Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 15, 2022

2,589 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $197.76/cwt -7.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,057/hd at 535 lb · 242 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $185.87/cwt +25.88 vs last sale · ≈ $1,320/hd at 710 lb · 222 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $182.61/cwt -1.49 vs last sale · ≈ $1,237/hd at 677 lb · 140 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,589 2,984 2,118
Feeder cattle 2,068 1,841 1,696
Slaughter cattle 521 1,071 422
Replacement cattle — 72 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: feeder steers and heifers traded 1.00 to 5.00 higher. Steer calves traded 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Heifer calves traded 2.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls were mostly weak to 4.00 lower. Trading activity was moderate to active on 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
343 343 2 210.00 $210.00 $720 —
358–371 368 13 225.00–233.00 $231.20 $851 +15.20
401–445 413 31 214.00–224.00 $220.36 $910 +0.53
460–492 478 73 201.00–226.00 $216.56 $1,035 +28.25
500–540 532 115 187.00–226.00 $218.20 $1,161 +10.42
532–548 unweaned 537 127 176.00–182.50 $179.26 $963 +9.26
557–597 unweaned 564 33 176.00–179.00 $176.58 $996 -1.92
563–598 589 18 185.00–204.00 $200.63 $1,182 +8.99
600–643 612 91 184.00–196.50 $191.29 $1,171 +5.73
615–649 unweaned 643 47 178.00–183.00 $180.43 $1,160 +19.93
651–688 675 112 179.50–190.50 $186.21 $1,257 +1.26
666–691 unweaned 686 28 164.00–171.50 $168.22 $1,154 +6.74
703–720 710 214 184.50–188.50 $186.81 $1,326 +26.82
703–740 712 8 159.00–166.00 $160.82 $1,145 +0.83
757–765 760 53 181.50–184.50 $183.19 $1,392 +13.65
830 830 2 169.00 $169.00 $1,403 +3.00
911 911 4 168.00 $168.00 $1,530 +2.00
1030 1030 6 160.00 $160.00 $1,648 +10.00
1245 1245 6 138.50 $138.50 $1,724 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–370 356 7 183.00–222.00 $210.41 $749 +0.41
423–425 424 10 179.00–187.00 $182.19 $772 —
453 453 2 187.00 $187.00 $847 +19.00
537–548 541 5 182.00–184.00 $182.81 $989 —
629 unweaned 629 5 159.50 $159.50 $1,003 —
634 634 9 155.00 $155.00 $983 -21.71
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 3 176.00 $176.00 $634 —
568 568 2 178.00 $178.00 $1,011 —
705 705 2 166.00 $166.00 $1,170 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 2 202.00 $202.00 $566 —
334–343 338 13 186.00–217.00 $200.93 $679 —
366–370 368 8 189.00–195.00 $191.27 $704 -1.28
403–434 426 40 186.00–195.00 $187.11 $797 -2.89
461–499 488 110 182.00–195.50 $186.58 $911 -2.07
518–531 529 62 181.00–192.00 $190.15 $1,006 +3.22
531–540 unweaned 536 22 171.00–175.00 $172.98 $927 —
558–595 581 31 175.25–185.00 $177.95 $1,034 -1.63
600–642 unweaned 625 5 150.00–164.00 $155.37 $971 -3.13
605–635 627 24 167.00–177.50 $174.09 $1,092 +1.75
658–668 661 37 169.00–170.00 $169.26 $1,119 +1.26
672–675 unweaned 675 24 157.00–159.00 $158.75 $1,072 —
743 743 12 168.00 $168.00 $1,248 +0.50
745 745 2 148.50 $148.50 $1,106 -19.00
760 760 3 164.00 $164.00 $1,246 —
986–996 993 14 149.00 $149.00 $1,480 —
1087 1087 13 150.00 $150.00 $1,630 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
412–437 425 6 177.00–181.00 $178.94 $760 —
478–491 486 28 160.00–176.50 $171.45 $833 +0.45
503–520 519 26 162.00–166.00 $165.70 $860 +1.70
588 unweaned 588 11 140.00 $140.00 $823 —
613 unweaned 613 4 141.00 $141.00 $864 —
661–674 671 27 158.00–159.00 $158.74 $1,065 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 3 156.00 $156.00 $753 —
533 533 2 159.00 $159.00 $847 —
570 570 4 169.00 $169.00 $963 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
528 528 3 150.00 $150.00 $792 —
659 659 5 145.00 $145.00 $956 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 2 195.00 $195.00 $848 —
503 503 3 183.00 $183.00 $920 —
630 630 2 161.00 $161.00 $1,014 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
817–985 850 85-90% 9 43.00–46.00 $45.23 $384 +18.10
703–940 858 85-90% 45 24.00–40.00 $34.62 $297 +7.49
895 895 85-90% 3 55.00 $55.00 $492 +27.87
905–1395 1147 85-90% 60 29.00–43.50 $35.00 $401 -2.00
1008–1433 1200 85-90% 105 45.00–56.00 $51.05 $613 -17.58
1295–1468 1357 85-90% 22 57.00–65.00 $57.99 $787 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920 920 80-85% 1 65.00 $65.00 $598 —
1060–1580 1309 80-85% 13 60.00–67.00 $61.61 $806 —
1005–1670 1414 80-85% 38 68.00–75.00 $69.98 $990 -4.67
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1788 1645 75-80% 5 75.00–77.00 $76.02 $1,251 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230 1230 1 75.00 $75.00 $922 —
1670 1670 1 90.00 $90.00 $1,503 —
1580–1935 1758 2 86.00–98.00 $92.61 $1,628 —

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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.