We had a good run today with some excellent groups of cattle. The market was up and down in places compared to last week coming off of the majority of that market being VAC 45 and VAC 60 calves compared to more bawling calves this week. Still a strong market when looking at the dollars per head this week. Packer cows were down $1-$2 this week while we had an excellent offering of young bred cows this week and strong interest. Packer bulls were up a few dollars this week as well. Thank you to everyone who allowed us to market cattle for them again this week!
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.
We had a good run today with some excellent groups of cattle. The market was up and down in places compared to last week coming off of the majority of that market being VAC 45 and VAC 60 calves compared to more bawling calves this week. Still a strong market when looking at the dollars per head this week. Packer cows were down $1-$2 this week while we had an excellent offering of young bred cows this week and strong interest. Packer bulls were up a few dollars this week as well. Thank you to everyone who allowed us to market cattle for them again this week!