Seller guide
What are my cattle worth?
A straight answer, using the prices packers actually paid this week. Here is the math, what moves your number up or down, and where to check before you load the trailer.
The math, in one line
Cattle are quoted per hundredweight. Take the weight, drop the last two digits, and multiply by the quoted price. 1,350 lb at $222 per cwt is 13.5 x $222 = $2,997 a head.
That is the gross. Subtract hauling, commission, yardage and any shrink between your scale and theirs to get what actually lands in your pocket.
Today's negotiated fed cattle prices
These are real negotiated purchases from the five major feeding areas, not an estimate. Live prices are on the hoof; dressed prices are per hundredweight of carcass.
What raises your price
- Uniformity. Ten calves that look alike sell better than ten calves that don't. Sort by weight and sex before the sale.
- Weaning and health work. Calves weaned 45 days with two rounds of shots bring a premium because the buyer takes less risk.
- Condition. Flesh sells on cull cows. Thin cattle going into a fall run get discounted twice.
- Timing. The heaviest supply hits in the fall. Cattle sold off the peak of the run usually bring more for the same animal.
What lowers it
Singles and odd-lots, horns, bad eyes or feet, unknown health history, muddy hair coats, and long haul distance from the buyer all cost you money — usually more than the work it would have taken to fix them.
Check your own numbers
The cattle value calculator takes weight, breed influence, class and condition and runs today's USDA averages against them, including bred cows, pairs and culls.
Common questions
- Divide the animal's weight by 100, then multiply by the per-cwt price. A 1,400 lb steer at $220 per cwt is 14 x $220 = $3,080 before any discounts or freight.
- Calves are quoted per cwt too, but lighter cattle bring a higher per-cwt price than heavy cattle. That is the price slide, and it is why a 500 lb calf can be worth more per pound than a finished steer.
- The national number is what packers pay for large, uniform loads delivered to the plant. Your local price is that number minus freight, commission, sorting and the size of your group. The gap is called basis.
- Sell in even groups, wean and start calves ahead of the sale, have vaccination records in hand, and avoid selling into the heaviest fall run if you can carry them.
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, refreshed automatically every day. These are national and regional wholesale numbers, not a quote for any one animal. Your local sale barn report is the truest read on your area.