Name: Tama Livestock Auction livestock auction prices — 2026-01-16
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-01-16

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Special Precondition calf sale: Compared to last Friday sale. Steers 600-699 lbs mixed, 700-749 lbs 12.00 higher, 750- 850 lbs 1.00-5.00 lower, Heifers 600-649 lbs steady, 650-699 lbs 9.00 higher, 700-749 lbs mostly steady, 750-799 lbs 16.00 lower. Trade active. Demand good in the stands and online.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $417.02/cwt on 68 head, down $35.14 from the prior sale. That ranks 1 of 5 comparable sales and sits −47.95 against this barn's trailing median of $464.97.

Average price

$417.02

▼ 35.14 vs prior sale

68 head · 551 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,299

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$163

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

$36.19/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−52.17

vs IA average

−54.96 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	549	426.60	2,342	50
Medium and Large 1-2	558	390.41	2,178	18thin

One grade step is worth $36.19/cwt here — about $163 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 400–500 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 sale68 hd

417.02

—

IA average9 barns · 1,717 hd

469.19

−52.17

National average187 barns · 29,067 hd

471.98

−54.96

This barn, trailing median5 sales

464.97

−47.95

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

38 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
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	998	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	2,595	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	427	422.50/cwt	422.50–422.50	1,804	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	917	286.18/cwt	267.50–297.50	2,624	8
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	477	426.95/cwt	410.00–435.00	2,037	24
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	578	356.45/cwt	302.50–361.00	2,060	31
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	600	292.50/cwt	292.50–292.50	1,755	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	471	483.84/cwt	462.50–502.50	2,279	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1	900–950	902	323.91/cwt	323.00–324.00	2,922	22
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	576	410.42/cwt	400.00–420.00	2,364	24
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	524	441.54/cwt	430.00–500.00	2,314	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1	950–1000	952	335.00/cwt	335.00–335.00	3,189	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	681	392.57/cwt	371.00–403.00	2,673	141
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	750–800	781	342.82/cwt	330.00–355.00	2,677	14
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	483	410.00/cwt	410.00–410.00	1,980	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	774	367.10/cwt	348.00–378.00	2,841	104
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	668	344.06/cwt	305.00–375.00	2,298	6
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	728	387.02/cwt	373.00–395.00	2,818	142
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	826	342.32/cwt	331.00–350.00	2,828	268
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	586	376.97/cwt	357.50–395.00	2,209	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	643	377.99/cwt	357.50–390.00	2,430	9
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	865	299.77/cwt	290.00–315.00	2,593	36
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	667	356.31/cwt	350.00–357.50	2,377	41
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	869	335.41/cwt	328.00–342.50	2,915	128
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	728	346.14/cwt	300.00–352.50	2,520	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	589	384.10/cwt	363.00–400.00	2,262	67
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	624	405.39/cwt	381.00–417.50	2,530	102
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	700–750	718	300.46/cwt	295.00–310.00	2,157	13
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	469	390.00/cwt	390.00–390.00	1,829	4
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	530	403.85/cwt	325.00–419.00	2,140	9
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	900–950	923	291.25/cwt	290.00–292.50	2,688	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	789	315.95/cwt	314.00–327.00	2,493	116
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	519	400.86/cwt	385.00–427.50	2,080	36
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	535	322.50/cwt	322.50–322.50	1,725	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	630	366.39/cwt	350.00–382.00	2,308	143
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	803	314.00/cwt	314.00–314.00	2,521	42
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	726	332.94/cwt	320.00–343.00	2,417	186
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	800–850	840	299.25/cwt	296.00–302.50	2,514	2
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	650–700	670	330.52/cwt	322.50–335.00	2,214	12

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 16, 2026

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

Receipts 1,965Last week 2,518Year ago 965

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	400–450	427	422.50	422.50
24	450–500	477	410.00–435.00	426.95
36	500–550	519	385.00–427.50	400.86
67	550–600	589	363.00–400.00	384.10
143	600–650	630	350.00–382.00	366.39
41	650–700	667	350.00–357.50	356.31
186	700–750	726	320.00–343.00	332.94
116	750–800	789	314.00–327.00	315.95
42	800–850	803	314.00	314.00
36	850–900	865	290.00–315.00	299.77
8	900–950	917	267.50–297.50	286.18
2	950–1000	998	260.00	260.00
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	450–500	469	390.00	390.00
4	500–550	535	322.50	322.50
31	550–600	578	302.50–361.00	356.45
2	600–650	600	292.50	292.50
12	650–700	670	322.50–335.00	330.52
13	700–750	718	295.00–310.00	300.46
2	800–850	840	296.00–302.50	299.25
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
9	450–500	471	462.50–502.50	483.84
26	500–550	524	430.00–500.00	441.54
24	550–600	576	400.00–420.00	410.42
102	600–650	624	381.00–417.50	405.39
141	650–700	681	371.00–403.00	392.57
142	700–750	728	373.00–395.00	387.02
104	750–800	774	348.00–378.00	367.10
268	800–850	826	331.00–350.00	342.32
128	850–900	869	328.00–342.50	335.41
22	900–950	902	323.00–324.00	323.91
5	950–1000	952	335.00	335.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	450–500	483	410.00	410.00
9	500–550	530	325.00–419.00	403.85
9	550–600	586	357.50–395.00	376.97
9	600–650	643	357.50–390.00	377.99
6	650–700	668	305.00–375.00	344.06
11	700–750	728	300.00–352.50	346.14
14	750–800	781	330.00–355.00	342.82
2	900–950	923	290.00–292.50	291.25

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.

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Tama Livestock Auction