Name: Tama Livestock Auction livestock auction prices — 2026-03-06
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2026-03-06

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Special Preconditioned calf sale today: No comparison due to last precondition sale was (Feb 13). Trade active. Demand good.

Weight class

Steers · summary 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $470.16/cwt on 76 head, down $10.42 from the prior sale. That ranks 4 of 5 comparable sales and sits +5.19 against this barn's trailing median of $464.97.

Average price

$470.16

▼ 10.42 vs prior sale

76 head · 548 lb average

Value per head Derived

$2,575

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$430

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

$69.24/cwt at this weight

vs the market

−1.64

vs IA average

−5.40 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	550	484.74	2,667	60
Medium and Large 1-2	538	415.50	2,237	16thin

One grade step is worth $69.24/cwt here — about $430 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 300–400 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 sale76 hd

470.16

—

IA average5 barns · 709 hd

471.81

−1.64

National average177 barns · 11,580 hd

475.56

−5.40

This barn, trailing median5 sales

464.97

+5.19

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

28 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	350–400	382	470.10/cwt	460.00–475.00	1,796	5
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	300–350	336	469.33/cwt	445.00–480.00	1,577	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	484	437.50/cwt	437.50–437.50	2,118	7
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	400–450	440	457.04/cwt	445.00–465.00	2,011	20
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	727	357.44/cwt	351.00–360.00	2,599	22
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	587	400.79/cwt	395.00–405.00	2,353	24
Steers	Medium and Large 1	550–600	577	475.28/cwt	455.00–480.00	2,742	34
Steers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	779	372.65/cwt	372.00–377.50	2,903	45
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	600–650	617	396.05/cwt	390.00–407.50	2,444	3
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	583	396.49/cwt	382.50–420.00	2,312	5
Steers	Medium and Large 1	800–850	834	354.50/cwt	354.50–354.50	2,957	8
Steers	Medium and Large 1	350–400	371	553.55/cwt	530.00–595.00	2,054	16
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	675	371.44/cwt	350.00–386.00	2,507	25
Steers	Medium and Large 1	450–500	476	507.42/cwt	485.00–527.50	2,415	21
Steers	Medium and Large 1	650–700	674	422.70/cwt	395.00–436.00	2,849	50
Steers	Medium and Large 1	700–750	731	405.66/cwt	389.00–433.00	2,965	56
Steers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	627	459.02/cwt	449.00–470.50	2,878	67
Steers	Medium and Large 1	850–900	883	325.00/cwt	325.00–325.00	2,870	4
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	550–600	555	317.50/cwt	317.50–317.50	1,762	1
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	483	405.00/cwt	405.00–405.00	1,956	2
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	450–500	474	450.00/cwt	450.00–450.00	2,133	7
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	518	424.14/cwt	382.50–450.00	2,197	11
Heifers	Medium and Large 1-2	500–550	523	355.62/cwt	310.00–385.00	1,860	3
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	750–800	767	342.56/cwt	330.00–345.00	2,627	27
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	525	423.45/cwt	400.00–437.50	2,223	59
Heifers	Medium and Large 1	600–650	612	397.35/cwt	360.00–410.00	2,432	24
Steers	Medium and Large 1	500–550	515	497.11/cwt	485.00–500.00	2,560	26
Steers	Medium and Large 1-2	350–400	388	447.48/cwt	445.00–450.00	1,736	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 Mar 6, 2026

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

Receipts 636Last week 1,030Year ago 664

Special Preconditioned calf sale today: No comparison due to last precondition sale was (Feb 13). Trade active. Demand good.

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
7	300–350	336	445.00–480.00	469.33
5	350–400	382	460.00–475.00	470.10
20	400–450	440	445.00–465.00	457.04
7	450–500	484	437.50	437.50
59	500–550	525	400.00–437.50	423.45
24	550–600	587	395.00–405.00	400.79
24	600–650	612	360.00–410.00	397.35
25	650–700	675	350.00–386.00	371.44
22	700–750	727	351.00–360.00	357.44
27	750–800	767	330.00–345.00	342.56
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	450–500	483	405.00	405.00
3	500–550	523	310.00–385.00	355.62
1	550–600	555	317.50	317.50
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
16	350–400	371	530.00–595.00	553.55
21	450–500	476	485.00–527.50	507.42
26	500–550	515	485.00–500.00	497.11
34	550–600	577	455.00–480.00	475.28
67	600–650	627	449.00–470.50	459.02
50	650–700	674	395.00–436.00	422.70
56	700–750	731	389.00–433.00	405.66
45	750–800	779	372.00–377.50	372.65
8	800–850	834	354.50	354.50
4	850–900	883	325.00	325.00
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	350–400	388	445.00–450.00	447.48
7	450–500	474	450.00	450.00
11	500–550	518	382.50–450.00	424.14
5	550–600	583	382.50–420.00	396.49
3	600–650	617	390.00–407.50	396.05

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