Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 9, 2020

226 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 226 175 151
Feeder cattle 141 112 112
Slaughter cattle 82 63 39
Replacement cattle 3 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle Mostly steady Feeder cattle Mostly steady Demand Good Activity Moderate Offerings Moderate Quality 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
265–270 268 2 160.00 $160.00 $429 +11.19
320–325 323 2 144.00–150.00 $147.02 $475 +4.35
350 350 1 142.00 $142.00 $497 +5.57
440 440 1 134.00 $134.00 $590 —
460 460 1 135.00 $135.00 $621 —
500 500 2 125.00–127.00 $126.00 $630 —
605 605 1 115.00 $115.00 $696 —
865 865 1 112.00 $112.00 $969 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
195 195 1 115.00 $115.00 $224 —
240 240 1 120.00 $120.00 $288 +2.50
275–285 280 2 135.00–137.50 $136.27 $382 +11.27
325 325 1 130.00 $130.00 $422 +12.54
355–370 362 3 118.00–129.00 $123.92 $449 —
545 545 1 111.00 $111.00 $605 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210–225 218 2 85.00–90.00 $87.59 $191 —
385 385 2 80.00–90.00 $85.00 $327 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 108.00 $108.00 $302 -2.00
300 300 1 115.00 $115.00 $345 —
370 370 1 112.00 $112.00 $414 +9.50
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 2 92.00–100.00 $96.00 $312 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070 1070 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,059 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 114.00 $114.00 $376 -9.50
365–375 370 2 111.00–116.00 $113.53 $420 -9.47
425 425 1 110.00 $110.00 $468 —
455–495 466 8 101.00–111.00 $108.45 $505 -9.36
500–530 515 5 99.00–108.00 $103.33 $532 —
550–560 558 5 112.00 $112.00 $625 —
600–645 613 4 104.00–114.00 $106.98 $656 —
655–683 673 9 114.00–117.00 $114.66 $772 —
715–743 736 4 112.00–116.00 $112.97 $831 —
765 765 1 103.00 $103.00 $788 —
965 965 1 86.00 $86.00 $830 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 95.00 $95.00 $209 —
275 275 1 103.00 $103.00 $283 -12.76
340 340 1 103.00 $103.00 $350 -15.00
365 365 1 105.00 $105.00 $383 -10.79
405 405 1 102.00 $102.00 $413 —
455–490 473 3 82.00–93.00 $89.32 $422 -21.68
500–540 519 4 86.00–95.00 $89.73 $466 —
560–570 565 2 90.00–96.00 $92.97 $525 -14.03
610–635 621 4 83.00–90.00 $86.77 $539 —
635 635 1 65.00 $65.00 $413 —
660 660 1 85.00 $85.00 $561 —
745 745 1 76.00 $76.00 $566 —
845 845 1 70.00 $70.00 $592 —
880 880 1 50.00 $50.00 $440 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 90.00 $90.00 $274 -10.50
435 435 1 70.00 $70.00 $304 -30.60
875 875 1 52.00 $52.00 $455 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 72.00 $72.00 $158 -18.00
285 285 1 69.00 $69.00 $197 —
430 430 1 48.00 $48.00 $206 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 157.50 $157.50 $402 —
400–425 415 3 133.00–135.00 $134.33 $557 —
470–490 480 2 128.00–132.00 $130.04 $624 -2.81
505–535 515 5 122.00–128.00 $125.37 $646 —
550–580 565 2 114.00–122.00 $118.11 $667 -5.89
635 635 1 111.00 $111.00 $705 -5.00
680–695 688 4 104.00–108.00 $105.51 $726 -10.49
710–745 728 2 88.00–92.00 $90.05 $656 —
760 760 1 96.00 $96.00 $730 —
835 835 1 84.00 $84.00 $701 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–430 422 3 110.00–120.00 $116.72 $493 —
525 525 1 109.00 $109.00 $572 —
560–590 571 5 90.00–102.00 $95.65 $546 —
640 640 1 86.00 $86.00 $550 —
650–660 655 2 81.00 $81.00 $531 —
790 790 1 89.00 $89.00 $703 —
805 805 1 87.00 $87.00 $700 —
995 995 1 65.00 $65.00 $647 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 108.00 $108.00 $454 —
575–580 578 2 88.00–91.00 $89.51 $517 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550 550 1 70.00 $70.00 $385 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–1155 1023 80-85% 6 20.00–32.00 $26.24 $268 —
935–1145 1040 80-85% 2 65.00–69.00 $66.80 $695 —
905–1365 1075 80-85% 21 35.00–44.50 $40.28 $433 —
900–1375 1121 80-85% 18 45.00–53.50 $48.16 $540 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075 value added 1075 75-80% 1 80.00 $80.00 $860 —
1220–1625 1430 75-80% 11 47.00–54.00 $51.24 $733 —
1430 1430 75-80% 1 44.00 $44.00 $629 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705–820 777 85-90% 3 20.00–34.00 $28.38 $221 -15.62
775–790 783 85-90% 2 37.00–44.00 $40.47 $317 -3.53
760–860 797 85-90% 3 50.00–54.00 $52.37 $417 +8.37

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1595–1955 1775 2 89.50–90.00 $89.78 $1,594 —
1795–1960 1843 4 78.50–84.00 $81.93 $1,510 —
YG1-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1905 1355 6 65.00–75.00 $72.18 $978 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1500 1500 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
965–1150 1058 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 400.00–760.00 $595.74 —

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Dairy Heifers

Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 310 1 73.00 $73.00 $226 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1205 1205 1 40.00 $40.00 $482 —

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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.