Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 13, 2022

276 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.50/cwt ≈ $931/hd at 677 lb · 15 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $176.00/cwt ≈ $1,133/hd at 644 lb · 12 head
heavy 3-weight M 2 steers $142.26/cwt -2.74 vs last sale · ≈ $528/hd at 371 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 276 154 135
Feeder cattle 185 117 113
Slaughter cattle 87 37 20
Replacement cattle 4 — 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, boning type slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 lower, while breaking type slaughter cows were 1.00 to 2.00 higher and slaughter bulls were 2.00 to 3.00 higher. There were too few comparable feeder cattle the previous week to establish an adequate market comparison. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were fairly heavy. Cattle quality was plain 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
230–240 233 3 164.00–175.00 $169.59 $395 —
275–285 280 2 158.00–164.00 $161.05 $451 —
325–335 330 3 154.00–164.00 $159.36 $526 -0.64
335 value added 335 3 205.00 $205.00 $687 —
350–375 fancy 363 3 182.00–190.00 $185.94 $675 -7.98
390 value added 390 4 208.00–209.00 $208.25 $812 +17.12
465 fancy 465 2 172.00 $172.00 $800 —
475 value added 475 2 196.00 $196.00 $931 —
644 value added 644 12 176.00 $176.00 $1,133 —
752 752 11 157.00 $157.00 $1,181 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–385 368 2 128.00 $128.00 $471 -10.00
355–382 372 9 141.00–148.00 $145.43 $541 +7.43
500 500 2 144.00 $144.00 $720 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–395 368 9 142.00–153.00 $148.55 $547 —
455–490 472 3 140.00–149.00 $144.45 $682 -5.55
500–515 509 6 140.00–150.00 $145.88 $743 +1.88
555 555 2 144.00–149.00 $146.50 $813 +8.53
677 677 15 137.50 $137.50 $931 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450–480 465 2 121.00–130.00 $125.35 $583 -10.69
510–540 522 3 130.00–135.00 $132.38 $691 -3.76
560 560 3 125.00 $125.00 $700 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–280 263 3 110.00–116.00 $113.75 $299 —
365–395 380 2 118.00 $118.00 $448 —
453–480 462 3 110.00–111.00 $110.65 $511 —
Small 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 2 102.00 $102.00 $357 ±0.00
475–485 478 3 96.00–100.00 $97.35 $465 —

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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 value added 415 3 185.00–198.00 $190.70 $791 —
400–430 420 4 157.00–168.00 $162.69 $683 +0.69
460–495 475 4 150.00–158.00 $154.54 $734 -20.53
550–585 563 3 150.00–164.00 $157.53 $887 -0.47
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–405 403 2 130.00–136.00 $132.98 $536 +3.06
400–435 418 2 148.00–149.00 $148.52 $621 +18.60
455–495 479 4 144.00–148.00 $145.54 $697 +23.54
675–690 683 2 132.00–138.00 $135.03 $922 +1.03
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 2 112.00–114.00 $113.00 $599 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–975 886 85-90% 4 36.00–43.00 $39.84 $353 —
755–1025 905 85-90% 3 30.00–34.00 $31.11 $282 —
930–1070 1010 85-90% 4 59.00–63.00 $60.22 $608 —
1000–1035 1020 85-90% 3 77.00–79.00 $78.16 $797 —
970–1075 1037 85-90% 13 68.00–75.00 $72.25 $749 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1100–1290 1154 80-85% 9 70.00–75.00 $72.38 $835 —
1120–1255 1187 80-85% 3 58.00–64.00 $60.63 $720 —
1120–1285 1192 80-85% 9 78.00–79.50 $78.40 $935 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1435 1387 75-80% 3 70.00–71.00 $70.34 $976 —
1315–1560 1431 75-80% 10 75.00–80.00 $78.60 $1,125 +10.53

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1120–1835 1385 3 98.00–102.00 $99.94 $1,384 —
1400–1895 1649 8 105.00–114.00 $110.46 $1,821 —
1750–1830 1790 2 115.50–116.50 $115.99 $2,076 —

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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
1100–1250 1167 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 1,060.00–1,125.00 $1,101.79 —
1250 1250 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 60.00 $60.00 $171 —
530 530 1 50.00 $50.00 $265 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 102.00 $102.00 $326 —
395 thin fleshed 395 1 74.00 $74.00 $292 —
535 535 2 100.00 $100.00 $535 —
1050 thin fleshed 1050 1 70.00 $70.00 $735 —
1125 1125 1 83.00 $83.00 $934 —

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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.