Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, August 31, 2021

772 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $119.85/cwt ≈ $579/hd at 483 lb · 16 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $149.33/cwt -3.85 vs last sale · ≈ $796/hd at 533 lb · 16 head
light 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $124.86/cwt -11.31 vs last sale · ≈ $534/hd at 428 lb · 12 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 772 810 530
Feeder cattle 590 728 466
Slaughter cattle 148 82 64
Replacement cattle 34 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls steady. Feeder cattle steady. Feeder and replacement cows 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
360–380 372 5 192.50–200.00 $195.40 $727 +19.07
415–440 429 7 165.00–170.00 $167.93 $720 +3.73
460–490 482 11 147.50–155.00 $149.45 $720 -3.76
520–540 533 16 147.50–152.50 $149.33 $796 -3.85
570–590 583 9 145.00–150.00 $146.63 $855 -3.42
605–635 616 9 132.00–137.50 $135.21 $833 -5.25
655–690 667 9 132.50–137.50 $136.65 $911 +3.34
700–725 713 3 122.50–125.00 $123.32 $879 -4.80
760–775 768 2 125.00 $125.00 $960 -1.65
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 370 4 165.00–170.00 $167.43 $619 +1.15
410–440 425 6 152.50–160.00 $156.12 $664 —
455–490 483 10 145.00–150.00 $145.94 $705 +9.32
560–585 573 4 132.50–135.00 $133.72 $766 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–390 384 10 127.50–135.00 $128.91 $495 -9.71
405–440 428 12 122.50–130.00 $124.86 $534 -11.31
460–485 483 16 117.50–120.00 $119.85 $579 —
510–540 527 7 120.00–125.00 $122.93 $648 —
560–590 572 5 110.00–117.50 $114.41 $654 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–390 373 2 140.00–147.50 $143.57 $536 -3.02
420–440 432 5 130.00–140.00 $133.89 $578 -11.29
460–485 473 8 125.00–127.50 $126.22 $597 —
505–530 522 3 125.00–130.00 $126.61 $661 -10.68
560 560 1 140.00 $140.00 $784 +8.95
560–580 573 3 127.50–132.50 $129.13 $740 -13.53

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–340 330 6 195.00–200.00 $197.42 $651 +4.15
360–385 380 11 190.00–200.00 $191.72 $729 +22.64
405–430 418 2 155.00–160.00 $157.43 $658 -5.03
460–480 475 4 150.00–157.50 $151.82 $721 +4.90
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 367 3 165.00–170.00 $168.27 $618 +8.41
460–480 476 5 142.50–147.50 $146.53 $697 —
520–540 533 6 127.50–135.00 $129.94 $693 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1405 1297 80-85% 32 67.00–74.00 $69.00 $895 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1270 1127 85-90% 7 51.00–56.00 $53.41 $602 —
1180–1340 1263 85-90% 21 59.00–66.00 $62.67 $792 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260–1645 1414 5 85.00–91.00 $88.21 $1,247 —
1990 1990 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,970 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–915 910 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 8 75.00–85.00 $76.86 $699

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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.