Arkansas weekly livestock auction summary

The Arkansas weekly cattle auction summary indicated receipts of 9,672 head of cattle selling the week ending on Oct. 1, compared to 7,081 head the previous reporting period and 8,819 head a year ago, according to the USDA-Arkansas Department of Agriculture Market News, Little Rock, Arkansas.

The total included 8,192 head of feeder cattle, 1,131 head of slaughter cattle and 349 head of replacement cattle, compared to the previous week’s total of 5,438 head of feeder cattle, 1,209 head of slaughter cattle and 434 head of replacement cattle. A year ago the total was 7,845 head of feeder cattle, 656 head of slaughter cattle and 318 head of replacement cattle. Compared to the previous week, the feeder and stocker steers were steady to $4 higher with a full advance on offerings under 550 pounds. Feeder and stocker heifers were mostly steady with instances of $2 to $4 lower on offerings under 500 pounds. The slaughter cows were selling $2 to $4 lower. The slaughter bulls were steady to $2 lower. The supply included 85% feeder cattle with 39% steers, 40% were heifers, 21% were bulls; 12% was slaughter cattle with 81% cows and 19% were bulls; and 4% was replacement cattle with 28% stock cows, 50% were bred cows, 4% were bred heifers and 17% were cow-calf pairs. The feeder cattle supply weighing over 600 pounds was 29%.