Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 18, 2020

150 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Wilkes Livestock Exchange report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 150 129 435
Feeder cattle 124 90 349
Slaughter cattle 26 38 86
Replacement cattle — 1 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower, boning type were 3.00 to 4.00 lower, and slaughter bulls were 5.00 to 6.00 lower. There were too few comparable feeder cattle to establish an adequate market comparison, however a lower undertone was noted. Demand for steers was moderate, while heifers was fairly light; market activity and buyer interest were slow to moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was plain to average.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354 value added 354 6 163.00 $163.00 $577 —
405 405 1 148.00 $148.00 $599 +9.00
440 value added 440 2 160.00 $160.00 $704 —
500–530 515 7 130.00–139.00 $135.44 $698 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 115.00 $115.00 $661 -3.00
615 615 1 114.00 $114.00 $701 —
713 713 7 111.00 $111.00 $791 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 485 1 153.00 $153.00 $742 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–365 360 2 108.00–109.00 $108.49 $391 -5.04
400–425 413 2 102.00–114.00 $108.18 $447 -5.82
505–520 514 4 105.00–111.00 $106.73 $549 -0.27
565–585 575 2 103.00–105.00 $104.02 $598 —
630 630 1 100.00 $100.00 $630 +1.04
705 705 1 88.00 $88.00 $620 —
710 710 1 83.00 $83.00 $589 —
740 thin fleshed 740 1 70.00 $70.00 $518 —
775 775 1 86.00 $86.00 $666 -9.00
810 810 1 84.00 $84.00 $680 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–465 thin fleshed 458 2 70.00–80.00 $74.92 $343 —
455–490 474 4 80.00–89.00 $84.73 $402 -7.73
595 595 1 88.00 $88.00 $524 —
635 635 1 83.00 $83.00 $527 —
685–695 690 2 60.00–78.00 $68.93 $476 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 90.00 $90.00 $274 —
470–480 475 2 95.00–96.00 $95.49 $454 —
505–535 520 2 90.00–94.00 $92.06 $479 —
540 thin fleshed 540 1 78.00 $78.00 $421 —
680 thin fleshed 680 1 75.00 $75.00 $510 —
755 thin fleshed 755 1 69.00 $69.00 $521 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 1 128.00 $128.00 $480 —
440 440 1 122.00 $122.00 $537 —
500 500 1 124.00 $124.00 $620 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 112.00 $112.00 $353 —
415 415 1 101.00 $101.00 $419 -29.89
473–485 477 3 100.00–110.00 $106.61 $509 -18.37
565–595 582 5 100.00–112.00 $105.23 $612 —
610 610 1 106.00 $106.00 $647 —
680–685 683 2 106.00–111.00 $108.51 $741 —
705–745 725 2 92.00 $92.00 $667 —
890 thin fleshed 890 1 60.00 $60.00 $534 —
895 895 1 80.00 $80.00 $716 —
1030 thin fleshed 1030 1 50.00 $50.00 $515 —
1360 1360 1 74.00 $74.00 $1,006 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–385 378 2 144.00–153.00 $148.41 $561 —
410 410 1 132.00 $132.00 $541 —
480 480 1 126.00 $126.00 $605 —
505–535 520 3 121.00–126.00 $124.01 $645 —
570–595 583 4 118.00–124.00 $121.19 $707 —
605 605 1 114.00 $114.00 $690 —
685 685 1 115.00 $115.00 $788 —
735 735 1 107.00 $107.00 $786 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 160.00 $160.00 $584 —
440 value added 440 8 160.00 $160.00 $704 —
445 445 1 146.00 $146.00 $650 —
505–510 508 2 137.00–142.00 $139.49 $709 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
590 thin fleshed 590 1 70.00 $70.00 $413 —
660 thin fleshed 660 1 82.00 $82.00 $541 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
540 540 1 82.00 $82.00 $443 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1275 1108 80-85% 2 26.00–31.00 $28.88 $320 —
1035–1195 1121 80-85% 7 45.50–55.50 $50.18 $563 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1135 1111 85-90% 4 35.50–41.00 $39.13 $435 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1555 1435 75-80% 3 57.50–61.00 $59.68 $856 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085 1085 1 53.50 $53.50 $580 —
1290–1825 1531 4 74.50–82.00 $77.22 $1,182 —
1790–1960 1875 2 88.50–93.00 $90.85 $1,703 —

↑ Back to top

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.