Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 5, 2021

140 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 140 176 124
Feeder cattle 112 127 102
Slaughter cattle 22 46 22
Replacement cattle 6 3 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter cattle 5.00 To 9.00 Higher Feeder cattle 3.00 To 7.00 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
270 270 1 132.50 $132.50 $358 -2.50
335 335 1 158.00 $158.00 $529 ±0.00
360–385 373 2 144.00–148.00 $145.93 $544 -16.03
410 410 1 158.00 $158.00 $648 -3.00
465 465 1 154.00 $154.00 $716 -0.39
500 value added 500 1 154.00 $154.00 $770 —
510–520 517 3 132.00–141.00 $135.97 $703 -8.63
600 600 1 124.00 $124.00 $744 —
685 685 1 117.00 $117.00 $801 +1.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–335 318 2 130.00–132.50 $131.32 $418 -7.68
355 355 1 116.00 $116.00 $412 -13.47
535–545 540 2 124.00–128.00 $126.02 $681 -5.98
550 550 1 95.00 $95.00 $522 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 106.00 $106.00 $350 -1.56

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 135.00 $135.00 $290 —
380–395 388 2 122.00–126.00 $123.96 $481 +3.96
400–435 418 4 128.00–138.00 $131.04 $548 -0.40
455–475 463 3 132.00–134.00 $133.01 $616 +11.35
505–525 518 4 107.00–114.00 $110.53 $573 +0.60
550–568 564 4 107.00–110.00 $109.27 $616 -15.73
615–635 626 4 92.00–103.00 $99.20 $621 -7.80
675–685 680 2 96.00–105.00 $100.47 $683 —
700 700 1 105.00 $105.00 $735 —
750 750 2 85.00–94.00 $89.50 $671 +10.60
825–835 830 2 84.00–85.00 $84.50 $701 +9.52
875 875 1 84.00 $84.00 $735 +12.00
940 940 1 80.00 $80.00 $752 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 76.00 $76.00 $258 -19.00
355 thin fleshed 355 1 70.00 $70.00 $248 +12.00
370–375 373 2 82.00–86.00 $83.99 $313 —
400 thin fleshed 400 1 102.00 $102.00 $408 —
475–495 485 7 102.00–112.00 $106.97 $519 +4.02
625 625 1 69.00 $69.00 $431 —
690 690 1 83.00 $83.00 $573 —
700 700 1 75.00 $75.00 $525 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 98.00 $98.00 $363 -8.00
400–420 410 2 120.00–125.00 $122.44 $502 +3.68
465–490 478 2 118.00 $118.00 $564 +2.22
500 500 1 98.00 $98.00 $490 —
565 565 1 97.00 $97.00 $548 -9.00
650–665 658 3 80.00–85.00 $81.68 $537 —
715–720 717 3 84.00–87.00 $85.33 $612 —
765 765 1 71.00 $71.00 $543 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
410 value added 410 1 163.00 $163.00 $668 +7.00
405–440 432 5 148.00–156.00 $151.85 $656 +22.13
470–485 478 3 138.00–144.00 $140.33 $671 +1.86
505–510 508 2 139.00–144.00 $141.51 $719 -0.06
560–585 573 3 122.00–127.00 $123.63 $708 -6.37
655 655 1 122.00 $122.00 $799 +3.07
725 725 1 95.00 $95.00 $689 -14.43
770 770 1 104.00 $104.00 $801 —
945 945 1 86.00 $86.00 $813 -2.50
960 960 1 94.00 $94.00 $902 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 132.00 $132.00 $620 —
510–515 513 2 119.00–120.00 $119.50 $613 -6.50
590 590 1 114.00 $114.00 $673 +6.65
640 640 1 120.00 $120.00 $768 +8.00
680 680 1 94.00 $94.00 $639 -2.00
765 765 1 89.00 $89.00 $681 —
855 855 1 74.00 $74.00 $633 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 thin fleshed 445 1 60.00 $60.00 $267 —
470 470 1 107.00 $107.00 $503 +7.00
520 520 1 90.00 $90.00 $468 -26.68
645 645 1 102.00 $102.00 $658 +5.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905–1145 1009 80-85% 5 56.50–65.00 $60.88 $614 —
1005–1225 1122 80-85% 3 52.00–53.50 $52.87 $593 —
1095–1730 1312 80-85% 3 65.00–69.00 $66.35 $871 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–850 815 85-90% 3 58.00–63.00 $61.17 $499 +12.58
865 865 85-90% 1 65.00 $65.00 $562 —
890 890 85-90% 1 43.50 $43.50 $387 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415 1415 75-80% 1 68.50 $68.50 $969 —
1420 1420 75-80% 1 62.00 $62.00 $880 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–1965 1711 4 92.00–99.50 $96.63 $1,653 —

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Bred Cows

Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
690 690 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 590.00 $590.00
770–865 802 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 340.00–820.00 $647.36
845 845 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00

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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
720 720 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 750.00 $750.00 —

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Dairy Steers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
615 615 1 60.00 $60.00 $369 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
575 575 1 50.00 $50.00 $288 —

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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.