Name: Tama Livestock Auction livestock auction prices — 2025-01-03
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2025-01-03

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Special Preconditioned calf sale today: No comparison due to first special sale of 2025. Trade active. Demand good.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $323.53/cwt on 101 head. That ranks 1 of 5 comparable sales and sits −141.45 against this barn's trailing median of $464.97.

Average price

$323.53

101 head · 534 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,726

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$207

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

$40.97/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−4.72

vs IA average

−9.34 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	533	334.07	1,779	75
Medium and Large 1-2	536	293.10	1,572	26

One grade step is worth $40.97/cwt here — about $207 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 600–700 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

5 sales

Steers 500–600 lb: high $480.58, low $417.02, median $464.97 across 5 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale101 hd

323.53

—

IA average6 barns · 1,055 hd

328.25

−4.72

National average40 barns · 9,035 hd

332.87

−9.34

This barn, trailing median5 sales

464.97

−141.45

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

Every lot, as filed

37 lots · USDA AMS · Tama Livestock Feeder Cattle Special - Tama, IA

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added.

Class	Grade / description	Weight	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	518	299.57/cwt	263.00–310.00	1,552	19
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	250–300	270	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	729	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	833	250.00/cwt	250.00–250.00	2,083	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	532	306.05/cwt	300.00–312.50	1,628	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	380	350.00/cwt	350.00–350.00	1,330	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	720	252.89/cwt	242.00–259.00	1,821	107
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	621	282.49/cwt	259.00–295.00	1,754	154
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	715	231.22/cwt	230.00–232.50	1,653	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	782	242.37/cwt	230.00–250.00	1,895	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	639	265.00/cwt	265.00–265.00	1,693	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	470	350.83/cwt	325.00–365.00	1,649	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	682	250.88/cwt	250.00–251.00	1,711	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	362	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,339	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	524	340.93/cwt	320.00–355.00	1,786	61
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	586	275.55/cwt	272.50–290.00	1,615	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	720	291.15/cwt	278.00–296.00	2,096	133
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	773	272.41/cwt	260.00–282.00	2,106	210
Steers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	448	387.50/cwt	387.50–387.50	1,736	16
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	819	268.22/cwt	263.00–274.00	2,197	114
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	850–900	865	231.00/cwt	231.00–231.00	1,998	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	879	266.18/cwt	253.00–270.00	2,340	146
Steers	Large 1	1000–1050	1,005	242.00/cwt	242.00–242.00	2,432	21
Steers	Medium 1	750–800	768	250.12/cwt	230.00–259.00	1,921	32
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	677	296.62/cwt	284.50–305.50	2,008	162
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	570	304.19/cwt	300.00–320.00	1,734	14
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	575	292.58/cwt	275.00–297.00	1,682	86
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	624	299.83/cwt	280.00–309.00	1,871	135
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	477	330.38/cwt	317.50–333.00	1,576	49
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	525	241.98/cwt	220.00–255.00	1,270	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	672	267.51/cwt	254.50–281.00	1,798	138
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	683	228.04/cwt	212.50–241.00	1,558	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	772	248.82/cwt	244.75–253.00	1,921	158
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	400–450	440	284.82/cwt	240.00–300.00	1,253	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	468	288.41/cwt	245.00–300.00	1,350	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	584	249.38/cwt	232.50–260.00	1,456	10
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	434	333.07/cwt	307.50–340.00	1,446	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	725	227.00/cwt	227.00–227.00	1,646	2

How this sale compares

Iowa weighted averages

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

Iowa feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

Tama Livestock Feeder Cattle Special - Tama, IA

Fri Jan 3, 2025

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Des Moines, IA (LS-NW)

Receipts 2,025Last week 574Year ago 2,803

Special Preconditioned calf sale today: No comparison due to first special sale of 2025. Trade active. Demand good.

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
19	500–550	518	263.00–310.00	299.57
7	550–600	586	272.50–290.00	275.55
4	600–650	639	265.00	265.00
8	650–700	682	250.00–251.00	250.88
2	700–750	715	230.00–232.50	231.22
9	750–800	782	230.00–250.00	242.37
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	350–400	362	370.00	370.00
16	400–450	448	387.50	387.50
26	450–500	470	325.00–365.00	350.83
61	500–550	524	320.00–355.00	340.93
14	550–600	570	300.00–320.00	304.19
135	600–650	624	280.00–309.00	299.83
162	650–700	677	284.50–305.50	296.62
133	700–750	720	278.00–296.00	291.15
210	750–800	773	260.00–282.00	272.41
114	800–850	819	263.00–274.00	268.22
146	850–900	879	253.00–270.00	266.18
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
21	1000–1050	1,005	242.00	242.00
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
32	750–800	768	230.00–259.00	250.12
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
5	250–300	270	270.00	270.00
13	350–400	380	350.00	350.00
31	400–450	434	307.50–340.00	333.07
49	450–500	477	317.50–333.00	330.38
10	500–550	532	300.00–312.50	306.05
86	550–600	575	275.00–297.00	292.58
154	600–650	621	259.00–295.00	282.49
138	650–700	672	254.50–281.00	267.51
107	700–750	720	242.00–259.00	252.89
158	750–800	772	244.75–253.00	248.82
8	800–850	833	250.00	250.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	400–450	440	240.00–300.00	284.82
9	450–500	468	245.00–300.00	288.41
10	500–550	525	220.00–255.00	241.98
10	550–600	584	232.50–260.00	249.38
10	650–700	683	212.50–241.00	228.04
2	700–750	725	227.00	227.00
2	850–900	865	231.00	231.00

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.

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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Tama Livestock Auction