This is the price of staying in business. A bred cow is not a commodity you sell — she is the one you have to buy back to keep the herd the size it was. When bred stock runs dear, rebuilding costs more than the calves it will produce are worth, and the herd keeps shrinking.
Every figure is dollars a head. Bred stock and pairs are bought by the head, never by the hundredweight — the two are separate markets and are never averaged here.
| Pregnancy stage | Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs) | Aged (>8 yrs) | Middle Aged (5-8 yrs) | Young (2-4 yrs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Stage (1-3 mo) | $2,639 2,847 hd | $2,228 2,278 hd | $2,586 2,368 hd | $2,821 1,161 hd |
| 2nd Stage (4-6 mo) | $3,042 6,028 hd | $2,506 4,536 hd | $3,033 5,895 hd | $3,473 2,514 hd |
| 2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) | $3,372 5,030 hd | $2,854 2,398 hd | $3,250 531 hd | $3,580 666 hd |
| 3rd Stage (7-9 mo) | $3,229 2,432 hd | $3,075 2,563 hd | $3,471 3,143 hd | $4,012 2,383 hd |
| State | Average | Head |
|---|---|---|
| IL | $4,066 | 213 |
| NE | $3,985 | 2,436 |
| WY | $3,624 | 1,159 |
| MT | $3,578 | 933 |
| KS | $3,551 | 2,750 |
| MO | $3,166 | 13,077 |
| MS | $3,076 | 2,597 |
| UT | $2,935 | 158 |
| AR | $2,922 | 1,542 |
| WA | $2,887 | 170 |
| TX | $2,874 | 1,631 |
| OK | $2,844 | 7,248 |
| KY | $2,776 | 4,527 |
| TN | $2,767 | 2,154 |
| AL | $2,766 | 3,602 |
| NM | $2,725 | 2,630 |
| GA | $2,662 | 3,513 |
| NY | $2,655 | 81 |
| WV | $2,517 | 288 |
| NC | $2,361 | 1,151 |
| SC | $2,295 | 734 |
States with fewer than 50 head over the window are left out — an average built on a handful of cows is a lot price, not a state price.
Related: cull cows and bullsfor the other end of a cow's life, sale barns for the individual reports these averages are built from, and drought for what drives the rebuild. This site is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the USDA.