Cattle Market Pulse

Valley Livestock Market Report

Moulton, Alabama · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 15, 2021

449 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Valley Livestock report →

light 4-weight M&L 1 bulls $186.76/cwt +22.76 vs last sale · ≈ $777/hd at 416 lb · 14 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 2 heifers $136.83/cwt +5.57 vs last sale · ≈ $643/hd at 470 lb · 14 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 449 592 406
Feeder cattle 347 475 273
Slaughter cattle 33 53 50
Replacement cattle 69 64 83

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle sold unevenly steady. All feeder classes sold sharply higher. Trace active with very good demand on feeder cattle. Replacement cattle sold mostly steady.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–430 425 3 170.00 $170.00 $722 +18.00
450–455 453 3 150.00–157.00 $152.34 $690 +11.12
500–535 518 2 140.00–142.00 $140.97 $730 +7.44
560–595 583 3 132.00–135.00 $133.02 $776 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–390 383 2 197.00–207.00 $201.90 $773 —
400 400 1 195.00 $195.00 $780 +21.00
450–465 457 3 180.00–182.00 $180.66 $826 +9.16
500 500 2 160.00–162.00 $161.00 $805 +3.02
575 575 2 155.00 $155.00 $891 +15.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 192.00 $192.00 $730 —
415–425 421 4 177.00–182.00 $179.51 $756 —
450–490 470 2 162.00–167.00 $164.39 $773 +10.00
520–535 528 2 155.00 $155.00 $818 +13.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–480 471 4 141.00–148.00 $142.78 $672 —
500–545 522 3 137.00–145.00 $140.78 $735 +7.78
550–585 568 4 132.00–142.00 $137.62 $782 +10.62
600–625 fancy 613 2 135.00 $135.00 $828 +6.00
600–635 619 5 127.00–132.00 $127.97 $792 +7.48
665 fancy 665 1 130.00 $130.00 $864 +3.00
680 680 2 120.00–127.00 $123.50 $840 —
750–795 fancy 773 2 125.00 $125.00 $966 —
765–790 778 2 117.00–122.00 $119.46 $929 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–490 470 14 135.00–140.00 $136.83 $643 +5.57
530–535 533 2 132.00–135.00 $133.51 $712 +12.51
550–570 563 6 125.00–130.00 $126.99 $715 —
650–660 655 2 115.00–119.00 $116.98 $766 —
740 740 1 115.00 $115.00 $851 +10.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 138.00 $138.00 $545 +3.80
405–435 411 5 131.00–135.00 $131.85 $542 +5.81
455–490 469 4 127.00–132.00 $130.21 $611 +9.35
520 520 1 115.00 $115.00 $598 -3.99
600–645 623 2 107.00–110.00 $108.45 $676 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–340 328 2 197.00–200.00 $198.44 $651 +3.44
360 fancy 360 1 200.00 $200.00 $720 —
360–390 378 4 190.00–197.00 $193.53 $732 +23.53
400–445 416 14 180.00–190.00 $186.76 $777 +22.76
450–495 474 9 160.00–170.00 $163.18 $773 +10.69
515–545 529 4 155.00–160.00 $158.04 $836 +13.04
560–580 570 2 140.00–145.00 $142.46 $812 +7.46
605 605 1 130.00 $130.00 $786 -2.00
650–680 665 2 127.00–130.00 $128.47 $854 +1.01
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 328 3 170.00–172.00 $171.33 $562 +6.33
365–378 372 4 160.00–170.00 $165.00 $614 +10.39
410–445 434 4 152.00–162.00 $157.10 $682 +14.16
450–495 477 5 140.00–142.00 $140.81 $672 +5.15
520 520 1 132.00 $132.00 $686 +5.31
550–575 563 2 125.00 $125.00 $704 +8.73
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340–345 343 2 192.00 $192.00 $659 —
370–395 383 4 180.00–187.00 $183.47 $703 +20.47
400–420 412 3 165.00–175.00 $168.40 $694 +17.42
470–485 477 3 150.00–157.00 $153.97 $734 +8.22
505–535 523 3 140.00 $140.00 $732 +4.01
585 585 1 135.00 $135.00 $790 +8.00
635 635 1 122.00 $122.00 $775 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1000 907 85-90% 5 32.00–36.00 $34.26 $311 —
875–1230 1016 85-90% 7 38.00–43.00 $40.35 $410 —
950–1155 1053 85-90% 2 45.00–48.00 $46.65 $491 -0.42
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1225 1070 80-85% 3 49.00–52.00 $50.72 $543 -6.07
1125–1300 1213 80-85% 2 62.00 $62.00 $752 —
1255 1255 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $753 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650–1660 1655 2 73.00–76.00 $74.50 $1,233 —
1760 1760 1 80.00 $80.00 $1,408 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
765–1230 1013 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 840.00–950.00 $888.35
1235 1235 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
1315 fancy 1315 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,200.00 $1,200.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
840–1330 1083 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 710.00–760.00 $732.24
1025–1340 1183 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 840.00–870.00 $857.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860 860 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 835.00 $835.00

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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.