Stocker cattle prices

Buyers use stocker for lighter feeder cattle — typically about 400–700 lb — bought to graze or grow before the feedlot. USDA AMS auction reports do not use “stocker” as a class. Those animals show up as FEEDER CATTLE, usually STEERS or HEIFERS.

Stockers vs feeders vs slaughter

Stockers are a buyer term for the lighter end of the feeder market. Feeders more broadly includes heavier yearlings that may go more directly to a feedlot. Slaughter cattle are culls or finished animals sold for harvest — a different market and a much lower $/cwt. Do not mix those lines.

Why weight and condition move the price

Lighter calves have more gain left, so buyers often pay more per hundredweight and less per head. Comments such as Unweaned, Fancy, or Value Added also move the number inside a band. Unweaned calves can trade at a discount because of health risk after the sale. Compare inside one weight band, then check grade and comments.

Still usually per cwt

Stocker-weight feeders are usually priced Per Cwt / Actual Wt. A $429 price is per hundredweight, not per head. Check the unit every time.

National snapshot, stocker weight bands (Nov 2–6, 2026)

Medium and Large 1 feeder steers, priced per cwt. Averages are head-weighted across every matching lot we ingested that week. Query rules: grade exactly Medium and Large 1, category FEEDER CATTLE, class STEERS, weight_avg >= X AND weight_avg < Y (so 400–499 means 400 up to but not including 500), and unit LIKE Per Cwt%. The lot range is the low and high lot average in that band.

Weight	Auctions	Head	Avg $/cwt	Lot range
400–499 lb	143	10,286	$487.83	$315.00–$582.00
500–599 lb	151	22,429	$428.84	$285.00–$505.00
600–699 lb	150	15,335	$379.81	$285.00–$433.00

This page is a dated snapshot from USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News auction reports (public); the API has current lots.

Worked example from a real sale

From Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction (Friday) (Ft. Pierre, SD) on Nov 6, 2026, one stocker-weight feeder steer lot in our API:

{ "auction_name": "Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction (Friday)",
  "state": "SD", "report_date": "2026-11-06",
  "category": "FEEDER CATTLE", "class_name": "STEERS",
  "grade": "Medium and Large 1", "head_count": 938,
  "weight_avg": 528, "price_avg": 460.90,
  "unit": "Per Cwt / Actual Wt", "comments": "" }

Reading it: 938 Medium and Large 1 steers, about 528 lb average, sold at about $460.90 per cwt. Rough lot value: (528 ÷ 100) × 460.90 × 938 ≈ $2,282,700. Source: USDA AMS; we are not affiliated with USDA.

curl -s -H "X-API-Key: kl_free_demo_2026" \
  "https://api.kossinlabs.com/v1/prices?class=STEERS&category=FEEDER%20CATTLE&weight_min=400&weight_max=700&limit=5"

Pull more stocker-weight lots as JSON

Free demo key (no sign-up): kl_free_demo_2026. Docs: api.kossinlabs.com. Product page: cattle auction prices API. Starter is $29/mo for higher limits — subscribe. 30-day money-back guarantee.

For what feeder cattle means as a category, see feeder cattle prices. For the full national steer table (including heavier 700–899 lb bands), see feeder steer prices. For heifer vs steer $/cwt, see heifer prices. For feeder vs slaughter bulls, see bull prices. For slaughter cattle, see slaughter cattle prices. For replacements and pairs, see replacement cattle prices and cow-calf pair prices. For dairy-area calves, see dairy / beef-cross calf prices. For the same steer type by state, see cattle prices by state — starting with Wyoming and South Dakota. For the cwt math, see cattle price per cwt. For PDF layout, see how to read cattle auction reports.