It was a hot one today. The board paired with the excessive heat definitely put more pressure on the calf market today. The health on fresh, bawling calves can be challenging this time of year, so the pressure is historically expected. The market was uneven with some classes being a touch higher and some being $10 lower. Cows lost a little money today as well with the heat being tough on older and fat cows. We have a great run of Value Added Calves lined up for next week! Thank You to everyone who allowed us to work for them!
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.
It was a hot one today. The board paired with the excessive heat definitely put more pressure on the calf market today. The health on fresh, bawling calves can be challenging this time of year, so the pressure is historically expected. The market was uneven with some classes being a touch higher and some being $10 lower. Cows lost a little money today as well with the heat being tough on older and fat cows. We have a great run of Value Added Calves lined up for next week! Thank You to everyone who allowed us to work for them!