Cow prices remain at record levels Cull cow prices were record high in 2011 and are on pace to set another record high in 2012. Prices for 85-90% lean slaughter cows in the Southern Plains started 2012 at $70 per hundredweight (cwt.) and increased seasonally throughout January and February. Since late February, prices have traded in a fairly narrow trading range of $85 to $87/cwt., and have averaged about $10 higher than last year. High prices in 2011 were in spite of relatively large cow slaughter, particularly in the last half of the year.