Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 18, 2022

4,510 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $172.67/cwt ≈ $901/hd at 522 lb · 395 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $192.38/cwt ≈ $1,037/hd at 539 lb · 371 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $178.92/cwt ≈ $845/hd at 472 lb · 294 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,510 1,831 6,256
Feeder cattle 4,180 — 6,012
Slaughter cattle 151 215 81
Replacement cattle 179 1,616 163

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday on a special weaned calf sale; slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady with instances 1.00-3.00 higher. Weaned calves compared to two weeks ago mostly steady with lower undertones noted with steers 3.00-6.00 lower instances 8.00-12.00, heifers 2.00-4.00 lower instances 6.00-10.00. Demand good to moderate, with buyers not as aggressive as two weeks ago.

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
330–335 332 13 221.00 $221.00 $734 —
380–388 381 165 199.75–222.00 $202.28 $771 —
408–449 429 105 198.25–213.00 $206.52 $886 —
456–490 467 156 199.00–213.50 $207.95 $971 —
514–548 539 371 182.00–196.35 $192.38 $1,037 —
552–598 563 181 182.50–191.00 $187.44 $1,055 —
610–647 630 265 170.00–184.00 $180.28 $1,136 —
662–686 676 100 161.00–175.50 $167.77 $1,134 —
700–713 704 50 160.50–167.25 $165.77 $1,167 —
762 762 6 149.00 $149.00 $1,135 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
311 311 7 180.00 $180.00 $560 —
364 364 27 200.00 $200.00 $728 —
457 457 14 191.00 $191.00 $873 —
500–527 517 38 176.00–181.00 $178.22 $921 —
600 600 30 165.25 $165.25 $992 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 17 190.00 $190.00 $551 —
354–381 358 165 174.00–187.50 $179.15 $641 —
409–447 435 146 175.00–189.50 $183.53 $798 —
452–492 472 294 171.00–185.50 $178.92 $845 —
507–548 522 395 166.00–176.00 $172.67 $901 —
550–594 563 182 151.00–166.50 $161.98 $912 —
601–635 618 149 152.00–166.25 $160.80 $994 —
658–683 660 198 151.25–163.00 $161.77 $1,068 —
673 673 6 137.50 $137.50 $925 —
717–737 723 141 143.75–150.00 $148.24 $1,072 —
777 777 7 134.50 $134.50 $1,045 —
862 862 5 131.50 $131.50 $1,134 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
132 132 12 161.00 $161.00 $213 —
390 390 19 179.00 $179.00 $698 —
403–443 417 56 155.00–170.00 $163.88 $683 —
571–592 584 18 146.00–147.50 $146.93 $858 —
631 631 16 147.50 $147.50 $931 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1020 1008 85-90% 15 42.00–46.00 $45.67 $460 -0.61
965–1105 1044 85-90% 11 49.00–53.00 $51.86 $541 +5.58
947–1165 1092 85-90% 8 53.00–57.50 $54.97 $600 +1.73
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1212–1370 1249 80-85% 21 50.50–56.50 $54.72 $683 —
1280 1280 80-85% 1 48.00 $48.00 $614 —
1235–1350 1300 80-85% 12 58.00–64.00 $60.10 $781 +2.58
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1505 1503 75-80% 3 58.50–63.00 $61.00 $917 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230–1365 1275 3 59.00–65.00 $61.14 $780 —
1325–1710 1479 15 72.00–80.00 $75.72 $1,120 —
1335–1760 1581 5 67.00–71.00 $69.29 $1,095 —
1780–2140 1871 5 88.00–91.00 $88.88 $1,663 —
1550–2400 1915 11 72.50–85.00 $77.18 $1,478 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
950–980 970 (<2 yrs)Open 3 79.00–84.00 $80.63 $782
990–1237 1110 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 73 55.00–59.00 $56.55 $628
1040–1260 1115 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 65.00–73.00 $69.57 $776
966–1565 1242 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 27 48.00–55.00 $51.69 $642
1271–1430 1326 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 32 52.00–64.50 $59.74 $792

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1120–1195 1170 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 3 800.00–900.00 $868.09
1320 1320 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 23 800.00 $800.00

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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.