Sale reports / North Carolina / Smithfield Livestock Auction / 2026-05-21

Smithfield Livestock Auction

Name: Smithfield Livestock Auction livestock auction prices — 2026-05-21
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-05-21

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Replacement Cattle · Smithfield, North Carolina · Thu, May 21

● Final80 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 2094

← May 14May 21May 28 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

272 head

▼ 40 vs last sale 312▼ 14 vs year ago 286 · −4.9%

Slaughter Cattle receipts

38 head

▼ 19 vs last sale 57▼ 5 vs year ago 43 · −11.6%

Replacement Cattle receipts

4 head

▲ 4 vs last sale 0▼ 3 vs year ago 7 · −42.9%

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Compared to last week, slaughter cattle were 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Feeder cattle were mostly steady. Demand was good; market activity and buyer interest were active. Offerings of cattle were moderate. Cattle quality was average.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Heifers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb heifers averaged $397.67/cwt on 31 head, up $32.51 from the prior sale. That ranks 30 of 30 comparable sales and sits +59.80 against this barn's trailing median of $337.88.

Average price

$397.67

▲ 32.51 vs prior sale

31 head · 527 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,095

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$450

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium and Large 2

$96.39/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+32.24

vs NC average

−20.59 vs national

Price by quality 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	526	403.89	2,123	29
Medium and Large 2	544	307.50	1,673	2thin

One grade step is worth $96.39/cwt here — about $450 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 200–300 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale31 hd

397.67

—

NC average9 barns · 250 hd

365.43

+32.24

National average175 barns · 12,602 hd

418.26

−20.59

This barn, trailing median30 sales

337.88

+59.80

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

30 sales

Heifers 500–600 lb: high $397.67, low $284.44, median $337.88 across 30 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	High	1,412	204.94	2,894	5thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,169	160.11	1,872	7thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,490	157.85	2,352	10
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	925	130.18	1,204	11

Replacement cattle Per head

By class, stage and age

Bred stock and pairs are reported per head, not per hundredweight — these prices are never mixed with the $/cwt figures above.

Class	Stage	Age	Avg wt	$/head	Head
Cow-Calf Pairs	Open	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	632	$1,800	1thin

Every lot

80 lots · USDA AMS · Powell Livestock Market - Smithfield, NC

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added. Grouped by class and set lightest first; USDA files them in sale-ring order.

Class	Weight	Grade / description	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Feeder Cattle · Steers11 lots · lightest first
Steers	350–400	Medium and Large 1	370	530.00/cwt	530.00–530.00	1,961	1
Steers	350–400	Medium and Large 1Value Added	378	527.50/cwt	527.50–527.50	1,994	3
Steers	400–450	Medium and Large 1	408	446.00/cwt	446.00–446.00	1,820	1
Steers	450–500	Medium and Large 1	485	464.60/cwt	450.00–480.00	2,253	2
Steers	500–550	Medium and Large 1	517	426.32/cwt	420.00–430.00	2,204	8
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Fleshy	556	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	2,224	1
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Full	568	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,988	1
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1	570	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	2,309	1
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Value Added	598	388.50/cwt	388.50–388.50	2,323	5
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1	608	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,250	1
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Value Added	639	380.00/cwt	380.00–380.00	2,428	4
Feeder Cattle · Heifers31 lots · lightest first
Heifers	200–250	Medium and Large 1	223	490.36/cwt	450.00–540.00	1,094	4
Heifers	200–250	Medium and Large 2	238	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	964	1
Heifers	200–250	Small 1	239	337.97/cwt	300.00–375.00	808	2
Heifers	250–300	Medium and Large 2	262	400.15/cwt	395.00–405.00	1,048	2
Heifers	250–300	Medium and Large 1	268	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	1,300	1
Heifers	300–350	Medium and Large 1	321	465.39/cwt	425.00–500.00	1,494	5
Heifers	300–350	Small 1	332	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,145	1
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 1Value Added	368	485.00/cwt	485.00–485.00	1,785	4
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 2	377	401.67/cwt	400.00–405.00	1,514	3
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 1	381	452.50/cwt	417.50–487.50	1,724	9
Heifers	400–450	Small 1	416	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	1,352	1
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 1Value Added	417	473.09/cwt	460.00–477.50	1,973	4
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 2	420	412.51/cwt	405.00–420.00	1,733	4
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 1	427	456.76/cwt	440.00–470.00	1,950	6
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 3	444	345.00/cwt	345.00–345.00	1,532	1
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 2	462	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,617	1
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 1	472	430.00/cwt	400.00–465.00	2,030	14
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 1Value Added	498	447.00/cwt	447.00–447.00	2,226	11
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1Value Added	502	421.12/cwt	421.00–422.50	2,114	12
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 2	514	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,619	1
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1	532	398.11/cwt	375.00–417.50	2,118	12
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1	567	376.41/cwt	370.00–387.50	2,134	5
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 2	574	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	1,722	1
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1	600	327.50/cwt	327.50–327.50	1,965	1
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Value Added	602	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	2,227	1
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Full	639	245.35/cwt	220.00–270.00	1,568	2
Heifers	650–700	Medium and Large 1	670	294.40/cwt	287.50–305.00	1,972	4
Heifers	700–750	Medium and Large 1Full	721	228.74/cwt	222.50–235.00	1,649	2
Heifers	700–750	Medium and Large 1	742	301.00/cwt	301.00–301.00	2,233	1
Heifers	800–850	Medium and Large 1	822	299.38/cwt	257.50–311.00	2,461	9
Heifers	850–900	Medium and Large 2	854	232.50/cwt	232.50–232.50	1,986	1
Feeder Cattle · Bulls24 lots · lightest first
Bulls	200–250	Medium and Large 1	236	526.72/cwt	495.00–570.00	1,243	3
Bulls	200–250	Small 1	236	310.00/cwt	310.00–310.00	732	1
Bulls	250–300	Medium and Large 1	262	510.79/cwt	485.00–540.00	1,338	5
Bulls	300–350	Medium and Large 1	326	500.92/cwt	450.00–535.00	1,633	5
Bulls	300–350	Medium and Large 2	338	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	1,369	1
Bulls	300–350	Small 1	342	375.00/cwt	375.00–375.00	1,283	1
Bulls	350–400	Medium and Large 3	372	355.00/cwt	355.00–355.00	1,321	1
Bulls	350–400	Medium and Large 2	382	400.00/cwt	400.00–400.00	1,528	1
Bulls	350–400	Medium and Large 1	385	478.07/cwt	455.00–500.00	1,841	3
Bulls	400–450	Small 1	402	340.00/cwt	340.00–340.00	1,367	1
Bulls	400–450	Medium and Large 1	425	451.03/cwt	445.00–460.00	1,917	8
Bulls	450–500	Medium and Large 1	472	454.04/cwt	430.00–490.00	2,143	7
Bulls	450–500	Medium and Large 2	483	339.38/cwt	320.00–360.00	1,639	2
Bulls	450–500	Medium and Large 3	492	305.00/cwt	305.00–305.00	1,501	1
Bulls	500–550	Medium and Large 1	515	417.44/cwt	375.00–450.00	2,150	10
Bulls	500–550	Medium and Large 2	520	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,820	1
Bulls	550–600	Medium and Large 2	558	365.00/cwt	365.00–365.00	2,037	1
Bulls	550–600	Medium and Large 1	576	381.29/cwt	350.00–400.00	2,196	8
Bulls	600–650	Medium and Large 1	625	354.83/cwt	350.00–360.00	2,218	2
Bulls	650–700	Medium and Large 1	663	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	2,105	4
Bulls	700–750	Medium and Large 1	710	300.00/cwt	300.00–300.00	2,130	1
Bulls	750–800	Medium and Large 2	772	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,776	2
Bulls	800–850	Medium and Large 1	824	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	1,978	1
Bulls	850–900	Medium and Large 1	856	235.00/cwt	235.00–235.00	2,012	1
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	916	165.00/cwt	165.00–165.00	1,511	1
Bulls	—	—	1,303	223.02/cwt	220.00–226.00	2,906	2
Bulls	—	—	1,769	206.82/cwt	200.00–210.00	3,659	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows7 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	886	114.41/cwt	111.00–120.00	1,014	3
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	930	141.25/cwt	135.00–150.00	1,314	7
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,006	100.00/cwt	100.00–100.00	1,006	1
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,108	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,440	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,169	160.11/cwt	150.00–173.00	1,872	7
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,524	155.76/cwt	150.00–165.00	2,374	7
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,561	179.07/cwt	175.00–183.00	2,795	2
Replacement Cattle · Stock Cows3 lots · lightest first
Stock Cows	—	Small 1-2	718	172.50/cwt	172.50–172.50	1,239	1
Stock Cows	—	Small 1-2	760	197.50/cwt	197.50–197.50	1,501	1
Stock Cows	—	Small 1-2	834	200.00/cwt	200.00–200.00	1,668	1
Replacement Cattle · Cow-Calf Pairs1 lot · lightest first
Cow-Calf Pairs	—	Small 1-2	632	1,800.00/head	1,800.00–1,800.00	1,800	1

This sale against other markets

North Carolina weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every North Carolina auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

North Carolina feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

Powell Livestock Market - Smithfield, NC

Thu May 21, 2026

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Raleigh, NC (RA-LS)

Feeder CattleReceipts 272Last week 312Year ago 286

Slaughter CattleReceipts 38Last week 57Year ago 43

Replacement CattleReceipts 4Last week 0Year ago 7

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	350–400	370	530.00	530.00
1	400–450	408	446.00	446.00
2	450–500	485	450.00–480.00	464.60
8	500–550	517	420.00–430.00	426.32
1	550–600	570	405.00	405.00
1	600–650	608	370.00	370.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Value Added$ per cwt · actual wt
3	350–400	378	527.50	527.50
5	550–600	598	388.50	388.50
4	600–650	639	380.00	380.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fleshy$ per cwt · actual wt
1	550–600	556	400.00	400.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
1	550–600	568	350.00	350.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	200–250	223	450.00–540.00	490.36
1	250–300	268	485.00	485.00
5	300–350	321	425.00–500.00	465.39
9	350–400	381	417.50–487.50	452.50
6	400–450	427	440.00–470.00	456.76
14	450–500	472	400.00–465.00	430.00
12	500–550	532	375.00–417.50	398.11
5	550–600	567	370.00–387.50	376.41
1	600–650	600	327.50	327.50
4	650–700	670	287.50–305.00	294.40
1	700–750	742	301.00	301.00
9	800–850	822	257.50–311.00	299.38

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Value Added$ per cwt · actual wt
4	350–400	368	485.00	485.00
4	400–450	417	460.00–477.50	473.09
11	450–500	498	447.00	447.00
12	500–550	502	421.00–422.50	421.12
1	600–650	602	370.00	370.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Full$ per cwt · actual wt
2	600–650	639	220.00–270.00	245.35
2	700–750	721	222.50–235.00	228.74

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Small 1$ per cwt · actual wt
2	200–250	239	300.00–375.00	337.97
1	300–350	332	345.00	345.00
1	400–450	416	325.00	325.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	200–250	238	405.00	405.00
2	250–300	262	395.00–405.00	400.15
3	350–400	377	400.00–405.00	401.67
4	400–450	420	405.00–420.00	412.51
1	450–500	462	350.00	350.00
1	500–550	514	315.00	315.00
1	550–600	574	300.00	300.00
1	850–900	854	232.50	232.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 3$ per cwt · actual wt
1	400–450	444	345.00	345.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	200–250	236	495.00–570.00	526.72
5	250–300	262	485.00–540.00	510.79
5	300–350	326	450.00–535.00	500.92
3	350–400	385	455.00–500.00	478.07
8	400–450	425	445.00–460.00	451.03
7	450–500	472	430.00–490.00	454.04
10	500–550	515	375.00–450.00	417.44
8	550–600	576	350.00–400.00	381.29
2	600–650	625	350.00–360.00	354.83
4	650–700	663	317.50	317.50
1	700–750	710	300.00	300.00
1	800–850	824	240.00	240.00
1	850–900	856	235.00	235.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Small 1$ per cwt · actual wt
1	200–250	236	310.00	310.00
1	300–350	342	375.00	375.00
1	400–450	402	340.00	340.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
1	300–350	338	405.00	405.00
1	350–400	382	400.00	400.00
2	450–500	483	320.00–360.00	339.38
1	500–550	520	350.00	350.00
1	550–600	558	365.00	365.00
2	750–800	772	230.00	230.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Medium and Large 3$ per cwt · actual wt
1	350–400	372	355.00	355.00
1	450–500	492	305.00	305.00

Replacement Cattle

As reported

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Stock Cows — Small 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	—	834	200.00	200.00
(<2 yrs)	Open	1	—	760	197.50	197.50
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	—	718	172.50	172.50

Age	Stage	Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cow-Calf Pairs — Small 1-2$ per head · actual wt
Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	—	632	1,800.00	1,800.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	886	111.00–120.00	114.41
7	—	930	135.00–150.00	141.25
1	—	1,006	100.00	100.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,524	150.00–165.00	155.76
1	—	1,108	130.00	130.00
2	—	1,561	175.00–183.00	179.07

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	1,169	150.00–173.00	160.11

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,303	220.00–226.00	223.02
2	—	1,769	200.00–210.00	206.82
1	—	916	165.00	165.00

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.