Thomasville Stockyard market report — October 20, 2026

Thomasville, GA · Tuesday sale · USDA report published 10/20/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

521

Last week 635 (−114)
Last year 402

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$420.00 /cwt

$2,209 per head · 10 hd
vs last week +13.00

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$347.42 /cwt

$2,491 per head · 14 hd
vs last week +8.67

Compared to a week ago, slaughter breaker cows 7.00 lower, slaughter boner & lean cows mostly steady, slaughter bulls 3.00 lower, feeder steers 15.00 higher, feeder heifers 5.00 lower, feeder bulls lightly tested, steer calves 2.00 higher, heifer calves 15.00 lower, bull calves 5.00 lower, replacement cows 6.00 lower.
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	—	—	—	—	—	—	$470.00 (3 hd)†
400–499 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$420.00 (4 hd)†
500–599 lb	10	526 lb	$420.00	$2,209	+13.00	—	$411.46 (7 hd)
600–699 lb	33	661 lb	$385.88	$2,550	+10.26	—	$371.24 (17 hd)
700–799 lb	14	717 lb	$347.42	$2,491	+8.67	—	—

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	15	376 lb	$426.85	$1,605	−15.09	−68.15	$420.00 (5 hd)
400–499 lb	17	467 lb	$369.98	$1,728	−26.67	−30.55	$370.50 (34 hd)
500–599 lb	8	566 lb	$353.83	$2,003	−5.36	—	$324.41 (4 hd)†
600–699 lb	19	632 lb	$336.58	$2,128	−13.42	—	$330.67 (19 hd)
700–799 lb	8	778 lb	$280.00	$2,178	—	—	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 20

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	High	1	1,135 lb	$143.00	$143.00–$143.00
Boner 80-85%	Average	2	1,233 lb	$133.30	$130.00–$136.00
Boner 80-85%	Low	2	1,135 lb	$125.99	$125.00–$127.00
Breaker 75-80%	Average	2	1,238 lb	$130.47	$130.00–$131.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	1	1,460 lb	$120.00	$120.00–$120.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	4	1,064 lb	$124.88	$120.00–$130.00
Lean 85-90%	Low	4	1,053 lb	$114.08	$111.00–$117.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $420.00/cwt
4-week average: $399.45
13-week average: $390.57
4-week vs 13-week: +2.3%

52-wk low $355.56high $500.00

Sales in 12 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $347.42/cwt
4-week average: $343.11
13-week average: $334.27
4-week vs 13-week: +2.6%

52-wk low $310.00high $390.89

Sales in 7 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $353.83/cwt
4-week average: $354.83
13-week average: $345.94
4-week vs 13-week: +2.6%

52-wk low $328.07high $460.18

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 Apr and Mar 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	+1.8%	57%	7
Feb	+4.6%	86%	7
Mar	+6.1%	86%	7
Apr	+6.6%	100%	7
May	+3.7%	86%	7
Jun	+3.4%	57%	7
Jul	+1.7%	67%	6
Aug	−2.9%	50%	8
Sep	−5.9%	29%	7
Oct	−6.6%	0%	6
Nov	−4.2%	0%	7
Dec	−3.5%	17%	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	521	$420.00	$347.42	$353.83
Tue Oct 13	635	$407.00	$338.75	$359.19
Tue Oct 6	318	$389.00	$351.25	$356.65
Tue Sep 29	309	$381.81	$335.00†	$349.63
Tue Sep 22	495	$373.15	—	$328.07
Tue Sep 15	333	$395.00	—	$331.41
Tue Sep 8	279	$394.61	—	$331.24†
Tue Sep 1	343	$378.32	$310.00	$337.07
Tue Aug 25	364	$355.56	—	$335.00
Tue Aug 18	216	$374.93†	$325.00†	$347.50†
Tue Aug 11	575	$417.49†	—	$357.66†
Tue Aug 4	290	$400.00†	—	$355.00
Tue Jul 28	434	—	$332.50	$355.00†
Tue Jul 21	382	$423.33	$358.48	$363.33

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Georgia sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Seminole Livestock Exchange, Donalsonville	55 mi	Oct 19	$385.00†	—
Turner County Stockyard, Ashburn	63 mi	Oct 21	$384.73	$331.49
Pulaski County Stockyard, Hawkinsville	105 mi	Oct 20	—	$336.00
Southern Livestock, Oak Park	143 mi	Oct 20	$394.45	—
Jackson Regional Stockyard, Jackson	169 mi	Oct 21	$338.09	—
Duvall Livestock, Greensboro	194 mi	Oct 19	$346.94	$303.35

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	521	48	AMS_1938

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Thomasville Stockyard - Thomasville, GA” (AMS_1938). 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.