Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 17, 2020

1,302 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Cattlemen's Livestock Auction report →

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $131.00/cwt ≈ $1,125/hd at 859 lb · 122 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $136.15/cwt +0.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,122/hd at 824 lb · 106 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $138.76/cwt +1.86 vs last sale · ≈ $805/hd at 580 lb · 88 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,302 2,694 0
Feeder cattle 882 2,192 0
Slaughter cattle 420 502 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer and heifer calves under 600 lbs steady, instances 400 to 500 lb heifers 2.00 lower. Feeder steers and heifers over 600 lbs firm. Slaughter cows and bulls steady except higher dressing fleshy cows 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Trade fairly active. Demand fairly good.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374–385 376 6 198.00–204.00 $201.98 $759 +6.61
403–445 418 10 185.00–202.00 $194.29 $812 +18.42
460–487 479 18 168.00–178.00 $174.58 $836 -1.99
500–540 525 17 165.00–169.00 $167.42 $879 -8.62
533 unweaned 533 2 157.00 $157.00 $837 +0.67
550–573 571 20 151.00–161.00 $151.96 $868 +1.17
614–639 628 16 139.00–142.00 $140.67 $883 —
625–648 unweaned 643 5 135.00–139.00 $138.22 $889 +1.08
653–662 654 29 135.00–142.50 $140.77 $921 —
691 unweaned 691 4 131.50 $131.50 $909 -1.01
705–749 unweaned 736 12 125.00–127.00 $126.52 $931 +6.52
765 unweaned 765 1 128.00 $128.00 $979 —
770 770 7 136.00 $136.00 $1,047 +4.75
801–826 821 42 134.50–137.75 $137.15 $1,126 +1.15
826 unweaned 826 64 135.50 $135.50 $1,119 —
859 859 122 131.00 $131.00 $1,125 —
900–913 904 10 130.50–132.00 $130.95 $1,184 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
398 398 2 150.00 $150.00 $597 -33.26
497 497 3 153.00 $153.00 $760 —
530 530 1 158.00 $158.00 $837 —
537 unweaned 537 5 136.00 $136.00 $730 +2.27
565–570 568 2 130.00–131.00 $130.50 $741 —
605 605 1 125.00 $125.00 $756 —
745 745 1 125.00 $125.00 $931 —
755–780 763 3 118.00–118.50 $118.33 $903 —
817 817 3 128.00 $128.00 $1,046 —
883 883 2 122.00 $122.00 $1,077 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
610–628 622 3 110.00–118.00 $115.38 $718 —
743 743 2 106.00 $106.00 $788 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–388 371 13 168.00–178.00 $172.36 $639 +4.74
389 unweaned 389 4 153.00 $153.00 $595 -4.86
400–446 433 29 145.00–165.00 $160.23 $694 +3.12
453–499 unweaned 469 24 140.00–143.00 $141.59 $664 -9.45
482–486 485 26 145.00–147.00 $146.39 $710 -12.63
505–544 534 43 141.50–149.50 $144.89 $774 +5.14
560–595 580 88 133.00–143.00 $138.76 $805 +0.84
613–619 617 10 126.00–133.50 $130.52 $805 +2.66
650–693 663 9 125.50–128.50 $127.52 $845 -0.30
705 unweaned 705 1 120.00 $120.00 $846 -1.88
716–739 730 13 124.00–128.50 $126.80 $926 -3.04
790–792 790 34 120.00–124.50 $124.10 $980 +1.04
820–825 823 4 116.00–122.50 $119.26 $982 -0.24
857–869 865 12 113.00–117.00 $115.17 $996 —
915 915 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,006 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
526–540 529 10 128.00–135.00 $133.57 $707 —
553–590 565 3 121.00–127.00 $124.91 $706 -5.09
690 unweaned 690 1 115.00 $115.00 $794 +2.43
815 unweaned 815 3 105.00 $105.00 $856 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 510 1 110.00 $110.00 $561 —
583 583 3 110.00 $110.00 $641 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
847–1363 1046 85-90% 128 30.00–40.00 $34.01 $356 —
960–1450 1230 85-90% 16 15.00–25.00 $19.85 $244 —
955–1448 1375 85-90% 60 42.00–47.50 $44.95 $618 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1362–1413 1374 80-85% 25 39.25–47.00 $41.16 $566 -4.83
1367–1421 1406 80-85% 18 58.50 $58.50 $823 —
1280–1680 1586 80-85% 19 50.00–54.00 $53.44 $848 +0.57
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1368–1703 1499 75-80% 16 62.00–69.50 $64.35 $965 —
1623–1667 1654 75-80% 44 52.75–53.25 $53.02 $877 -2.48

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385 1385 1 59.00 $59.00 $817 —
1570–1960 1816 4 74.00–77.00 $74.73 $1,357 —

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Reading this report

What does "Medium and Large 1" mean?

USDA feeder grades describe frame size and muscle thickness, not quality of the individual animal. "Medium and Large" is the frame score; the number is muscle (1 = heaviest muscled). "Medium and Large 1–2" pens mix both muscle scores — common across the Southeast.

What is $/cwt?

Dollars per hundredweight — per 100 lb of animal. A 500-lb calf at $450/cwt brings 5 × $450 = $2,250. Lighter cattle usually bring more per cwt but less per head.

Why are some prices per head?

Bred cows, cow-calf pairs, and some replacement classes sell by the head, not by weight. We show those exactly as USDA reports them — a $/head figure is never converted into $/cwt on this site.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock Market News — federal reporters at the sale. We publish each report in full and link the official USDA document at the top of the page.