Arkansas weekly cattle auction summary

The Arkansas weekly livestock auction summary indicated receipts of 6,838 head of cattle selling the week ending on Dec. 17, compared to 15,498 head the previous reporting period and 7,501 head a year ago, according to the USDA-Arkansas Department of Agriculture Market News, Little Rock, Arkansas.

The total included 5,880 head of feeder cattle, 622 head of slaughter cattle and 336 head of replacement cattle compared to the previous reporting period’s total of 13,625 head of feeder cattle, 1,372 head of slaughter cattle and 501 head of replacement cattle. A year ago the total was 6,095 head of feeder cattle, 825 head of slaughter cattle and 581 head of replacement cattle. Compared to a week ago’s close, the feeder and stocker steers were mostly selling $2 to $5 higher. The feeder and stocker heifers were steady to $3 higher. The trend was on a limited comparable basis due to heavy receipts the previous week. The slaughter cows and bulls were steady to $2 higher. The supply included 86% feeder cattle with 38% steers, 0% were dairy steers, 44% were heifers and 18% were bulls; 9% was slaughter cattle with 82% cows and 18% were bulls; and 5% was replacement cattle with 9% stock cows, 76% were bred cows, 1% were bred heifers, 14% were cow-calf pairs and 0% were bulls. The feeder cattle supply weighing over 600 pounds was 20%.