Cattle prices are incredible. Nearly all weights and types of cattle sold this fall are fetching the highest prices ever. Just four years ago, 650-pound steers in Mississippi were averaging about $850 for the total price of the animal. This fall, those same steers are averaging about $2,200 per head. Even 250-lb. bull calves are averaging over $1,000 per head and outpacing the 650-lb. steer value from a few years ago.
Cattle prices differ based on weight and sex of the animal. Lighter weight cattle are typically worth more per pound than heavier cattle. This is because of their growth potential and ability of the buyer to add more pounds (value) to a lighter animal than they could to a heavier animal. Heavier cattle are typically worth more per head since the price per pound is being multiplied by a larger weight.
Steers are typically worth more than bulls since they are already castrated, which makes them less aggressive, easier to manage and ultimately more desirable to feedlots. Buyers usually discount bull calves to cover the cost, stress and weight loss associated with castrating them after purchase. Lighter bull calves are typically discounted less per pound than heavier ones. Steers are typically worth more than heifers because they grow more efficiently and produce heavier carcasses with better yield.
The chart shows Oklahoma heifer and bull prices as a percentage of steer prices for 2010 through the present. These are all 400-500-lb. medium and large #1 cattle. For example, if the steer price is $100/cwt and the heifer price is $90, the chart would show heifer price as 90% of steer prices. The chart uses a four-week moving average to smooth out the lines, so each point actually represents the average percentage of the previous four weeks. Oklahoma is used simply because there are more transactions throughout the years to calculate the differences, but the general trends are likely fairly similar across the Southeast.
In this weight class, heifers are generally worth about 80% to 90% of what steers are worth. In recent weeks, heifers have averaged closer to 90% of steer value. Another way to think of this is 400-500-lb. heifers are trading at roughly a 10% discount to 400-500-lb. steers. Bull prices are usually about 90% to 95% of steer prices and occasionally dip even lower. That may not seem like a lot, but a 5% to 10% discount at current price levels is about $110-220 per head for a 450-lb. calf. This same 5% to 10% discount from 2021 was only $40-80 per head. The value for bull calves is sharply higher now, but the discount for not castrating is also sharply higher.
Price levels like these can have an impact on producers’ management decisions. Whenever light calves and/or bulls are worth more today than top-quality, heavier steers from a few years ago, it can sometimes mask the value in good management. However, that value is still there and is even larger in most cases given the current price levels. — Josh Maples, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University
