Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 8, 2022

2,984 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $190.98/cwt -10.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,104/hd at 578 lb · 198 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $184.10/cwt +5.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,240/hd at 674 lb · 193 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $185.13/cwt +2.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,162/hd at 628 lb · 117 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,984 2,945 4,497
Feeder cattle 1,841 2,314 3,662
Slaughter cattle 1,071 624 835
Replacement cattle 72 7 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers traded firm to 3.00 higher. Heifer calves traded 3.00 to 6.00 higher. Not enough comparable sales on steer calves to call a trend, but a lower undertone was noted. Slaughter cows and bulls traded mostly 3.00 to 5.00 lower. Trading activity was moderate to active on moderate to good demand.

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
266 266 13 257.00 $257.00 $684 —
370 370 17 216.00 $216.00 $799 -19.75
418–428 419 21 209.00–221.00 $219.83 $921 -12.17
434 unweaned 434 4 197.00 $197.00 $855 —
457–486 471 48 184.00–193.00 $188.31 $887 -15.31
509 unweaned 509 7 170.00 $170.00 $865 -15.00
510–529 512 101 199.00–209.00 $207.78 $1,064 +4.74
561 unweaned 561 10 178.50 $178.50 $1,001 —
565–580 579 188 185.00–192.00 $191.64 $1,110 +6.81
615 unweaned 615 2 160.50 $160.50 $987 -8.00
622–644 628 115 180.00–189.00 $185.56 $1,165 +0.54
657–693 unweaned 667 7 160.00–165.00 $161.48 $1,077 -2.14
654–698 674 186 178.50–187.00 $184.95 $1,247 +2.97
703–718 710 29 159.50–160.50 $159.99 $1,136 -5.01
791–793 792 22 169.00–171.00 $169.54 $1,343 -9.15
845 845 15 166.00 $166.00 $1,403 +6.00
851 851 12 170.00 $170.00 $1,447 -6.00
915 915 29 166.00 $166.00 $1,519 —
993 993 61 168.00 $168.00 $1,668 -0.50
1005 1005 4 150.00 $150.00 $1,508 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
298 298 2 190.00 $190.00 $566 —
364 364 4 210.00 $210.00 $764 +8.00
453 453 4 168.00 $168.00 $761 —
558 558 17 180.00 $180.00 $1,004 —
607–630 614 68 169.00–178.00 $176.71 $1,085 +6.71
662 662 3 170.00 $170.00 $1,125 -5.06
724 724 4 155.00 $155.00 $1,122 -14.11
783 783 2 152.00 $152.00 $1,190 -14.00
881 881 4 163.00 $163.00 $1,436 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
679 679 7 131.00 $131.00 $889 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 unweaned 315 3 183.00 $183.00 $576 —
350–385 365 13 180.00–200.00 $192.55 $703 -5.78
405 405 32 190.00 $190.00 $770 —
480 unweaned 480 2 170.00 $170.00 $816 +6.00
485–493 485 87 179.00–189.00 $188.65 $915 +10.01
520–541 529 21 183.00–190.00 $186.93 $989 +11.66
559–573 570 101 174.50–187.00 $179.58 $1,024 +3.28
613 unweaned 613 10 158.50 $158.50 $972 +0.50
608–636 620 33 168.00–186.00 $172.34 $1,069 +2.49
679 679 27 168.00 $168.00 $1,141 +2.54
710 710 13 167.50 $167.50 $1,189 -1.87
811 811 65 165.50 $165.50 $1,342 +2.50
853–878 856 24 150.00–155.00 $154.36 $1,321 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 2 175.00 $175.00 $665 —
454 454 7 171.00 $171.00 $776 +5.11
510 510 2 164.00 $164.00 $836 -9.00
586–591 589 14 169.00–174.00 $171.51 $1,010 +8.04
701 701 54 166.50 $166.50 $1,167 —
810 810 2 153.00 $153.00 $1,239 +13.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935 935 11 150.00 $150.00 $1,402 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
471 471 4 185.00 $185.00 $871 ±0.00
711 711 4 157.00 $157.00 $1,116 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790–998 882 85-90% 40 22.00–39.00 $27.13 $239 —
868–965 950 85-90% 13 40.00–48.00 $46.88 $445 -17.12
922–993 961 85-90% 10 49.00–71.50 $63.68 $612 -0.32
1008–1515 1133 85-90% 35 26.00–45.00 $37.00 $419 —
1010–1356 1197 85-90% 14 52.00–60.00 $57.02 $683 -0.07
1060–1282 1209 85-90% 58 65.00–73.00 $68.63 $830 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1098–1390 1261 80-85% 19 57.00–69.00 $64.17 $809 —
1277–1589 1434 80-85% 69 70.00–77.50 $74.65 $1,070 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1260 1260 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $819 —
1390–1600 1529 75-80% 22 74.00–77.00 $76.59 $1,171 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1820 1820 1 82.00 $82.00 $1,492 —
1673–2215 1863 4 86.00–91.00 $88.75 $1,653 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1043 1043 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 84.00 $84.00 $876

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1245 1245 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1285 1285 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1004 1004 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 8 885.00 $885.00 —

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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.