Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 20, 2021

175 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 175 95 305
Feeder cattle 124 46 266
Slaughter cattle 39 47 36
Replacement cattle 12 2 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Receipts (10/13/2021): 160. Compared to two weeks ago, boning type slaughter cows were 2.00 to 3.00 higher, while breaking type slaughter cows and slaughter bulls were 1.00 to 2.00 lower. There were too few comparable feeder cattle to establish an adequate market comparison, however, a higher undertone was noted. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was plain to 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
345 345 1 150.00 $150.00 $518 —
355–395 377 7 153.00–161.00 $157.09 $592 +19.09
440–445 443 2 148.00–153.00 $150.49 $667 —
450–490 471 5 142.00–150.00 $145.76 $687 +21.76
580 580 1 135.00 $135.00 $783 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 115.00 $115.00 $236 —
330 330 1 122.00 $122.00 $403 —
355 355 1 122.00 $122.00 $433 —
400 400 1 94.00 $94.00 $376 —
630 630 1 56.00 $56.00 $353 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 136.00 $136.00 $496 +29.55
725 725 1 115.00 $115.00 $834 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 100.00 $100.00 $365 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 107.00 $107.00 $219 —
350 350 1 100.00 $100.00 $350 +25.83
425 425 1 105.00 $105.00 $446 +12.00
480–490 487 3 100.00–104.00 $101.67 $495 —
507–510 509 2 100.00–103.00 $101.50 $517 —
550–565 553 6 96.00–101.00 $100.15 $554 —
690 value added 690 5 98.00 $98.00 $676 —
740 740 1 88.00 $88.00 $651 —
775 thin fleshed 775 1 64.00 $64.00 $496 —
795 795 1 86.00 $86.00 $684 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 134.00 $134.00 $422 —
360–390 375 2 126.00–130.00 $127.92 $480 —
385 value added 385 1 143.00 $143.00 $551 —
400–430 416 5 128.00–136.00 $132.37 $551 —
470–493 488 6 114.00–123.00 $119.71 $584 +10.71
500–545 515 3 114.00–117.00 $115.62 $595 +12.62
595 595 1 110.00 $110.00 $654 —
675 675 1 108.00 $108.00 $729 +12.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 1 83.00 $83.00 $349 +25.00
480 480 1 87.00 $87.00 $418 —
500–525 thin fleshed 513 2 70.00 $70.00 $359 —
540–545 543 2 85.00–88.00 $86.49 $470 —
650–675 667 3 83.00–85.00 $84.35 $563 —
720 thin fleshed 720 1 63.00 $63.00 $454 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
565 thin fleshed 565 1 50.00 $50.00 $282 —
630 630 1 56.00 $56.00 $353 —
660–670 thin fleshed 665 2 50.00–55.00 $52.48 $349 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 thin fleshed 380 1 33.00 $33.00 $125 —
620 thin fleshed 620 1 42.00 $42.00 $260 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–425 417 3 138.00–149.00 $144.92 $604 +14.92
473–478 476 4 130.00–145.00 $137.54 $655 —
505–535 520 5 128.00–135.00 $131.37 $683 +12.37
555–585 578 6 130.00–134.00 $133.03 $769 -2.97
620 620 1 124.00 $124.00 $769 +18.00
665–685 675 2 111.00–118.00 $114.55 $773 +19.23
725 725 1 115.00 $115.00 $834 —
795 795 1 93.00 $93.00 $739 —
835 835 1 98.00 $98.00 $818 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–445 435 3 112.00–117.00 $113.59 $494 -2.41
550–590 569 4 101.00–111.00 $105.02 $598 -16.98
625 625 3 109.00 $109.00 $681 —
665 665 2 106.00 $106.00 $705 —
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
640 640 1 98.00 $98.00 $627 —
685 685 1 90.00 $90.00 $616 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1070 997 80-85% 5 44.00–48.00 $46.05 $459 +0.15
940–1245 1100 80-85% 5 52.00–58.00 $55.05 $606 +2.43
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1075–1340 1231 75-80% 5 51.00–55.50 $53.48 $658 —
1325–1400 1373 75-80% 3 61.00–64.00 $61.96 $851 —
1205–1830 1518 75-80% 2 45.00–49.00 $46.59 $707 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
650–755 703 85-90% 2 37.00–39.00 $38.07 $268 +9.06

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1010–1360 1163 3 72.00–76.00 $73.88 $859 —
1400–1895 1602 3 81.00–87.50 $83.72 $1,341 —
1750–2405 2000 3 90.50–94.50 $92.44 $1,849 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 760.00 $760.00
1005 1005 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 730.00 $730.00

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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
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —
1000–1020 1010 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 670.00–1,025.00 $849.26 —
1000–1095 1032 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 630.00–775.00 $723.70 —
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,060.00 $1,060.00 —
1400 1400 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,075.00 $1,075.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
595 595 1 45.00 $45.00 $268 —

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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.