Feeder cattle sale barn prices near you
By Sigurd Lindquist, Certified Crop Adviser (CCA). Prices reported by USDA AMS market reporters at the sale, not by the barns.
The latest USDA-reported auction prices for feeder steers and heifers at the barns closest to you: each 100 lb class from 300 to 899 lb, with head count, the weighted average in dollars per hundredweight, the range, about what a calf brought per head, and the change from that barn's last sale.
Prices load after the first USDA read
This page is new. The barn reports are read from USDA once a sale is reported, and nothing shows here until a report has been read and checked. No numbers are filled in or guessed in the meantime.
Until then, USDA's own reports are at My Market News (search the barn's town), and the board side is on cattle futures prices.
How to read it
- Weekly lag. Most barns sell once a week, so the newest price can be up to a week old, and older after a holiday or a sale that was called off. Each barn shows its own sale date.
- Averages hide the mix. A class average is whatever sold that day. A barn with a big string of reputation calves one week and plainer cattle the next can move more than the market did. Check the head count before you trust a change.
- Classes are pooled here. USDA reports rows about 50 lb wide. This page adds the rows in each 100 lb class, weighted by total weight, so the class price is dollars over hundredweight sold. $/head is total dollars over head, at the average weight shown.
- Calves with a note are left out. Rows USDA marks value added, fleshy, thin, unweaned and the like are counted and left out of the averages, because they sell as a different kind of calf.
- Change vs prior sale shows only when the barn's prior sale was within 3 weeks and both sales had at least 5 head in that class.
Barns this page reads
Weekly feeder auctions USDA reports on, across the cow-calf states. A barn shows up above once its report has been read and checked.
Questions
Where do these prices come from?
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service market reporters attend the sale and report what sold: head count, weight range, average weight, price range and weighted average price for each group. AGSIST reads those public reports. The barns do not send prices here, and no price on this page comes from a barn.
What does Medium and Large 1 mean?
It is the USDA feeder cattle grade. Medium and Large is the frame size, and 1 is the thickest muscling of the grades. Medium and Large 1-2 mixes in cattle a little thinner than a straight 1, so it usually sells a bit under the 1s at the same weight.
How do I get from dollars per hundredweight to dollars per head?
A hundredweight (cwt) is 100 lb. Multiply the price by the weight and divide by 100. A 550 lb steer at $350.00 per cwt brings 350 x 5.5 = $1,925 before commission and other sale charges.
Why is my check different from the barn average?
The average covers every lot in that class that day, heavy and light, plain and fancy. Your calves' weight, flesh, fill, uniformity and lot size all move the price, and the check also has commission, yardage, brand inspection and checkoff taken out.
How often does this update?
The reports are checked twice each weekday. A barn changes when USDA posts a newer sale for it. Most barns sell once a week, so expect each barn's numbers to be up to a week old.
Why is my barn not listed?
USDA reports on a set of auctions, not every barn, and this page reads a list of weekly feeder sales in the cow-calf states. If USDA reports on your barn and it is missing, tell me through the contact page and I will add it.
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, livestock auction reports. Prices are as reported by USDA market reporters; AGSIST pools the rows into 100 lb classes and does the $/head math. Not affiliated with any barn.
Sigurd Lindquist, Certified Crop Adviser (CCA), Chetek, Wisconsin