Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 24, 2021

810 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $132.79/cwt -5.33 vs last sale · ≈ $747/hd at 563 lb · 20 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $150.05/cwt +5.47 vs last sale · ≈ $864/hd at 576 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.29/cwt +6.84 vs last sale · ≈ $739/hd at 538 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 810 544 488
Feeder cattle 728 456 420
Slaughter cattle 82 64 68
Replacement cattle — 24 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows mostly steady. Slaughter bulls no well tested. Feeder cattle steady.

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
310–340 325 4 200.00–205.00 $202.38 $658 -12.54
360–385 380 5 175.00–182.00 $176.33 $670 -18.50
420–440 429 7 160.00–167.50 $164.20 $704 -3.07
460–490 487 10 152.50–160.00 $153.21 $746 -8.58
520–535 529 7 150.00–157.50 $153.18 $810 +3.31
560–585 576 20 147.50–155.00 $150.05 $864 +5.47
605–640 623 5 135.00–147.50 $140.46 $875 -5.17
665–690 675 3 130.00–138.00 $133.31 $900 -10.44
700–730 713 3 125.00–132.00 $128.12 $913 -7.47
755–790 775 3 125.00–127.50 $126.65 $982 -6.29
800–845 818 3 122.00–126.00 $124.01 $1,014 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–380 373 2 165.00–167.50 $166.28 $620 +3.87
470–490 483 3 135.00–140.00 $136.62 $660 -13.28
510–530 517 3 142.50–147.50 $145.79 $754 +3.35

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–340 333 4 160.00–164.00 $161.95 $539 —
360–385 377 3 145.00–150.00 $146.59 $553 +3.66
430–445 437 11 142.50–147.50 $145.18 $634 +5.16
520–545 538 13 135.00–140.00 $137.29 $739 +6.84
560–565 562 17 127.50–135.00 $131.05 $737 -4.97
565–570 568 3 142.00–144.00 $142.66 $810 +6.64
640–645 643 7 117.00–125.00 $121.59 $782 -25.31
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 332 5 140.00–150.00 $143.86 $478 —
360–385 373 8 135.00–142.50 $138.62 $517 +7.31
405–440 431 4 135.00–140.00 $136.17 $587 +4.73

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215–230 223 4 195.00–200.00 $197.42 $440 —
260–285 273 6 195.00–200.00 $197.39 $539 —
320–330 327 3 190.00–200.00 $193.27 $632 -11.89
355–385 375 6 167.50–172.50 $169.08 $634 -26.09
410–430 423 4 160.00–165.00 $162.46 $687 +7.54
460–490 478 5 145.00–150.00 $146.92 $702 —
655–680 668 4 115.00–120.00 $117.55 $785 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 333 3 160.00–170.00 $163.20 $543 -11.92
360–380 370 4 155.00–165.00 $159.86 $591 -15.01

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1095 1012 85-90% 15 57.00–64.00 $59.53 $602 +5.40
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1320 1138 80-85% 11 67.00–74.00 $67.74 $771 —

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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.