Cattle Market Pulse

Virginia Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Virginia · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 30, 2024

930 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Virginia Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $256.94/cwt -8.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,228/hd at 478 lb · 58 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $304.68/cwt -13.66 vs last sale · ≈ $1,634/hd at 536 lb · 55 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $239.28/cwt -8.40 vs last sale · ≈ $1,365/hd at 570 lb · 51 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 930 2,284 176
Feeder cattle 896 2,222 140
Slaughter cattle 34 62 36

Market comments — USDA reporter

***INCLUDES UPDATED INFORMATION FROM SHENANDOAH*** State Graded Feeder Cattle (Steers 267, Heifers 393, Bulls 236) State Graded Slaughter Cattle (Steers 29, Heifers 5) Value Added and Natural cattle are Weaned and Vaccinated No trends due to light holiday trading Report includes sales from: Front Royal, Shenandoah and Winchester

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
280 280 2 375.00 $375.00 $1,050 —
427–434 432 8 350.00–360.00 $357.53 $1,545 +22.74
450–490 473 11 265.00–352.50 $324.74 $1,536 -4.66
502–543 527 25 324.00–332.00 $327.05 $1,724 +2.51
544–545 value added 544 30 264.00–324.00 $286.03 $1,556 -8.97
574–586 value added 582 14 300.00–308.00 $302.82 $1,762 —
591 591 9 289.00 $289.00 $1,708 -13.01
619–641 value added 627 23 272.00–281.00 $277.80 $1,742 +7.80
652–681 665 35 267.00–268.00 $267.75 $1,781 -19.25
686 value added 686 10 270.00 $270.00 $1,852 —
737 737 4 256.00 $256.00 $1,887 +8.67
751 751 15 251.00 $251.00 $1,885 -1.40
762–767 value added 764 23 254.00–257.00 $256.08 $1,956 +7.08
858 858 2 228.00 $228.00 $1,956 —
863–878 value added 872 7 218.00–232.00 $226.06 $1,971 -4.94
1028 1028 2 197.00 $197.00 $2,025 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 4 350.00 $350.00 $1,354 -10.88
419–427 422 6 285.00–340.00 $303.57 $1,281 -40.10
455–490 482 12 225.00–325.00 $303.57 $1,463 -24.08
525–533 531 4 267.50–305.00 $295.73 $1,570 -10.12
552 552 10 315.00 $315.00 $1,739 +17.03
637 637 7 250.00 $250.00 $1,592 -36.46
655–675 668 3 172.50–262.00 $232.76 $1,555 -55.24
743 743 8 225.00 $225.00 $1,672 -25.50
885–895 890 2 190.00–224.00 $206.90 $1,841 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1520 1387 7 171.00–187.00 $179.10 $2,484 +39.10
1420–1925 1590 16 186.00–210.00 $198.26 $3,152 -0.60
1590–1775 1668 6 187.00–197.00 $193.39 $3,226 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 275.00 $275.00 $894 -105.00
385 385 3 287.50 $287.50 $1,107 -33.50
525 525 1 222.50 $222.50 $1,168 -50.82
635 635 2 222.50 $222.50 $1,413 -45.50
820 820 3 214.00 $214.00 $1,755 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 3 265.00 $265.00 $742 -15.62
312–336 328 6 234.00–260.00 $251.76 $826 -33.98
372–383 377 14 250.00–285.00 $269.75 $1,017 -16.12
412 value added 412 7 293.00 $293.00 $1,207 —
420–436 434 24 225.00–285.00 $264.52 $1,148 -13.62
450–490 478 58 212.50–270.00 $256.94 $1,228 -8.67
515–548 546 15 217.50–239.00 $237.65 $1,298 -16.99
550–595 562 34 192.50–239.00 $233.08 $1,310 -27.92
569–597 value added 587 17 251.00–253.00 $251.68 $1,477 —
616 value added 616 8 244.00 $244.00 $1,503 +13.00
625–635 634 25 185.00–244.00 $239.35 $1,517 +4.45
653 653 20 224.00 $224.00 $1,463 +2.51
701 value added 701 3 218.00 $218.00 $1,528 —
705–744 741 16 205.00–214.00 $212.47 $1,574 +6.70
755–760 758 2 192.50–212.00 $202.22 $1,533 +4.90
826 826 3 201.00 $201.00 $1,660 -13.63
852 value added 852 2 186.00 $186.00 $1,585 —
855 855 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,710 +15.00
1072 1072 3 185.00 $185.00 $1,983 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 247.50 $247.50 $842 -48.47
350–380 368 9 245.00–280.00 $259.63 $955 -38.69
429–438 434 11 225.00–287.00 $252.86 $1,097 -18.64
481–496 486 25 230.00–266.00 $241.76 $1,175 -24.20
534 534 11 229.00 $229.00 $1,223 -24.93
550–588 585 13 210.00–237.00 $235.05 $1,375 -14.70
645–648 648 15 210.00–232.00 $230.54 $1,494 -1.57
650 650 2 197.50 $197.50 $1,284 -17.92
752 752 3 203.00 $203.00 $1,527 -22.00
830 830 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,660 +5.00
990 990 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,683 -43.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 240.00 $240.00 $744 —
373 373 8 255.00 $255.00 $951 -11.31
440 440 2 227.50 $227.50 $1,001 -31.07
467 467 3 210.00 $210.00 $981 -39.29
550 550 3 207.50 $207.50 $1,141 -44.50
685 685 1 185.00 $185.00 $1,267 -22.59
720 720 1 170.00 $170.00 $1,224 -35.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1370–1485 1428 5 193.00–206.00 $201.68 $2,880 +3.17

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318 318 3 375.00 $375.00 $1,192 -6.61
381–388 383 23 337.50–351.00 $346.84 $1,328 -2.39
424–440 432 18 322.00–340.00 $330.83 $1,429 -6.71
450–485 477 19 232.50–330.00 $305.91 $1,459 -1.65
549 549 16 280.00 $280.00 $1,537 +7.71
558–596 582 20 220.00–248.00 $243.62 $1,418 -35.32
605–629 626 9 255.00–260.00 $255.54 $1,600 +1.39
660–678 677 16 225.00–232.00 $231.57 $1,568 -20.53
718–739 731 11 205.00–235.00 $224.29 $1,640 —
755–775 762 19 197.00–211.00 $208.98 $1,592 -16.18
820 820 5 221.00 $221.00 $1,812 +13.20
975 975 1 165.00 $165.00 $1,609 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 255.00 $255.00 $790 -107.75
380–384 383 7 270.00–329.00 $312.27 $1,196 -45.54
415–440 428 8 265.00–316.00 $294.73 $1,261 -35.77
475–495 482 10 282.00–297.50 $293.92 $1,417 -12.88
525 525 1 290.00 $290.00 $1,522 +24.00
553–587 562 27 235.00–275.00 $263.20 $1,479 -12.49
653–670 660 10 228.00–241.00 $235.72 $1,556 -7.46
713 713 2 237.50 $237.50 $1,693 +11.60
805 805 1 210.00 $210.00 $1,690 +17.00
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550–593 576 5 210.00–222.50 $217.72 $1,254 —
640 640 1 227.50 $227.50 $1,456 ±0.00
765 765 2 215.00 $215.00 $1,645 —

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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.