Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 7, 2021

192 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M 2 bulls $138.04/cwt ≈ $725/hd at 525 lb · 13 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $130.62/cwt -7.98 vs last sale · ≈ $619/hd at 474 lb · 10 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 192 131 202
Feeder cattle 161 108 156
Slaughter cattle 29 23 44
Replacement cattle 2 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle Mostly steady Feeder cattle 1.00 To 3.00 Higher Demand Moderate Activity Active 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
280 280 1 170.00 $170.00 $476 +12.46
300–345 323 4 150.00–160.00 $154.48 $499 -15.52
335 value added 335 1 180.00 $180.00 $603 —
350–395 374 6 146.00–156.00 $148.84 $557 -11.16
365–385 value added 375 2 168.00–170.00 $168.97 $634 —
440 440 1 140.00 $140.00 $616 —
490 490 1 156.00 $156.00 $764 +1.00
505 505 1 150.00 $150.00 $758 —
570–585 578 2 138.00–146.00 $142.05 $821 —
640 640 1 134.00 $134.00 $858 —
715 715 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,022 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 128.00 $128.00 $282 +3.00
305 305 1 130.00 $130.00 $396 +12.76
310–340 333 4 137.00–146.00 $139.10 $463 +21.86
355 355 1 142.00 $142.00 $504 +29.41
540 540 1 118.00 $118.00 $637 —
695 695 1 123.00 $123.00 $855 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 thin fleshed 265 1 96.00 $96.00 $254 —
500 500 1 100.00 $100.00 $500 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–340 338 2 138.00–145.00 $141.47 $478 +22.20
365–395 376 6 135.00–145.00 $139.68 $525 +17.12
420–430 425 8 128.00–134.00 $130.38 $554 -1.09
450–495 474 10 128.00–138.00 $130.62 $619 -7.98
515–525 518 3 127.00–132.00 $130.34 $675 -0.60
550–555 552 3 117.00–125.00 $121.34 $670 -3.66
600–615 608 2 109.00–115.00 $112.04 $681 -11.96
670 670 1 114.00 $114.00 $764 —
715–725 720 2 95.00–106.00 $100.54 $724 +21.15
750 750 2 99.00–103.00 $101.00 $758 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 373 3 112.00–120.00 $117.25 $437 +23.56
400–430 417 3 115.00–123.00 $118.65 $495 +1.15
458–490 470 5 120.00–126.00 $122.86 $577 +0.96
560 560 1 105.00 $105.00 $588 +1.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 thin fleshed 230 1 85.00 $85.00 $196 —
445 445 1 100.00 $100.00 $445 —
450–465 458 2 108.00–114.00 $111.05 $509 —
550 550 1 86.00 $86.00 $473 —
675 675 1 70.00 $70.00 $472 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 82.00 $82.00 $344 —
555–560 thin fleshed 558 2 40.00–48.00 $43.98 $245 —
590 thin fleshed 590 1 60.00 $60.00 $354 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 114.00 $114.00 $410 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–430 422 5 142.00–150.00 $147.19 $621 —
500–540 525 13 135.00–144.00 $138.04 $725 —
565–589 585 6 138.00–139.00 $138.84 $812 —
710–735 723 2 112.00–114.00 $113.02 $817 —
780–785 783 2 90.00 $90.00 $705 —
875 875 1 66.00 $66.00 $578 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–430 415 3 159.00–168.00 $162.24 $673 —
460–490 469 6 144.00–150.00 $146.20 $686 +1.63
505–545 521 4 146.00–157.00 $149.45 $779 +18.86
555–565 558 3 144.00–150.00 $147.31 $822 +8.38
605 value added 605 1 140.00 $140.00 $847 —
620–630 625 3 121.00–129.00 $125.98 $787 —
695 695 1 130.00 $130.00 $904 +3.00
725 725 1 126.00 $126.00 $914 +26.00
775–780 778 2 115.00–116.00 $115.50 $899 —
805 805 1 96.00 $96.00 $773 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 104.00 $104.00 $463 —
475 thin fleshed 475 1 80.00 $80.00 $380 —
510–535 523 2 122.00–130.00 $125.90 $658 +27.47
560–595 578 2 110.00–121.00 $115.67 $669 —
665 665 1 100.00 $100.00 $665 —
730 730 1 80.00 $80.00 $584 +4.00
785 thin fleshed 785 1 80.00 $80.00 $628 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 thin fleshed 370 1 94.00 $94.00 $348 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–945 923 80-85% 2 45.00–47.50 $46.28 $427 —
935–1150 1034 80-85% 6 57.00–64.00 $60.34 $624 +5.98
980–1300 1078 80-85% 11 50.00–56.00 $53.73 $579 -8.08
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1320 1257 75-80% 5 58.00–69.50 $63.36 $796 —
1300 1300 75-80% 1 57.00 $57.00 $741 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–895 863 85-90% 3 48.00–58.00 $52.00 $449 -7.49

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400 1400 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,162 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1340 1340 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00

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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
1080 1080 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 790.00 $790.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 90.00 $90.00 $418 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015 1015 1 60.00 $60.00 $609 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
690 690 1 78.00 $78.00 $538 —

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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.