Cattle Market Pulse

Townsend Livestock Auction Market Report

Madison, Florida · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 24, 2023

966 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 2 heifers $185.63/cwt -11.43 vs last sale · ≈ $665/hd at 358 lb · 25 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 bulls $244.89/cwt -15.92 vs last sale · ≈ $916/hd at 374 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $236.88/cwt -4.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,263/hd at 533 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 966 909 601
Feeder cattle 58 790 501
Slaughter cattle 82 104 100
Replacement cattle 826 15 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Feeder cattle 2.00 to 5.00 lower. 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
310–330 320 4 250.00–260.00 $254.84 $815 -32.48
360–385 380 11 250.00–265.00 $252.58 $960 -24.08
410–435 423 10 240.00–260.00 $248.85 $1,053 -16.09
460–480 476 8 240.00–250.00 $246.25 $1,172 -13.62
520–545 533 17 230.00–245.00 $236.88 $1,263 -4.59
560 560 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,344 +5.09
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 368 5 230.00–240.00 $235.87 $868 -25.29
405–420 409 15 200.00–220.00 $205.48 $840 -17.67
470–490 483 6 195.00–215.00 $201.48 $973 —
520–540 533 3 195.00–205.00 $198.25 $1,057 -14.96

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 332 16 180.00–200.00 $185.93 $617 -29.52
355–360 358 25 180.00–190.00 $185.63 $665 -11.43
420–445 424 14 180.00–190.00 $188.50 $799 -7.80
530–545 538 8 170.00–180.00 $174.93 $941 -17.75
570–590 577 3 175.00–180.00 $178.29 $1,029 +0.01
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–340 322 5 215.00–230.00 $223.66 $720 —
365–380 372 11 200.00–210.00 $205.35 $764 -37.07
405–440 429 13 200.00–205.00 $201.45 $864 -19.25
485–490 487 6 205.00–215.00 $208.36 $1,015 -9.37
505–545 523 9 195.00–210.00 $203.05 $1,062 +0.76
560–590 587 9 190.00–200.00 $191.06 $1,122 -16.40

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–280 273 3 250.00–265.00 $254.76 $695 +11.53
315–345 337 11 240.00–255.00 $243.83 $822 -24.29
360–390 374 22 240.00–250.00 $244.89 $916 -15.92
405–440 435 14 220.00–230.00 $221.33 $963 -21.14
460–485 468 3 225.00–235.00 $228.45 $1,069 +6.02
510–540 529 9 230.00–235.00 $231.12 $1,223 +4.63
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–290 280 6 220.00–240.00 $229.64 $643 —
315–340 333 11 230.00–245.00 $233.87 $779 -6.13
360–385 373 4 210.00–230.00 $220.34 $822 +5.37
420–440 433 9 200.00–205.00 $201.62 $873 —
470–485 480 3 195.00–205.00 $198.26 $952 -10.82
505–530 522 3 190.00–200.00 $193.23 $1,009 -18.07

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1160 1055 85-90% 13 74.00–81.00 $76.96 $812 +0.85
990–1170 1080 85-90% 6 70.00–73.00 $71.63 $774 -4.48
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–1285 1238 80-85% 2 97.00–98.00 $97.48 $1,207 +13.54
1185–1385 1285 80-85% 16 85.00–92.00 $88.23 $1,134 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350–1805 1464 4 100.00–108.00 $102.47 $1,500 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
855–865 860 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 120.00–122.50 $121.26 $1,043
990–1095 1043 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 100.00–110.00 $105.25 $1,098

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1005 1005 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

↑ Back to top

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.