Arkansas weekly cattle auction summary

The Arkansas weekly livestock auction summary indicated receipts of 7,021 head of cattle selling the week ending on May 21, compared to 3,561 head the previous week and 3,878 head a year ago, according to the USDA-Arkansas Department of Agriculture Market News, Little Rock, Arkansas.

The total included 5,845 head of feeder cattle 747 head of slaughter cattle and 429 head of replacement cattle compared to a week ago’s total of 2,682 head of feeder cattle, 623 head of slaughter cattle and 256 head of replacement cattle. The total a year ago was 2,969 head of feeder cattle, 695 head of slaughter cattle and 214 head of replacement cattle. Compared to the close the previous week, the feeder and stocker cattle were mostly sold steady to $4 lower, however, the 550- to 600-pound offerings were selling with instances of $2 to $3 higher. The slaughter cows were steady to $2 lower. The slaughter bulls were selling $2 to $5 lower. The supply included 83% feeder cattle with 38% steers, 44% were heifers and 19% were bulls; 11% was slaughter cattle with 83% cows and 17% were bulls; and 6% was replacement cattle with 17% stock cows, 53% were bred cows, 0% were bred heifers, 29% were cow-calf pairs. The feeder cattle supply weighing over 600 pounds was 17%.