10 145.00–147.50 $146.24 $547 —
410–440 426 13 140.00–147.50 $144.17 $614 +6.76
520–545 534 11 117.00–140.00 $129.71 $693 —
560–585 573 4 130.00–137.50 $133.67 $766 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410–445 428 6 127.50–135.00 $131.40 $562 —
510–545 537 6 117.50–125.00 $123.81 $665 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–280 278 4 127.50–135.00 $129.32 $360 —
320–345 333 32 125.00–132.50 $128.01 $426 -1.91
360–385 380 10 120.00–127.50 $121.42 $461 -7.70
460–480 473 8 117.50–125.00 $120.24 $569 -4.76
510–540 533 13 115.00–120.00 $116.10 $619 -2.24
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–330 317 3 132.50–137.50 $134.24 $426 -1.97
370–390 382 5 130.00–135.00 $131.94 $504 —
465–490 482 15 130.00–135.00 $131.61 $634 +0.09
510–545 539 11 125.00–130.00 $125.86 $678 -2.45
560–585 580 11 115.00–122.00 $116.06 $673 +1.10
620–640 627 3 110.00–117.50 $114.95 $721 +7.22

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 333 6 140.00–145.00 $142.44 $474 —
350–380 368 5 145.00–150.00 $146.90 $541 +15.57
425–440 433 4 145.00–150.00 $147.46 $639 +13.53
460–480 470 4 130.00–135.00 $132.45 $623 +5.03
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–280 270 4 165.00–175.00 $169.81 $458 —
360–380 370 2 152.50–155.00 $153.72 $569 +10.04
450–475 458 3 140.00–145.00 $143.27 $656 +4.56
655–685 670 6 105.00–112.50 $108.83 $729 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–385 377 6 132.50–140.00 $134.89 $509 —
410–440 428 5 132.50 $132.50 $567 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1070 1038 85-90% 7 47.00–54.00 $51.12 $531 —
1160–1310 1195 85-90% 22 58.00–65.00 $61.99 $741 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1290 1289 80-85% 11 66.00–70.00 $66.36 $855 —
1345–1610 1426 80-85% 9 71.00–77.00 $73.83 $1,053 +9.79

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1765–2085 1938 3 89.00–96.00 $93.54 $1,813 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
865–955 878 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 7 70.00–82.50 $71.94 $632

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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.