USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) sends market reporters to many sale barns. Some barns are covered by state agriculture departments working with AMS. The reports are free on USDA My Market News (mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov).
They look busy at first, but every report follows the same pattern. Here it is, top to bottom.
1. The top: receipts and the market summary
- Total Receipts: how many head sold, compared with the last sale and a year ago.
- Feeder / Slaughter / Replacement: how the run broke down. "Feeder" cattle go on to grass or a feedlot. "Slaughter" cattle are mostly cull cows and bulls. "Replacement" cattle are bred cows, pairs and breeding bulls.
- The written summary, such as "steer calves 500–550 lbs sold 10.00–16.00 higher." These changes are in dollars per cwt compared with the last sale. They are not dollars per head.
2. "Cwt" means hundredweight
1 cwt = 100 pounds. A price of $400.00/cwt means $4.00 per pound.
To get dollars per head: (weight ÷ 100) × price per cwt.
See our guide Price per cwt vs. price per head for worked examples.
3. The section headings: class, grade and pricing basis
A heading looks like this:
STEERS – Medium and Large 1 (Per Cwt / Actual Wt)
- Class: steers, heifers, bulls, cows and so on.
- Grade: "Medium and Large 1" is a USDA feeder cattle grade. It has two parts:
- Frame size (Large, Medium or Small) tells how tall and long the animal is for its age. That predicts the weight it will finish at.
- Muscle thickness runs from No. 1 (moderately thick, mostly beef breeding) to No. 4. A lower number means more muscle.
- "Medium and Large 1-2" means the lot was a mix of No. 1 and No. 2 muscling. These usually bring a little less than straight 1s.
- Per Cwt vs. Per Unit: "Per Cwt" is priced by weight. "Per Unit" means the price is per head, which is common for very light calves, pairs and bred cows.
- Actual Wt: the cattle were weighed. Some reports list estimated weights instead, so read the heading.
4. The columns
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Head | Number of animals in that line |
| Wt Range | Lightest to heaviest in the group |
| Avg Wt | Average weight |
| Price Range | Lowest to highest price paid |
| Avg Price | Weighted average price ($/cwt or $/head) |
A real line, from the Roswell, N.M., report for Oct. 12, 2026:
33 head | 550-598 | 580 | 350.00-384.00 | 369.92
That means 33 steers averaging 580 lb sold for $350–$384 per cwt. The average was $369.92 per cwt, or about $2,146 per head (5.80 × $369.92).
This shows how to read a report, not what cattle are worth today. Prices change every sale.
5. The comments at the end of a line
These are USDA terms, and they move the price:
- Unweaned: calves still on the cow, or just pulled off. These often bring less.
- Value Added: cattle with several selling points, such as source- and age-verified, a known vaccination program, weaned more than 30 days, all-natural or non-hormone-treated, or superior genetics. These usually bring a premium.
- Fleshy: carrying extra condition. These often sell at a discount because buyers expect them to lose weight when they change homes.
- Thin Fleshed: ribs, hooks and pins easy to see. These often bring a premium because buyers expect fast, cheap gain once the cattle are on feed.
- Full: carrying extra fill (water or hay) in the belly. These usually sell at a discount.
6. Slaughter cows and bulls
Slaughter cows are usually grouped as Breaker, Boner and Lean, from the most to the least body condition. They are often split again by dressing, which is the expected carcass yield (High, Average or Low).
Prices are per cwt.
What to do next
- Find your barn on My Market News. Search by barn name or town, and bookmark it.
- Compare like with like: same class, same grade, same weight group, same comments.
- Watch several weeks, not one sale. A single sale can be thin or unusual.
- Remember your costs. The report shows gross prices. Commission, yardage, insurance, brand inspection and shrink all come out of what you take home.
Cownty shows USDA-reported prices by barn and can text you a summary when your barn's report posts.
Cownty is an independent service and is not affiliated with USDA. Prices shown in examples are from a past report and are not a forecast or an offer.
See it for your county
Check your county
Every county, by state: Texas · Oklahoma · Kansas · New Mexico
Official sources
- USDA AMS – Feeder Cattle Grades and Standards
- USDA AMS Market News – Example report: Roswell Livestock Auction, Roswell NM (Oct. 12, 2026)
- USDA My Market News – Glossary: Value Added
- USDA My Market News – Glossary: Fleshy
- USDA My Market News – Glossary: Thin Fleshed
- USDA My Market News – Glossary: Full
- USDA My Market News (find your barn's report)
Rules and dates checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Information only, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA or any government agency.