Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 17, 2021

544 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $144.58/cwt -7.87 vs last sale · ≈ $834/hd at 577 lb · 14 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $167.27/cwt -14.07 vs last sale · ≈ $716/hd at 428 lb · 13 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $140.02/cwt -11.30 vs last sale · ≈ $599/hd at 428 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 544 938 645
Feeder cattle 456 750 589
Slaughter cattle 64 109 56
Replacement cattle 24 79 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady. Feeder cattle steady to firm. Feeder and replacement cows firm.

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
305–315 310 2 210.00–220.00 $214.92 $666 +6.79
360–385 373 4 190.00–200.00 $194.83 $727 -4.91
420–440 428 13 165.00–170.00 $167.27 $716 -14.07
460–490 483 4 160.00–167.50 $161.79 $781 +1.34
505–545 532 3 147.50–155.00 $149.87 $797 -3.95
560–590 577 14 142.50–147.50 $144.58 $834 -7.87
600–645 630 12 140.00–149.00 $145.63 $917 +2.65
650–695 667 10 138.00–147.00 $143.75 $959 -0.17
710–740 724 4 132.50–137.50 $135.59 $982 +4.34
765–795 780 2 130.00–136.00 $132.94 $1,037 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–315 312 3 180.00–190.00 $183.26 $572 —
360–380 373 3 160.00–167.50 $162.41 $606 -20.14
420–440 430 8 150.00–160.00 $155.40 $668 -12.11
460–490 480 12 147.50–155.00 $149.90 $720 +0.87
510–540 528 12 140.00–145.00 $142.44 $752 -1.66
560–580 575 4 135.00–140.00 $136.22 $783 -7.74

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 368 5 140.00–145.00 $142.93 $526 -17.41
410–440 428 12 137.50–142.50 $140.02 $599 -11.30
460–480 470 2 140.00–145.00 $142.45 $670 +3.76
460–490 473 7 130.00–137.50 $134.17 $635 -4.52
520–540 528 10 127.50–132.50 $130.45 $689 -2.83
560–580 568 5 135.00–137.50 $136.02 $773 -10.62
560–580 573 3 140.00–145.00 $141.63 $812 -5.01
620–640 628 5 127.50–131.00 $128.93 $810 +1.20
610–645 636 4 145.00–147.50 $146.90 $934 +19.17
650–660 655 2 127.50–130.00 $128.74 $843 —
655–695 670 3 155.00–165.00 $160.10 $1,073 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 384 10 130.00–137.00 $131.31 $504 -13.52
410–440 428 10 127.50–135.00 $131.44 $563 -7.48
455–485 482 9 122.50–133.00 $123.60 $596 -4.59

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–330 320 4 200.00–210.00 $205.16 $657 +5.39
360–385 373 2 190.00–200.00 $195.17 $728 —
420–440 427 3 150.00–157.50 $154.92 $662 -18.26
505–545 529 8 142.50–147.50 $144.06 $762 -8.36
560–590 568 4 137.50–145.00 $143.05 $813 +2.61
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–320 313 2 170.00–180.00 $175.12 $548 +5.27
370–390 380 6 170.00–180.00 $174.87 $665 —
420–440 430 2 145.00–152.00 $148.42 $638 -12.74
460–480 466 7 137.50–150.00 $144.20 $672 +2.12
520–535 525 3 127.00–135.00 $132.28 $694 -4.81

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1090 1025 85-90% 6 52.00–56.00 $54.13 $555 -1.30
1040–1195 1090 85-90% 17 56.00–64.00 $60.56 $660 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150–1260 1205 80-85% 12 66.00–71.00 $68.85 $830 -1.60

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1850 1630 3 88.00–89.00 $88.62 $1,445 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–1090 1034 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 7 88.00–97.50 $90.81 $939

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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.