Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 31, 2021

131 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 131 181 129
Feeder cattle 108 145 91
Slaughter cattle 23 35 38
Replacement cattle — 1 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle 6.00 To 7.00 Higher Feeder cattle 5.00 To 8.00 Higher Demand Good Activity Moderate Offerings Light ( Heavy Rain ) Quality Plain To Average

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 125.00 $125.00 $288 —
285 285 2 125.00–135.00 $130.00 $370 -1.37
300–335 318 2 117.00–117.50 $117.24 $373 -3.76
355–380 367 3 110.00–117.50 $112.59 $413 -31.66
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275–290 285 3 155.00–160.00 $157.54 $449 +2.54
300 300 1 170.00 $170.00 $510 +22.30
380 380 1 160.00 $160.00 $608 +4.25
480 480 1 155.00 $155.00 $744 -3.00
760 760 1 119.00 $119.00 $904 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
180 180 1 115.00 $115.00 $207 —
280 280 1 100.00 $100.00 $280 -24.00
340 340 1 101.00 $101.00 $343 —
350 thin fleshed 350 1 85.00 $85.00 $298 -25.00
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 1 67.00 $67.00 $234 -55.64

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 125.00 $125.00 $306 +8.00
265 265 1 122.50 $122.50 $325 +5.14
315–335 323 3 115.00–125.00 $119.27 $385 -4.73
365–375 370 2 118.00–127.00 $122.56 $453 -7.72
400–425 414 8 125.00–135.00 $131.47 $544 +5.64
450–495 461 7 131.00–142.00 $138.60 $639 +16.11
525–540 533 2 127.00–135.00 $130.94 $698 +17.64
585 585 1 125.00 $125.00 $731 +7.69
600 600 1 124.00 $124.00 $744 —
700–735 718 2 75.00–84.00 $79.39 $570 -21.01
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 110.00 $110.00 $363 -0.95
360–395 378 2 92.50–95.00 $93.69 $354 -21.63
440 440 1 117.50 $117.50 $517 +7.50
450–495 473 3 120.00–126.00 $121.90 $577 —
505–515 510 2 111.00–122.00 $116.45 $594 +16.45
590 590 1 104.00 $104.00 $614 —
635 635 1 105.00 $105.00 $667 +2.00
670 670 1 81.00 $81.00 $543 ±0.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 thin fleshed 280 1 87.50 $87.50 $245 —
495 thin fleshed 495 1 84.00 $84.00 $416 —
540 thin fleshed 540 1 90.00 $90.00 $486 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–490 480 2 141.00–148.00 $144.57 $694 -14.66
500–525 513 2 127.00–134.00 $130.59 $670 -14.86
565–580 573 2 134.00–144.00 $138.93 $796 -9.07
660 660 1 127.00 $127.00 $838 —
740 740 1 100.00 $100.00 $740 —
985 985 1 79.00 $79.00 $778 +1.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 thin fleshed 405 1 45.00 $45.00 $182 —
475 475 2 92.50–97.50 $95.00 $451 -39.87
510–525 518 2 94.00–103.00 $98.43 $510 —
600 600 1 94.00 $94.00 $564 -17.90
720 720 1 76.00 $76.00 $547 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 thin fleshed 530 1 67.50 $67.50 $358 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1085 1018 80-85% 4 54.00–55.00 $54.36 $553 —
915–1495 1053 80-85% 11 58.50–65.00 $61.81 $651 +19.50
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780 value added 780 85-90% 1 71.00 $71.00 $554 —
855–880 868 85-90% 2 59.00–60.00 $59.49 $516 —
895 895 85-90% 2 54.00–55.00 $54.50 $488 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360 1360 75-80% 1 64.50 $64.50 $877 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510–1725 1618 2 92.00–93.00 $92.47 $1,496 —

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Dairy Heifers

Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 thin fleshed 290 1 55.00 $55.00 $160 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 87.50 $87.50 $258 —
380 380 1 87.00 $87.00 $331 —
480 480 1 70.00 $70.00 $336 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
690 690 1 46.00 $46.00 $317 —

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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.