Philadelphia Stockyard market report — October 20, 2026

Philadelphia, MS · Tuesday sale · USDA report published 10/20/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

203

Last week 178 (+25)
Last year 279

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

— /cwt

None sold in this weight at the latest sale

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

— /cwt

None sold in this weight at the latest sale

Compared to last week: Feeder calves sold mixed 10.00 lower to 15.00 higher. Slaughter cattle sold 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	4	356 lb	$486.14†	$1,728	+36.24	−28.86	$455.00 (1 hd)†
400–499 lb	5	436 lb	$432.73	$1,888	+37.77	−15.39	$425.00 (1 hd)†
500–599 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$370.00 (1 hd)†
600–699 lb	1	620 lb	$340.00†	$2,108	+0.12	−18.33	—

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	5	332 lb	$431.81	$1,434	+1.81	+6.83	$390.22 (3 hd)†
400–499 lb	11	454 lb	$364.96	$1,659	+10.92	−30.19	$350.38 (6 hd)
500–599 lb	16	533 lb	$340.60	$1,816	+24.45	−32.82	$304.19 (3 hd)†
600–699 lb	12	653 lb	$320.83	$2,095	+25.02	−29.17	—
700–799 lb	5	701 lb	$300.00	$2,103	+25.00	—	—
800–899 lb	1	800 lb	$280.00†	$2,240	—	−5.00	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 20

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Breaker 75-80%	High	1	1,785 lb	$133.00	$133.00–$133.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	4	1,196 lb	$118.01	$112.00–$122.00
Lean 85-90%	Low	1	950 lb	$90.00	$90.00–$90.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 12, 2026): $355.41/cwt
4-week average: $373.25
13-week average: $368.68
4-week vs 13-week: +1.2%

52-wk low $335.00high $511.78

Sales in 11 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 5, 2026): $334.50/cwt
4-week average: $318.75
13-week average: $317.83
4-week vs 13-week: +0.3%

52-wk low $291.00high $387.77

Sales in 10 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Easing

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $340.60/cwt
4-week average: $334.82
13-week average: $343.73
4-week vs 13-week: −2.6%

52-wk low $316.15high $425.00

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	+3.2%	71%	7
Feb	+5.3%	86%	7
Mar	+9.1%	100%	7
Apr	+4.7%	86%	7
May	+1.8%	71%	7
Jun	+0.8%	71%	7
Jul	+0.4%	43%	7
Aug	−2.8%	43%	7
Sep	−4.4%	17%	6
Oct	−6.9%	0%	6
Nov	−2.5%	14%	7
Dec	−1.5%	43%	7

7-weight steers

For 700–799 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Mar and Jul and lowest in Oct and Nov.

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	+3.2%	86%	7
Feb	+0.9%	50%	6
Mar	+4.5%	71%	7
Apr	+2.5%	71%	7
May	+0.9%	57%	7
Jun	−1.8%	29%	7
Jul	+3.3%	71%	7
Aug	+1.5%	71%	7
Sep	+0.8%	50%	6
Oct	−6.2%	17%	6
Nov	−2.2%	33%	6
Dec	−1.3%	57%	7

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	203	—	—	$340.60
Tue Oct 13	178	$355.41	—	$316.15
Tue Oct 6	302	$376.32	$334.50	$354.16†
Tue Sep 29	385	$350.40	$310.00†	$328.39
Tue Sep 22	232	$410.87	$315.00†	$350.23
Tue Sep 15	222	$366.16	$315.51	$341.49†
Tue Sep 8	248	$354.29	$302.50†	$319.43
Tue Sep 1	211	$372.47†	—	$320.51†
Tue Aug 25	238	$339.96	$297.50†	$320.27
Tue Aug 18	93	—	$325.00†	$385.00†
Tue Aug 11	215	$379.30	$326.74	$365.65†
Tue Aug 4	294	$380.97	$335.00†	$355.95
Tue Jul 28	168	$369.38	$316.58	$370.62†
Tue Jul 21	97	—	—	$400.00†

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Mississippi sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Johnson Stockyard, Kosciusko	33 mi	Oct 21	$358.08	—
Tadlock Stockyards, Forest	35 mi	Oct 19	$351.62	$302.73
Meridian Stockyard, Meridian	37 mi	Oct 19	$399.56	$321.47
Macon Stockyard, Macon	41 mi	Oct 19	$362.48	$317.50†
Winona Stockyard, Winona	61 mi	Oct 20	$334.98†	$308.00†
Cattlemens Livestock, West Point	63 mi	Oct 19	$396.46	$321.97

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	203	47	AMS_2116

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Philadelphia Stockyard -Philadelphia, MS” (AMS_2116). 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.