09/10/2026
🐄 Moulton cattle market sees stronger prices, good demand and a busier week
There was some encouraging news for Lawrence County cattle producers Wednesday, with prices for many cattle at Valley Livestock in Moulton moving higher than the previous week.
According to the USDA’s September 9 market report, feeder cattle sold $3 to $8 higher per 100 pounds than the week before.
💵 First, what exactly is a “feeder cattle” price?
Feeder cattle are generally younger cattle that are being sold to someone who will continue raising and feeding them before they eventually enter the beef supply.
And cattle prices at auction are often quoted by the hundredweight, meaning the price for every 100 pounds the animal weighs.
So when the report says feeder cattle were $3 to $8 higher, it doesn't mean the whole animal sold for just $3 to $8 more.
For a 500-pound calf, for example, an increase of $3 per 100 pounds would equal about $15 more for the animal, while an $8 increase would equal about $40 more, assuming you're comparing similar cattle.
📈 It was a much busier sale, too
A total of 375 head — cattle-market language for 375 individual animals — were reported at Wednesday's sale. That's up from 193 the previous week.
Of those, 305 were feeder cattle.
The USDA also reported good demand and active trading during the sale.
You may also see a couple of other terms in cattle reports:
Slaughter cattle are animals being sold at the end of the raising process and headed toward beef production. Their prices were mostly steady this week.
Replacement cattle are animals typically purchased to become part of a breeding herd rather than immediately entering beef production. Those prices were described as firm, meaning they generally held their value.
For those of us who don't speak fluent cattle auction, the takeaway is much simpler:
More cattle came through the Moulton sale this week, demand for younger feeder cattle was good, and many of those cattle brought a little more money than comparable cattle did one week earlier.
For an agricultural county like Lawrence County, that's some pretty good news to take into Thursday.
Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Valley Livestock — Moulton, September 9, 2026.
