Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Auction Market Report

Riverton, Wyoming · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 16, 2023

524 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $232.50/cwt ≈ $1,123/hd at 483 lb · 13 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 524 584 1,113
Feeder cattle 143 112 538
Slaughter cattle 192 214 289
Replacement cattle 189 258 286

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Tuesday sale, slaughter cows firm instances 2.00-5.00 higher with slaughter bulls 5.00-7.00 higher. Feeder cows going back to grass firm with good demand. Not enough feeder calves for a good market test this week.

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
546 546 8 265.00 $265.00 $1,447 —
871 871 5 184.50 $184.50 $1,607 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 13 232.50 $232.50 $1,123 —
573 573 5 230.00 $230.00 $1,318 ±0.00
606 606 7 230.00 $230.00 $1,394 —
731 731 6 201.00 $201.00 $1,469 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1375 1288 80-85% 21 88.50–94.50 $91.20 $1,175 +8.19
1236–1355 1314 80-85% 17 83.00–88.00 $86.21 $1,133 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
985–1145 1060 85-90% 3 75.00–79.00 $76.90 $815 —
965–1185 1104 85-90% 10 81.50–88.50 $86.23 $952 +4.21
1000–1202 1111 85-90% 21 89.00–97.50 $92.30 $1,025 +10.28
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1520 1445 75-80% 3 85.50–91.00 $87.60 $1,266 —
1330–1795 1598 75-80% 17 93.50–100.50 $95.90 $1,532 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1645 1438 10 97.00–109.00 $102.42 $1,473 —
1380–2075 1728 9 105.50–114.00 $111.36 $1,924 +7.94
1785–2350 1994 11 115.50–127.00 $119.51 $2,383 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930–1029 thin fleshed 1002 (<2 yrs)Open 28 174.00–182.00 $175.14 $1,755
950–1071 1027 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 21 75.00–83.00 $80.86 $830
915–1108 1058 (<2 yrs)Open 17 130.00–160.00 $140.90 $1,491
827–1315 1145 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 21 90.00–125.00 $104.58 $1,197
1290–1535 1376 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 6 87.00–92.50 $90.45 $1,245
1255–1572 1459 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 19 94.00–101.00 $96.82 $1,413

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1335 1335 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 7 1,375.00 $1,375.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1165 1165 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 2,450.00 $2,450.00 +239.41
1198–1635 1256 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 15 2,110.00–2,275.00 $2,138.63 +80.21
1240–1430 1268 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 10 2,000.00–2,125.00 $2,033.65 -24.77
1277 1277 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 10 2,450.00 $2,450.00 +391.58
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950 950 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 14 1,950.00 $1,950.00 —

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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.