The sale barn glossary

The language of the auction report, in plain English

USDA market reports are written in a compact dialect that assumes you grew up hearing it. Here is what the words mean, so the ledgers on this site read the way they are supposed to. Missing one? Tell us.

Cwt (hundredweight)

100 pounds of live animal, the unit feeder and slaughter cattle are priced in. $400/cwt on a 500 lb calf is $2,000.

Medium & Large 1 (M&L 1)

USDA's frame-and-muscling grade for feeder cattle: medium to large framed and thickly muscled. It is the benchmark class behind quoted averages; number 2s grade smaller or lighter-muscled and bring less.

Receipts

The head count that came through the sale. Light receipts make for an untested market, and reporters say so.

Weigh-up cows

Cull cows sold by weight for slaughter rather than as breeding stock; the packer market.

Breaker / Boner / Lean

Slaughter cow dressing grades by estimated lean content: breakers 75-80% (fleshier), boners 80-85% (the market's middle), leans 85-90% (thinner, lower yield).

Slide

A price adjustment agreed in advance for cattle that weigh over the contracted weight, usually so many cents back per pound over. Common in load-lot and video sales.

Shrink

The weight cattle lose between the ranch and the scale, from standing, hauling and stress. A few percent is normal and priced into bids.

Load lot

Enough cattle of one kind to fill a semi, roughly 48,000 to 50,000 lbs. Uniform load lots command premiums over singles and small drafts because feedyards can place them directly.

Unweaned / bawling

Calves sold straight off the cow. They are discounted against weaned calves because the health risk in the next 45 days belongs to the buyer.

Value-added / preconditioned

Calves weaned 45+ days with documented vaccinations. The premium over bawling calves is the payment for that program; special value-added sales are where it shows clearest.

Fleshy / green

Condition talk: fleshy cattle carry extra finish and get discounted as feeders; green cattle are lighter-conditioned with gain ahead of them.

Steady / higher / lower

Reporter trend language comparing to the same class last week at the same barn: 'steers sold 5.00 to 10.00 higher' means dollars per cwt, not percent.

High-dressing

A cow expected to yield more meat than her grade suggests; sells above the printed average for her class.

Per head vs per cwt

Feeders and slaughter cattle sell per cwt. Bred cows, pairs and baby calves sell per head, and reports mark those sections accordingly.