Townsend Livestock Auction market report — October 20, 2026

Madison, FL · Tuesday sale · USDA report published 10/20/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

560

Last week 54 (+506)
Last year 40

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$365.29 /cwt

$1,994 per head · 30 hd
vs last week −4.12

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

— /cwt

None sold in this weight at the latest sale

Compared to one week ago: Slaughter cattle 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Feeder cattle unevenly steady. Feeder and replacement cows' 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	12	348 lb	$512.50	$1,784	−42.66	—	$438.08 (11 hd)
400–499 lb	24	436 lb	$435.08	$1,895	+9.99	−0.03	$407.67 (4 hd)†
500–599 lb	30	546 lb	$365.29	$1,994	−4.12	−36.11	—
600–699 lb	27	636 lb	$325.14	$2,067	−6.22	—	—

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	59	360 lb	$422.23	$1,519	−71.11	−40.90	$388.53 (16 hd)
400–499 lb	52	438 lb	$376.66	$1,649	+0.62	−21.85	$324.25 (16 hd)
500–599 lb	16	557 lb	$308.50	$1,718	−17.70	−51.72	$285.28 (4 hd)†
600–699 lb	6	673 lb	$260.19	$1,751	−32.40	−51.96	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 20

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	High	1	1,310 lb	$140.00	$140.00–$140.00
Boner 80-85%	Average	19	1,232 lb	$124.16	$122.00–$126.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	20	1,140 lb	$118.57	$117.00–$120.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $365.29/cwt
4-week average: $371.52
13-week average: $375.00
4-week vs 13-week: −0.9%

52-wk low $348.49high $515.71

Sales in 12 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Easing

Latest (week of September 14, 2026): $292.62/cwt
4-week average: $291.00
13-week average: $294.93
4-week vs 13-week: −1.3%

52-wk low $290.12high $344.64

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Easing

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $308.50/cwt
4-week average: $325.75
13-week average: $332.29
4-week vs 13-week: −2.0%

52-wk low $308.50high $450.33

Sales in 12 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 Aug.

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	+3.5%	71%	7
Feb	+6.4%	86%	7
Mar	+6.5%	86%	7
Apr	+5.2%	88%	8
May	+2.4%	50%	8
Jun	+1.3%	50%	8
Jul	−0.8%	50%	8
Aug	−4.6%	38%	8
Sep	−4.0%	14%	7
Oct	−6.4%	14%	7
Nov	−3.2%	14%	7
Dec	−1.2%	29%	7

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	560	$365.29	—	$308.50
Tue Oct 13	367	$369.41	—	$326.21
Tue Oct 6	500	$372.55	—	$342.20
Tue Sep 29	354	$378.84	—	$326.11
Tue Sep 22	279	$388.21	—	$331.44
Tue Sep 15	478	$387.15	$292.62	$313.56
Tue Sep 8	443	$384.07	$290.12	$331.84
Tue Sep 1	440	$349.55	$290.25	$324.49
Tue Aug 25	325	$348.49	—	$327.78
Tue Aug 18	538	$364.73	$306.73†	$339.78
Tue Aug 11	296	$378.04	—	$361.91
Tue Jul 28	253	$413.65	—	$353.63
Tue Jul 21	380	$400.40	—	$380.50

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Florida sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Columbia Livestock Auction, Lake City	50 mi	Oct 19	$391.65	—
Cattlemen's Livestock Auction, Lakeland	189 mi	Oct 20	$352.85	$285.00†
Arcadia Livestock Auction, Arcadia	243 mi	Oct 21	$379.34	—
Okeechobee Livestock Auction, Okeechobee	272 mi	Oct 20	$360.67	—

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	560	46	AMS_1420

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Townsend Livestock Auction - Madison, FL” (AMS_1420). 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.