Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 14, 2021

135 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 135 192 104
Feeder cattle 113 161 86
Slaughter cattle 20 29 18
Replacement cattle 2 2 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Head calves 150.00 To 200.00 Slaughter cattle 2.00 To 3.00 Higher Feeder cattle 8.00 To 15.00 Higher Demand Good Activity Active Offerings Moderate Quality Average to Attractive

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
240 240 1 152.00 $152.00 $365 —
330 330 1 154.00 $154.00 $508 -0.48
355–395 380 3 165.00–174.00 $168.08 $639 +19.24
410 410 1 174.00 $174.00 $713 +34.00
500 500 2 152.00–154.00 $153.00 $765 +3.00
551 551 4 158.00 $158.00 $871 +15.95
600 600 2 155.00 $155.00 $930 —
678 678 2 140.00 $140.00 $949 —
847 847 3 130.00 $130.00 $1,101 —
855 855 1 116.00 $116.00 $992 —
1000 1000 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,150 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 1 130.00 $130.00 $500 -12.00
440 440 1 154.00 $154.00 $678 —
480 480 1 141.00 $141.00 $677 —
555 555 1 135.00 $135.00 $749 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 120.00 $120.00 $336 —
370 thin fleshed 370 1 70.00 $70.00 $259 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 thin fleshed 430 1 89.00 $89.00 $383 —

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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 1 130.00 $130.00 $286 —
250–290 270 2 136.00–146.00 $141.37 $382 —
400–430 426 7 138.00–144.00 $138.81 $591 +8.43
460–485 468 8 136.00–145.00 $139.10 $651 +8.48
505–518 516 8 138.00–140.00 $139.76 $721 +9.42
575 575 1 143.00 $143.00 $822 +21.66
762 762 7 116.00 $116.00 $884 +15.00
865–875 870 2 81.00–84.00 $82.49 $718 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 131.00 $131.00 $347 —
345 345 1 121.00 $121.00 $417 —
380 380 1 134.00 $134.00 $509 +16.75
415–430 425 3 121.00–130.00 $126.64 $538 +7.99
502–545 518 6 120.00–129.00 $124.88 $647 —
555 555 1 126.00 $126.00 $699 +21.00
705 705 1 100.00 $100.00 $705 —
770 770 1 92.00 $92.00 $708 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–315 310 2 110.00 $110.00 $341 —
400–435 418 2 112.00–115.00 $113.56 $475 +13.56
525 thin fleshed 525 1 70.00 $70.00 $368 —
525 525 1 107.00 $107.00 $562 —
745 745 1 83.00 $83.00 $618 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 1 108.00 $108.00 $529 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–445 426 5 158.00–167.00 $160.51 $684 -1.73
475–480 478 2 156.00–160.00 $158.01 $755 +11.81
513–525 517 3 142.00–151.00 $145.05 $750 -4.40
610 610 1 139.00 $139.00 $848 +13.02
660 660 1 143.00 $143.00 $944 +13.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405 405 1 145.00 $145.00 $587 -2.19
450–495 474 4 135.00–143.00 $138.52 $657 —
520–530 525 2 128.00–138.00 $132.95 $698 -5.09
575 575 1 137.00 $137.00 $788 -1.84
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465–470 468 2 113.00–118.00 $115.49 $540 —
530 530 1 121.00 $121.00 $641 -4.90
620 620 1 100.00 $100.00 $620 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595–795 680 85-90% 3 80.00–82.00 $81.22 $552 —
810 810 85-90% 1 32.00 $32.00 $259 —
780–870 828 85-90% 4 44.00–47.00 $45.21 $374 —
870–895 883 85-90% 2 49.00–55.50 $52.20 $461 +0.20
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 80-85% 1 40.00 $40.00 $378 -6.28
960–1060 1025 80-85% 3 61.00–63.50 $62.64 $642 +2.30
1060–1080 1070 80-85% 2 20.00–28.00 $24.04 $257 -29.69
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1410 1320 75-80% 2 66.00–68.50 $67.34 $889 +10.34

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065 1065 1 64.50 $64.50 $687 —
1955 1955 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,760 —

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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
985 985 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —
Small 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
740 740 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 960.00 $960.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 2 84.00 $84.00 $521 —

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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.