Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 2, 2022

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 82 64
Feeder cattle 93 59 44
Slaughter cattle 38 23 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 6.00 to 7.00 lower and boning type slaughter cows were 4.00 to 5.00 lower; slaughter bulls were 10.00 higher on a very light test. Feeder cattle were very lightly tested, steers were 9.00 to 11.00 higher, heifers were mostly 1.00 to 14.00 higher, and feeder bulls were mostly 7.00 to 8.00 higher. Demand was very good; market activity and buyer activity were active. Offerings of cattle were fairly light. Cattle quality was 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
285–290 287 5 179.00–186.00 $183.20 $526 —
320–335 330 3 160.00–172.00 $163.88 $541 +13.88
335 thin fleshed 335 1 156.00 $156.00 $523 —
370–390 378 3 165.00–179.00 $170.59 $645 +7.59
415 415 1 160.00 $160.00 $664 -7.51
465–495 480 2 174.00–182.00 $177.88 $854 +9.89
505 505 1 163.00 $163.00 $823 —
590 590 1 158.00 $158.00 $932 +11.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 thin fleshed 260 1 84.00 $84.00 $218 —
370–390 383 3 114.00–118.00 $116.37 $446 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 144.00 $144.00 $518 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 142.00 $142.00 $419 —
300–325 308 3 140.00–144.00 $142.59 $439 +12.59
390 fancy 390 3 154.00 $154.00 $601 —
403–425 411 7 141.00–148.00 $144.34 $593 +7.78
420 fancy 420 1 154.00 $154.00 $647 —
450–495 473 2 137.00–140.00 $138.57 $655 -3.15
500–525 513 3 140.00–145.00 $142.65 $732 +3.68
580 fancy 580 1 150.00 $150.00 $870 —
610 610 1 144.00 $144.00 $878 +19.00
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 100.00 $100.00 $240 —
300 thin fleshed 300 1 74.00 $74.00 $222 —
315–340 328 2 114.00–117.00 $115.56 $379 —
390 390 1 119.00 $119.00 $464 —
425 425 1 114.00 $114.00 $484 —
525–540 530 3 101.00–104.00 $102.33 $542 —
580 thin fleshed 580 1 72.00 $72.00 $418 —
600 600 1 109.00 $109.00 $654 +13.00
690 690 2 106.00 $106.00 $731 —
710 710 1 97.00 $97.00 $689 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
165 165 1 80.00 $80.00 $132 —
285 285 1 97.00 $97.00 $276 —
325 thin fleshed 325 1 50.00 $50.00 $162 —
420–430 425 2 80.00–88.00 $83.95 $357 —
465–470 thin fleshed 468 2 40.00–42.00 $41.01 $192 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 135.00 $135.00 $304 —
440 440 1 126.00 $126.00 $554 —
570 570 1 124.00 $124.00 $707 —
620–645 633 2 123.00–127.00 $124.96 $791 —
655 655 1 129.00 $129.00 $845 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–425 413 2 175.00–177.00 $176.03 $727 +17.22
455–485 471 4 160.00–169.00 $166.10 $782 +1.58
527 527 3 168.00 $168.00 $885 +13.26
585 585 1 157.00 $157.00 $918 +13.69
Medium 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 1 94.00 $94.00 $404 —
460–495 478 2 104.00–107.00 $105.45 $504 —
535 thin fleshed 535 1 70.00 $70.00 $374 —
650 650 1 100.00 $100.00 $650 -10.00
705 705 1 90.00 $90.00 $634 -20.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 1 147.00 $147.00 $662 +7.00
660–675 668 2 124.00–134.00 $128.94 $861 -0.46
980 980 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,019 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
495 495 1 92.00 $92.00 $455 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 80-85% 1 43.00 $43.00 $492 —
1065–1265 1167 80-85% 5 70.50–77.00 $74.32 $867 +32.20
1140–1245 1210 80-85% 5 67.00 $67.00 $811 -4.55
1300 1300 80-85% 1 55.00 $55.00 $715 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1445 1351 75-80% 4 65.00–66.00 $65.51 $885 —
1390–1545 1433 75-80% 5 74.00–78.00 $75.81 $1,086 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
515–955 667 85-90% 3 51.00–57.00 $54.90 $366 —
740 740 85-90% 1 70.00 $70.00 $518 —
720–855 788 85-90% 2 42.00–45.00 $43.63 $344 —
945 945 85-90% 1 44.00 $44.00 $416 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1655 1455 2 103.00–107.00 $105.27 $1,532 —
2420 2420 1 100.00 $100.00 $2,420 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 1 80.00 $80.00 $560 —

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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.