Cattle Market Pulse

Unionville Livestock Market Report

Unionville, Missouri · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 10, 2024

1,155 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Unionville Livestock Market report →

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $271.25/cwt +1.44 vs last sale · ≈ $2,219/hd at 818 lb · 259 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $295.36/cwt +20.30 vs last sale · ≈ $1,943/hd at 658 lb · 54 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $304.07/cwt +6.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,931/hd at 635 lb · 44 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,155 1,894 830
Feeder cattle 1,099 1,818 791
Slaughter cattle 56 76 39

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to the last sale two weeks ago, steer calves sold sharply higher catching up with the big gains in the feeder market. Yearling steers 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Heifers steady except those weighing 450-600 lbs trading sharply higher as well. Slaughter cows 4.00 to 6.00 higher. As usual, yearling load lots led the way for the rest of the offering with very good demand for all weights and classes of cattle. The calf market has caught fire, again, but the cattle market as a whole is in pretty good position fundamentally wrapping up the calendar year. Supply moderate.

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
393 393 8 417.50 $417.50 $1,641 —
411–425 418 8 370.00–406.00 $388.30 $1,623 +26.86
473–499 495 18 360.00–382.50 $363.59 $1,800 -2.27
529–531 530 35 366.00–370.00 $368.52 $1,953 +41.50
551–583 561 37 328.50–330.00 $329.49 $1,848 +9.09
585 unweaned 585 4 301.00 $301.00 $1,761 —
626–647 635 44 299.00–308.25 $304.07 $1,931 +6.83
651–679 658 54 285.00–300.25 $295.36 $1,943 +20.30
704–708 707 16 271.00–273.50 $272.72 $1,928 —
777 unweaned 777 5 243.00 $243.00 $1,888 —
808–827 818 259 270.50–273.00 $271.25 $2,219 +1.44
895 895 7 230.00 $230.00 $2,058 -33.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
301 301 4 390.00 $390.00 $1,174 +20.49
414–432 427 17 336.00–337.00 $336.71 $1,438 +7.35
489 489 33 332.50 $332.50 $1,626 +3.31
539 unweaned 539 4 330.00 $330.00 $1,779 —
575 unweaned 575 12 293.00 $293.00 $1,685 —
592 592 8 323.00 $323.00 $1,912 +48.00
636 636 27 297.50 $297.50 $1,892 +26.98
670 670 17 274.50 $274.50 $1,839 +22.66
680 unweaned 680 3 251.00 $251.00 $1,707 —
775 775 11 258.00 $258.00 $2,000 +30.00
828 828 7 258.50 $258.50 $2,140 +3.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–368 368 13 345.00–352.00 $350.93 $1,291 -7.14
420–433 431 25 318.00–321.00 $320.65 $1,382 -8.32
463–496 485 34 325.00–342.00 $337.03 $1,635 +28.94
523 unweaned 523 5 280.00 $280.00 $1,464 —
503–546 538 22 311.00–321.00 $319.30 $1,718 +21.48
560 560 13 296.00 $296.00 $1,658 +27.38
609 609 8 262.00 $262.00 $1,596 -2.30
632 unweaned 632 15 240.00 $240.00 $1,517 -9.50
645 645 4 244.00 $244.00 $1,574 -20.30
704 unweaned 704 9 226.50 $226.50 $1,595 —
713 713 18 245.00–248.50 $247.92 $1,768 -5.58
778 778 7 240.00 $240.00 $1,867 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
496 496 30 301.00 $301.00 $1,493 -0.37
571 unweaned 571 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,370 —
591 591 20 263.50 $263.50 $1,557 -0.31
607–629 614 13 242.00–256.00 $251.59 $1,545 +6.57
647 unweaned 647 9 234.50 $234.50 $1,517 +9.73
750 750 3 223.00 $223.00 $1,672 -6.00
846 846 11 226.50 $226.50 $1,916 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 410 4 392.50 $392.50 $1,609 —
510 510 4 306.00 $306.00 $1,561 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1435 1212 80-85% 13 109.50–119.50 $115.08 $1,395 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1730 1495 75-80% 13 109.50–119.00 $115.47 $1,726 +7.55
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1200 1040 85-90% 8 103.00–114.00 $109.77 $1,142 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1585–1965 1802 5 141.00–154.00 $147.03 $2,649 —

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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.