Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 23, 2022

166 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 166 111 181
Feeder cattle 97 76 145
Slaughter cattle 68 35 35
Replacement cattle 1 — 1

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, breaking type slaughter cows were 8.00 to 9.00 higher, boning type slaughter cows were 6.00 to 7.00 higher, while slaughter bulls were 15.00 to 16.00 lower on a very light test. There were too few comparable feeder steers to establish an adequate market comparison; feeder heifers were mostly 4.00 to 5.00 higher; while feeder bulls were mostly 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Demand, market activity, and buyer interest were moderate. Offerings of cattle were mostly moderate. Cattle quality was mostly 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
170 170 1 165.00 $165.00 $280 —
270 270 1 150.00 $150.00 $405 —
330 330 1 150.00 $150.00 $495 —
340 340 1 178.00 $178.00 $605 —
365–370 368 4 165.00–175.00 $172.27 $634 +3.27
395 395 1 156.00 $156.00 $616 —
440–445 443 2 164.00–176.00 $169.97 $753 —
450 fancy 450 1 190.00 $190.00 $855 —
635 635 1 149.00 $149.00 $946 -10.00
770 770 1 140.00 $140.00 $1,078 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 145.00 $145.00 $326 —
350–390 370 2 142.00–149.00 $145.69 $539 +8.67
395 395 1 130.00 $130.00 $514 -7.02
485–495 490 2 141.00–142.00 $141.51 $693 —
580–590 585 2 130.00–136.00 $133.03 $778 —
665 665 1 139.00 $139.00 $924 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 98.00 $98.00 $323 —
390 thin fleshed 390 1 72.00 $72.00 $281 —
540 540 1 80.00 $80.00 $432 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
160 160 1 110.00 $110.00 $176 —
965 965 1 114.00 $114.00 $1,100 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 120.00 $120.00 $276 —
300–335 319 4 124.00–130.00 $127.02 $405 —
400–425 414 4 133.00–138.00 $135.79 $562 —
450–480 465 2 130.00–138.00 $133.87 $622 +3.86
515–545 530 3 120.00–129.00 $124.71 $661 +6.71
565 565 1 134.00 $134.00 $757 —
685 685 1 121.00 $121.00 $829 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
175 175 1 145.00 $145.00 $254 —
290 290 1 138.00 $138.00 $400 +2.00
330 330 1 159.00 $159.00 $525 +25.61
355–370 363 2 145.00–148.00 $146.47 $532 +3.04
405 fancy 405 1 160.00 $160.00 $648 —
400–445 421 4 147.00–156.00 $150.51 $634 +4.51
455–495 470 4 144.00–158.00 $151.13 $710 +4.13
500 500 1 150.00 $150.00 $750 +20.00
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 thin fleshed 510 1 80.00 $80.00 $408 —
570 570 1 99.00 $99.00 $564 —
575 thin fleshed 575 1 80.00 $80.00 $460 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–505 503 2 119.00 $119.00 $599 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–440 423 5 158.00–169.00 $163.25 $691 +14.54
458–480 465 3 154.00–167.00 $162.53 $756 -4.96
500–512 507 5 152.00–160.00 $157.24 $797 -1.76
580 580 1 163.00 $163.00 $945 —
630 630 1 148.00 $148.00 $932 +0.40
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420–430 425 2 138.00–140.00 $139.01 $591 —
430 430 1 126.00 $126.00 $542 —
460–495 478 2 120.00–130.00 $125.18 $598 -19.81
485–495 488 3 145.00–146.00 $145.33 $709 +0.34
515 515 1 120.00 $120.00 $618 -4.50
515–530 523 2 136.00–149.00 $142.59 $746 +18.09
600 600 1 120.00 $120.00 $720 —
665–690 678 2 129.00–138.00 $133.58 $906 +30.58
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485 thin fleshed 485 1 110.00 $110.00 $534 —
510 510 1 112.00 $112.00 $571 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
690 690 1 103.00 $103.00 $711 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1150 1045 80-85% 10 73.00–79.00 $76.55 $800 —
1020–1125 1073 80-85% 2 56.00–58.00 $57.05 $612 —
1085 1085 80-85% 1 30.00 $30.00 $326 —
1005–1375 1143 80-85% 6 87.00–96.00 $91.98 $1,051 +21.99
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610–775 688 85-90% 5 25.00–35.00 $29.69 $204 -26.31
635–815 746 85-90% 7 43.00–57.00 $48.60 $363 —
740–890 829 85-90% 4 70.00–73.00 $71.43 $592 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1565 1357 75-80% 6 88.00–95.00 $91.44 $1,241 —
1415–1570 1493 75-80% 2 85.00–86.00 $85.53 $1,277 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435 1435 1 66.00 $66.00 $947 —
1670 1670 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,570 —
1435–2110 1714 8 117.00–128.00 $122.62 $2,102 —

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1440 1440 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,260.00 $1,260.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 thin fleshed 715 1 57.00 $57.00 $408 —

↑ Back to top

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.