Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 20, 2021

819 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Winter Livestock Auction report →

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $178.98/cwt +11.98 vs last sale · ≈ $837/hd at 467 lb · 146 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $153.89/cwt +12.89 vs last sale · ≈ $980/hd at 637 lb · 100 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $178.75/cwt ≈ $738/hd at 413 lb · 59 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 819 827 649
Feeder cattle 669 339 282
Slaughter cattle 53 79 49
Replacement cattle 97 409 318

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday on a feeder calf special; light offering on slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady with feeder steers and heifers higher overtones noted. Demand good.

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
465–486 471 20 206.00–212.00 $210.14 $990 +19.14
527 527 7 189.50 $189.50 $999 +7.50
568–581 577 42 184.00–187.00 $184.84 $1,067 +13.84
615–628 623 16 172.50–174.00 $173.06 $1,078 +8.06
722 722 39 146.50 $146.50 $1,058 +0.76
756 756 10 142.50 $142.50 $1,077 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
471 471 7 191.00 $191.00 $900 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
399 399 6 176.00 $176.00 $702 -4.00
406–435 413 59 178.00–181.00 $178.75 $738 —
465 465 114 180.25 $180.25 $838 +13.25
452–492 476 32 169.00–177.00 $174.44 $830 +7.44
523–530 527 30 157.00–157.50 $157.25 $829 —
541 541 10 159.00 $159.00 $860 —
558 558 5 186.00 $186.00 $1,038 +30.00
572–587 581 17 148.00–156.00 $152.76 $888 -3.24
635–640 637 100 151.00–156.00 $153.89 $980 +12.89
653 653 7 136.00 $136.00 $888 —
701–747 716 15 123.00–130.00 $127.57 $913 +1.82
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
513 513 6 140.00 $140.00 $718 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1380 1306 80-85% 16 59.00–64.00 $60.91 $795 +1.62
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1473 1473 75-80% 3 71.10 $71.10 $1,047 —
1543–1820 1629 75-80% 9 60.00–63.00 $61.19 $997 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1120 1073 85-90% 2 64.50 $64.50 $692 —
1115–1165 1135 85-90% 6 55.50–61.00 $59.15 $671 -0.87

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1712 1712 2 88.50 $88.50 $1,515 —
2780 2780 1 61.00 $61.00 $1,696 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
882–950 896 (<2 yrs)Open 6 103.00–115.50 $111.87 $1,002
630–1166 1037 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 26 90.00–101.50 $97.67 $1,013
875–1305 1088 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 13 72.00–87.00 $76.17 $829
1125–1506 1298 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 11 62.00–71.00 $66.49 $863
970–1625 1356 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 12 57.50–62.50 $60.26 $817

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1232–1340 1268 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 1,010.00–1,210.00 $1,080.45
1260–1361 1316 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 1,325.00–1,435.00 $1,358.20
1430 1430 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,275.00 $1,275.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1070 1070 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 950.00 $950.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1108 1108 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 1,300.00 $1,300.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1505 1505 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00 -75.00

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
850 850 (<2 yrs)Open 2 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —

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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.