Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 17, 2021

144 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.23/cwt -9.43 vs last sale · ≈ $498/hd at 385 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 144 248 104
Feeder cattle 115 200 66
Slaughter cattle 27 45 31
Replacement cattle 2 3 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle Mostly steady Feeder cattle Mostly steady Demand Moderate Activity Moderate Offerings Light Quality 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
275 275 1 140.00 $140.00 $385 -15.00
365–390 374 4 135.00–144.00 $138.75 $519 -24.78
400 400 1 165.00 $165.00 $660 -4.00
485 485 1 153.00 $153.00 $742 -10.35
530–535 531 6 147.00–154.00 $148.18 $787 -12.43
555 555 3 155.00 $155.00 $860 +10.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 370 2 122.00–130.00 $125.89 $466 -29.66
405 405 1 144.00 $144.00 $583 +4.00
468 468 2 137.00 $137.00 $641 +7.00
530–545 538 2 118.00–125.00 $121.45 $653 -27.09
555 555 1 135.00 $135.00 $749 +4.53
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 120.00 $120.00 $594 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 122.00 $122.00 $244 —
365–389 385 11 124.00–131.00 $129.23 $498 -4.26
415–435 423 4 125.00–134.00 $129.99 $550 -2.23
470–475 472 3 124.00–132.00 $129.31 $610 -0.94
510–540 523 3 115.00–119.00 $117.03 $612 -11.08
550–595 571 8 108.00–118.00 $115.77 $661 -9.82
600 600 1 116.00 $116.00 $696 -7.00
780 780 2 78.00–82.00 $80.00 $624 —
1040 1040 1 62.00 $62.00 $645 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 116.00 $116.00 $325 -1.72
350–375 365 4 112.00–118.00 $114.55 $418 -12.35
405–440 433 5 106.00–114.00 $107.50 $465 -11.25
530 530 1 90.00 $90.00 $477 -27.76
610–620 613 3 84.00–95.00 $89.64 $549 -16.36
660 660 1 90.00 $90.00 $594 —
745 745 1 82.00 $82.00 $611 -2.00
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–205 203 2 100.00–108.00 $103.95 $211 +7.42
395 thin fleshed 395 1 40.00 $40.00 $158 —
420 420 1 68.00 $68.00 $286 —
545 545 1 80.00 $80.00 $436 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 100.00 $100.00 $260 -10.00
475 475 1 109.00 $109.00 $518 +19.00
Small 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 67.00 $67.00 $469 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430–440 435 3 137.00–146.00 $143.03 $622 -12.60
450–460 453 8 139.00–148.00 $144.12 $653 -8.29
520–545 533 2 125.00–135.00 $129.88 $692 -20.09
580–585 583 2 146.00–148.00 $147.00 $857 -1.51
620 620 1 140.00 $140.00 $868 -10.00
720–730 725 2 106.00–114.00 $110.03 $798 -11.97
905–920 913 2 87.00–88.00 $87.50 $799 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 131.00 $131.00 $557 -10.55
460–495 478 2 120.00 $120.00 $574 -10.98
500 500 1 100.00 $100.00 $500 -19.97
595 595 1 136.00 $136.00 $809 +2.52
620 620 1 116.00 $116.00 $719 -22.00
680 680 1 94.00 $94.00 $639 -20.52
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 56.00 $56.00 $283 —
590 thin fleshed 590 1 105.00 $105.00 $620 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 thin fleshed 545 1 59.00 $59.00 $322 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1195 1107 80-85% 13 45.00–55.00 $50.64 $561 -6.78
1150–1255 1200 80-85% 5 56.00–60.50 $57.41 $689 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
705–790 748 85-90% 2 20.00–21.00 $20.53 $154 —
760–880 840 85-90% 3 45.00–49.00 $47.79 $401 +11.74
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1465 1360 75-80% 2 59.00–61.50 $60.35 $821 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1720 1720 1 77.50 $77.50 $1,333 —
2105 2105 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,579 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
875 875 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 1 500.00 $500.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1325 1325 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 660.00 $660.00

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Dairy Heifers

Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 67.00 $67.00 $338 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 73.00 $73.00 $369 —

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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.