$/cwt means dollars per hundredweight: the price for 100 pounds of live animal. A 550 lb steer calf at $400/cwt brings 400 × 5.5 = $2,200.
Example: Wildorado sale of Oct 27, 2026
| Steers 500–599 lb | $409.43/cwt · 43 head |
| Steers 700–799 lb | $317.29/cwt · 14 head |
| Heifers 500–599 lb | $360.41/cwt · 70 head |
Source: USDA AMS report 3365 (PDF) · as of Oct 27, 2026
"Cwt" stands for centum weight, an old name for a hundredweight. In the U.S. it's 100 pounds. Cattle, hay and grain prices are often quoted this way.
The math: dollars per head = $/cwt × weight ÷ 100. A 500–599 lb steer averaging 550 lb at $406.17/cwt brings about $2,234. Cownty's price cards show this "≈ $/head" using the middle of the weight band, so it's a rough guide, not the check you'd get.
Why price per pound and not per head? Because calves in one weight band can vary by 100 lb. Per-pound prices let you compare a 520 lb calf with a 590 lb one, or this week's sale with last month's.
Live and dressed: feeder cattle at an auction are priced on live weight. Packer (fed cattle) prices are quoted both live and dressed. Dressed means per 100 lb of carcass, which runs about 60–64% of live weight, so dressed prices look much higher.
Grain can also be priced per cwt. FSA sets the grain sorghum loan rate per hundredweight, for example. Cownty shows sorghum in both $/cwt and $/bushel (56 lb a bushel) so it lines up with other prices.
Official sources
Rules checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Live numbers update with each data load. Information only: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA.