Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 27, 2021

582 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $159.22/cwt -19.53 vs last sale · ≈ $707/hd at 444 lb · 22 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $190.25/cwt ≈ $801/hd at 421 lb · 15 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $170.00/cwt -19.50 vs last sale · ≈ $894/hd at 526 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 582 819 2,345
Feeder cattle 152 669 1,330
Slaughter cattle 138 53 164
Replacement cattle 292 97 851

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday sale selling all classes of cattle; slaughter cows mostly steady, slaughter bulls 5.00-7.00 higher with higher yielding bulls, not enough feeder calves for a good market test. Several bred and cow/calf pairs with good demand and buyer participation.

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
352 352 5 192.50 $192.50 $678 —
421 421 15 190.25 $190.25 $801 —
466 466 5 180.00 $180.00 $839 -30.14
526 526 15 170.00 $170.00 $894 -19.50

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
321 321 5 167.50 $167.50 $538 —
377 377 12 177.50 $177.50 $669 +1.50
428–449 444 22 159.00–160.00 $159.22 $707 -19.53
487 487 14 151.50 $151.50 $738 -22.94

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030 1030 85-90% 1 51.00 $51.00 $525 —
925–1195 1054 85-90% 23 50.00–59.50 $56.93 $600 -7.57
1135–1195 1181 85-90% 19 60.00–64.50 $61.47 $726 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1227–1495 1323 80-85% 27 55.00–60.50 $58.64 $776 -2.27
1275–1436 1385 80-85% 16 62.00–65.50 $63.83 $884 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535–1630 1595 75-80% 3 64.50–68.50 $65.85 $1,050 —
1565–1785 1667 75-80% 3 56.00–57.00 $56.49 $942 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1131 1062 8 114.00–125.00 $120.12 $1,276 —
1195–1450 1323 2 82.00–87.50 $84.48 $1,118 —
1560 1560 2 75.00 $75.00 $1,170 —
1575–2028 1823 9 85.50–90.00 $87.55 $1,596 —
1740–2425 1974 6 92.00–96.00 $93.71 $1,850 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735–895 851 (<2 yrs)Open 8 103.00–113.00 $107.78 $917
975–1125 1032 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 14 51.00–54.50 $52.89 $546
925–1115 1036 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 43 89.00–100.00 $96.27 $997
715–1157 1111 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 30 70.00–85.00 $79.33 $881
960–1665 1234 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 24 54.00–60.00 $55.97 $691
735–1520 1297 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 56 61.00–69.00 $64.48 $836
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
876–1025 925 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 9 45.00–49.00 $46.55 $431

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1070–1425 1141 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,050.00–1,075.00 $1,068.76
1246 1246 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 1,520.00 $1,520.00
1177–1327 1286 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 8 1,110.00–1,400.00 $1,308.43
1318–1320 1318 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 6 1,350.00–1,410.00 $1,399.99
1276–1470 1331 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 7 960.00–985.00 $967.89
1290–1500 1366 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 900.00–1,035.00 $965.31
1390 1390 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 1,385.00 $1,385.00
1396–1480 1417 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,000.00–1,025.00 $1,018.47
1566 1566 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 4 960.00 $960.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1066 1066 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 1,310.00 $1,310.00 —
1110 1110 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 5 1,375.00–1,475.00 $1,455.00 —
1199 1199 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 18 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —
1215 1215 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 4 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
1239 1239 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 10 1,360.00 $1,360.00 —
1319 thin fleshed 1319 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 5 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —
1475 1475 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 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.