Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 24, 2021

181 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 181 144 125
Feeder cattle 145 115 32
Slaughter cattle 35 27 93
Replacement cattle 1 2 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle 2.00 To 6.00 Higher Feeder Cattle 5.00 To 8.00 Higher 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
270 270 1 155.00 $155.00 $418 +15.00
300–330 317 5 145.00–156.00 $147.70 $468 —
360 value added 360 1 174.00 $174.00 $626 —
355–385 375 7 150.00–160.00 $155.75 $584 +17.00
435–440 438 2 145.00–152.00 $148.48 $650 —
478 478 7 158.00 $158.00 $755 +5.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–285 282 3 128.00–138.00 $131.37 $370 —
340 340 1 121.00 $121.00 $411 —
355–398 385 4 140.00–146.00 $144.25 $555 +18.36
430 430 2 134.00 $134.00 $576 -10.00
500 500 1 113.00 $113.00 $565 —
575 575 1 125.00 $125.00 $719 -10.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 124.00 $124.00 $310 —
350–385 367 3 132.00–136.00 $134.06 $492 —
375 thin fleshed 375 1 110.00 $110.00 $412 —
470 470 1 94.00 $94.00 $442 -26.00
705 thin fleshed 705 1 50.00 $50.00 $352 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310 thin fleshed 310 1 90.00 $90.00 $279 —
350–390 370 2 120.00–125.00 $122.64 $454 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 117.00 $117.00 $257 -5.00
250–280 260 3 114.00–120.00 $117.36 $305 —
320 320 1 124.00 $124.00 $397 —
350–395 377 8 126.00–136.00 $130.28 $491 +1.05
405–435 419 7 120.00–130.00 $125.83 $527 -4.16
480–485 483 2 120.00–125.00 $122.49 $592 -6.82
505–540 521 4 108.00–116.00 $113.30 $590 -3.73
550–560 557 3 111.00–121.00 $117.31 $653 +1.54
640 640 1 100.00 $100.00 $640 —
657 657 6 107.00 $107.00 $703 —
700–725 713 2 95.00–106.00 $100.40 $716 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–330 325 2 108.00–114.00 $110.95 $361 —
362–390 375 5 110.00–120.00 $115.32 $432 +0.77
420 420 1 110.00 $110.00 $462 +2.50
510 510 1 100.00 $100.00 $510 +10.00
605 605 1 103.00 $103.00 $623 +13.36
685 685 1 81.00 $81.00 $555 -9.00
735 735 1 92.00 $92.00 $676 +10.00
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 100.00 $100.00 $205 -3.95
235 thin fleshed 235 1 50.00 $50.00 $118 —
300–315 308 3 76.00–82.00 $78.34 $241 —
445 445 1 90.00 $90.00 $400 +22.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 100.00 $100.00 $300 —
395 395 1 103.00 $103.00 $407 —
445 445 1 107.00 $107.00 $476 —
650 650 1 50.00 $50.00 $325 —
655 655 1 75.00 $75.00 $491 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–430 415 2 138.00–146.00 $141.86 $589 -1.17
430 value added 430 1 170.00 $170.00 $731 —
450–470 460 4 152.00–163.00 $159.23 $732 +15.11
510–530 520 2 143.00–148.00 $145.45 $756 +15.57
585 585 1 148.00 $148.00 $866 +1.00
600–615 608 3 134.00–145.00 $137.62 $837 -2.38
875 875 1 73.00 $73.00 $639 —
985 985 1 78.00 $78.00 $768 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–425 415 2 132.00–134.00 $133.02 $552 +2.02
455–460 458 2 150.00–151.00 $150.50 $689 +30.50
510 510 1 135.00 $135.00 $688 +35.00
575–595 585 3 120.00–124.00 $121.99 $714 -14.01
600–630 612 6 124.00–130.00 $127.96 $783 +11.96
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 120.00 $120.00 $522 —
460–485 473 2 130.00–140.00 $134.87 $638 —
500–530 thin fleshed 515 2 106.00–110.00 $108.06 $557 +49.06
605–630 618 2 107.00–117.00 $111.90 $692 —
675 675 1 80.00 $80.00 $540 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610 610 1 69.00 $69.00 $421 —
635 635 1 84.00 $84.00 $533 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1090 1063 80-85% 2 40.00–44.50 $42.31 $450 —
1045–1145 1090 80-85% 3 56.00–60.00 $58.36 $636 —
900–1410 1119 80-85% 15 45.00–55.00 $50.86 $569 +0.22
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
980–1620 1295 75-80% 7 56.50–65.50 $59.92 $776 —
1690 1690 75-80% 1 45.00 $45.00 $760 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–780 770 85-90% 2 40.00–42.00 $40.99 $316 —
820 820 85-90% 1 54.00 $54.00 $443 +6.21
835–845 840 85-90% 2 24.00–31.00 $27.52 $231 -20.27

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465 1465 1 77.00 $77.00 $1,128 —
1660 1660 1 85.50 $85.50 $1,419 —

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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
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —

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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.