Clay County Livestock Auction market report — October 20, 2026

Ashland, AL · Tuesday sale · USDA report published 10/20/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

213

Last week 114 (+99)
Last year 197

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$358.00 /cwt

$1,933 per head · 5 hd
vs last week −2.00

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

— /cwt

None sold in this weight at the latest sale

Compared to one week ago: Feeder steers sold steady, feeder heifers and bulls sold 4.00 to 5.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady. Replacement cows and pairs sold mostly steady.
USDA Market News reporter, October 20, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 20

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 13. Last year = sale of Oct 21. No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	2	385 lb	$452.47†	$1,742	—	—	$435.00 (1 hd)†
400–499 lb	8	448 lb	$402.11	$1,801	—	−45.35	$382.87 (13 hd)
500–599 lb	5	540 lb	$358.00	$1,933	−2.00	−40.00	$313.00 (1 hd)†
600–699 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$310.51 (2 hd)†

Feeder heifers — Oct 20

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 13. Last year = sale of Oct 21. No. 2 = lighter-muscled cattle, a separate grade line in the USDA report. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	No. 2 $/cwt
300–399 lb	10	368 lb	$396.10	$1,458	+24.08	—	$380.00 (1 hd)†
400–499 lb	3	415 lb	$360.00†	$1,494	−5.00	−15.33	$335.59 (15 hd)
500–599 lb	1	540 lb	$318.00†	$1,717	−7.00	−12.21	$301.03 (2 hd)†
600–699 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$301.03 (2 hd)†

Slaughter cows — Oct 20

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	Average	2	1,185 lb	$134.52	$134.00–$135.00
Boner 80-85%	Low	1	1,220 lb	$119.00	$119.00–$119.00
Breaker 75-80%	Average	2	1,263 lb	$132.48	$132.00–$133.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	1	1,305 lb	$126.00	$126.00–$126.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	1	1,060 lb	$115.00	$115.00–$115.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Easing

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $358.00/cwt
4-week average: $359.00
13-week average: $368.94
4-week vs 13-week: −2.7%

52-wk low $346.25high $520.00

Sales in 6 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Falling

Latest (week of September 21, 2026): $308.00/cwt
4-week average: $308.00
13-week average: $336.50
4-week vs 13-week: −8.5%

52-wk low $308.00high $365.98

Sales in 2 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Easing

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $318.00/cwt
4-week average: $323.56
13-week average: $332.04
4-week vs 13-week: −2.6%

52-wk low $314.91high $440.00

Sales in 8 of the last 13 weeks.

Direction compares the 4-week average with the 13-week average: Rising +1% or more, Steady within ±1%, Easing −1% to −3%, Falling −3% or more. Weekly prices are head-weighted averages of Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 feeder cattle, regular lots.

The label describes recent prices; it is not a forecast. In our backtest of every barn since 2019 (about 35,000 barn-weeks), barns labeled Falling went on to beat other barns' average move over the next 13 weeks 61% of the time, and barns labeled Rising trailed it 56% of the time.

Last 52 weeks

Weekly average $/cwt4-week average

Price history since 2019

Weekly average $/cwt

When to sell: the seasonal pattern

5-weight steers

For 500–599 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Mar and Feb and lowest in Oct and Sep.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	+3.7%	86%	7
Feb	+6.1%	83%	6
Mar	+6.7%	100%	5
Apr	+4.2%	80%	5
May	+2.3%	60%	5
Jun	+1.0%	43%	7
Jul	−1.2%	33%	6
Aug	−1.4%	40%	5
Sep	−2.8%	33%	6
Oct	−3.8%	0%	6
Nov	−2.2%	33%	6
Dec	−0.3%	50%	6

7-weight steers

Not enough history yet for a seasonal pattern.

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Tue Oct 20	213	$358.00	—	$318.00†
Tue Oct 13	114	$360.00†	—	$325.00†
Tue Oct 6	161	—	—	—
Tue Sep 29	135	—	—	$327.67
Tue Sep 22	200	$380.30	$308.00†	—
Tue Sep 15	178	$394.26†	—	$350.96
Tue Sep 1	148	$346.25†	—	$319.81
Tue Aug 25	225	—	—	$314.91†
Tue Aug 18	146	—	—	$350.00†
Tue Aug 11	103	—	—	$350.00†
Tue Aug 4	245	$374.82	—	—
Tue Jul 21	134	—	—	$390.00†

Special and graded sales

The last 12 months of this barn's special and graded sales, $/cwt, Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 regular lots (value-added lots where a sale has only those). A sale counts in the weekly trend only when it is a regular feeder sale: a plain special where feeder steers and heifers are most of the head. Graded, replacement, cow-and-pair, preconditioned and Holstein sales stay out.
Sale	Type	Head	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799	Heifers 500–599	In trend
Sep 27, 2025	Feeder and Replacement Cattle Specialspecial	150	—	—	—	No

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Alabama sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Roanoke Stockyards, Roanoke	28 mi	Oct 21	$389.33	—
Ashville Stockyard, Steele	51 mi	Oct 19	—	—
Cullman Stockyard, Cullman	85 mi	Oct 20	—	—
Mid State Stockyards LLP, Letohatchee	88 mi	Oct 20	$377.04	$326.00
South Alabama Stockyards, Troy	102 mi	Oct 21	$400.00†	$318.00†
Alabama Livestock Auction, Uniontown	112 mi	Oct 20	—	$330.00

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	213	43	AMS_1989
Feeder and Replacement Cattle Special special	September 27, 2025	150	1	AMS_3371

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Clay County Livestock Auction - Lineville, AL” (AMS_1989); “Clay County Livestock Auction Feeder and Replacement Cattle Special - Lineville, AL” (AMS_3371). See something wrong? Report a correction. Feeder prices are Medium and Large frame No. 1 and 1–2 cattle, $/cwt, grouped into 100-lb bands by average weight and weighted by head count. Value-added, unweaned and No. 2 lots are shown in their own columns; other lot types (fancy, fleshy, thin-fleshed, spayed, replacement) are left out. $/head = $/cwt × average weight ÷ 100.