Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 21, 2023

963 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $212.44/cwt ≈ $1,311/hd at 617 lb · 167 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $210.00/cwt ≈ $1,457/hd at 694 lb · 64 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $241.57/cwt +31.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,512/hd at 626 lb · 50 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 963 538 396
Feeder cattle 681 144 89
Slaughter cattle 208 201 61
Replacement cattle 74 193 246

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday sale on a feeder special: Slaughter cows 6.00-7.00 higher with individual 11.00, slaughter bulls 5.00-8.00 higher with couple individuals instances 12.00-16.00 higher. Feeder cows mostly steady instances 1.00 higher. Feeder calves compared to two weeks ago; Steer calves instances 10.00-20.00 higher, feeder heifers mostly steady with instance 4.00-5.00 higher, over 650 lbs unevenly steady. 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
452–455 454 15 275.00–277.50 $276.67 $1,256 —
518 518 30 273.00 $273.00 $1,414 —
553–565 560 17 252.00–255.00 $253.22 $1,418 —
623–626 626 50 231.00–243.00 $241.57 $1,512 +31.57
694 694 64 210.00 $210.00 $1,457 —
710–740 729 19 183.00–199.00 $192.27 $1,402 —
783 783 35 193.50 $193.50 $1,515 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
634–645 640 15 210.50–215.00 $212.65 $1,361 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 6 229.00 $229.00 $1,030 —
557–591 577 45 209.00–213.00 $210.36 $1,214 —
604–641 617 167 199.00–215.00 $212.44 $1,311 —
675 675 46 186.00 $186.00 $1,256 -1.50
875 875 6 155.50 $155.50 $1,361 ±0.00

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1175 1070 85-90% 12 69.00–74.50 $72.16 $772 +9.08
990–1157 1113 85-90% 9 86.00–93.50 $89.03 $991 +5.70
1050–1171 1134 85-90% 37 80.00–84.50 $83.04 $942 -0.29
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1233–1335 1276 80-85% 17 81.00–85.50 $84.19 $1,074 +4.30
1200–1350 1331 80-85% 33 86.00–94.00 $89.02 $1,185 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435–1715 1518 75-80% 11 90.50–101.00 $92.99 $1,412 +8.99
1415–1655 1537 75-80% 23 83.00–90.00 $88.38 $1,358 +4.38

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1785 1555 3 83.00–86.00 $84.73 $1,318 —
1500–2030 1781 12 95.00–103.50 $100.69 $1,793 +0.28
1580–2145 1890 8 106.00–117.50 $109.84 $2,076 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–1205 1073 (<2 yrs)Open 11 100.00–115.00 $104.58 $1,122
885–1237 1099 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 6 76.00–87.75 $83.44 $917
943–1363 1129 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 33 89.00–95.50 $91.97 $1,038
1265–1480 1413 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 14 90.00–93.50 $91.23 $1,289
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
928–1070 983 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 5 64.00–69.00 $65.41 $643

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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.