Cattle Market Pulse

Wilkes Livestock Exchange Market Report

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 15, 2026

270 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $500.36/cwt -17.19 vs last sale · ≈ $2,587/hd at 517 lb · 32 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $445.42/cwt +42.38 vs last sale · ≈ $2,336/hd at 525 lb · 26 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $472.56/cwt -2.62 vs last sale · ≈ $2,278/hd at 482 lb · 21 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 270 197 82
Feeder cattle 243 174 54
Slaughter cattle 26 23 28
Replacement cattle 1 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Slaughter Cattle 1.00 To 3.00 Higher Feeder Cattle 10.00 To 18.00 Higher Demand Good Activity Active Offerings Heavy Quality Attractive Baby Calves 600.00 Head Calves 600.00 To 990.00

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 4 605.00 $605.00 $1,512 —
360 360 2 570.00 $570.00 $2,052 +48.00
440–445 442 8 536.00–544.00 $540.98 $2,391 +93.98
480 480 4 500.00–530.00 $507.50 $2,436 +15.84
500–536 517 32 490.00–514.00 $500.36 $2,587 -17.19
565–580 577 5 477.00–485.00 $478.57 $2,761 -8.92
600–610 607 3 432.00–442.00 $438.70 $2,663 +1.70
660 660 5 434.00 $434.00 $2,864 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 2 465.00 $465.00 $2,232 —
590 590 1 352.00 $352.00 $2,077 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 2 510.00 $510.00 $1,224 -0.34
285 285 1 490.00 $490.00 $1,396 +10.00
325–335 330 2 500.00–567.00 $532.99 $1,759 +49.30
360–370 365 2 467.00–479.00 $472.92 $1,726 -12.18
415–440 429 14 450.00–480.00 $467.97 $2,008 -9.82
450–492 482 21 465.00–492.00 $472.56 $2,278 -2.62
507 thin fleshed 507 2 497.00 $497.00 $2,520 —
505–536 526 24 410.00–455.00 $441.12 $2,320 +38.08
560–577 575 21 397.00–419.00 $417.36 $2,400 -0.93
630 630 1 379.00 $379.00 $2,388 —
685 685 1 357.00 $357.00 $2,445 +12.00
715 thin fleshed 715 1 440.00 $440.00 $3,146 —
720 720 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,304 -26.64
760 760 1 300.00 $300.00 $2,280 -25.00
865–880 873 2 250.00–265.00 $257.44 $2,247 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–335 315 5 450.00–480.00 $463.52 $1,460 +8.52
408–425 412 5 425.00–447.00 $441.17 $1,818 -16.34
475–492 486 6 408.00–429.00 $424.93 $2,065 -23.07
520–545 530 3 340.00–360.00 $348.25 $1,846 -43.75
550–575 566 5 342.00–375.00 $362.89 $2,054 -7.88
615 615 1 357.00 $357.00 $2,196 —
685 685 1 320.00 $320.00 $2,192 —
765 765 3 255.00 $255.00 $1,951 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
425 425 1 350.00 $350.00 $1,488 —
460 460 1 385.00 $385.00 $1,771 —
540 540 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,620 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 570.00 $570.00 $1,682 +18.85
300–315 308 2 545.00–572.00 $558.83 $1,721 +39.66
355–390 373 4 475.00–515.00 $497.62 $1,856 -18.38
402–445 428 9 490.00–525.00 $506.30 $2,167 +22.23
465–498 488 7 489.00–510.00 $498.03 $2,430 +17.55
535–545 540 3 475.00–516.00 $491.97 $2,657 +37.42
635 635 1 414.00 $414.00 $2,629 +11.42
658 658 2 390.00 $390.00 $2,566 +0.31
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 500.00 $500.00 $1,325 —
340 340 1 470.00 $470.00 $1,598 +90.00
420–430 423 3 447.00–479.00 $463.68 $1,961 +46.68
465 465 1 477.00 $477.00 $2,218 —
535–540 538 2 435.00–459.00 $447.06 $2,405 —
675 675 1 330.00 $330.00 $2,228 —
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 1 425.00 $425.00 $1,764 —
525 525 1 467.00 $467.00 $2,452 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985 985 80-85% 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,280 —
930–1345 1119 80-85% 11 154.00–174.00 $164.93 $1,846 +17.93
1025–1245 1123 80-85% 3 179.00–187.00 $181.61 $2,039 +34.61
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1280–1290 1285 75-80% 2 154.00–159.00 $156.49 $2,011 —
1310 1310 75-80% 1 179.00 $179.00 $2,345 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855 855 85-90% 1 171.00 $171.00 $1,462 +19.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1855 1560 2 160.00–170.00 $165.95 $2,589 —
1450–1945 1750 3 200.00–218.00 $212.29 $3,715 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
680 680 1 349.00 $349.00 $2,373 —

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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
990 990 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 2,950.00 $2,950.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
545 545 1 300.00 $300.00 $1,635 —
545 545 1 200.00 $200.00 $1,090 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 345 1 305.00 $305.00 $1,052 —
375 375 1 465.00 $465.00 $1,744 —

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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.