Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 18, 2023

1,685 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $204.85/cwt +1.85 vs last sale · ≈ $1,583/hd at 773 lb · 359 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $202.23/cwt +0.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,674/hd at 828 lb · 204 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $249.77/cwt +9.77 vs last sale · ≈ $1,401/hd at 561 lb · 64 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,685 1,762 2,292
Feeder cattle 1,342 1,165 1,536
Slaughter cattle 300 597 756
Replacement cattle 43 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: All classes of steers traded steady. Heifer calves traded 5.00 higher. Not enough comparable sales on feeder heifers for a market trend. Slaughter cattle and bulls traded mostly steady with the fleshier kinds trading 3.00 to 8.00 higher.

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
425 425 1 268.00 $268.00 $1,139 -14.02
460–491 489 13 271.00–279.00 $278.42 $1,361 —
505–528 526 12 267.00 $267.00 $1,404 ±0.00
550–580 570 6 249.00–264.00 $253.82 $1,447 +5.85
618–626 624 7 221.00–231.00 $223.83 $1,397 -14.40
665 665 19 207.00 $207.00 $1,377 —
746–748 746 20 200.00–201.00 $200.15 $1,493 -16.80
762–785 773 359 197.50–208.25 $204.85 $1,583 +1.85
817–843 828 204 193.00–205.50 $202.23 $1,674 +0.26
935 935 1 189.00 $189.00 $1,767 ±0.00
1697 1697 8 123.00 $123.00 $2,087 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
647 647 7 190.00 $190.00 $1,229 -22.00
695 695 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,320 -19.00
743 743 2 190.00 $190.00 $1,412 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 2 165.00 $165.00 $1,452 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
421–445 430 55 260.00–273.00 $266.65 $1,147 —
453–485 457 45 241.00–265.00 $261.73 $1,196 +6.73
500–545 530 13 231.00–245.00 $236.85 $1,255 -14.15
557–566 561 64 248.00–252.00 $249.77 $1,401 +9.77
603–639 626 13 204.00–210.00 $207.65 $1,300 -11.35
653–689 679 42 185.00–194.00 $191.08 $1,297 —
775–793 790 13 153.00–177.00 $171.25 $1,353 -6.75
865 865 2 154.00 $154.00 $1,332 —
958 958 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,303 —
1670 1670 4 121.00 $121.00 $2,021 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 11 205.00 $205.00 $1,199 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 1 184.00 $184.00 $856 —
730 730 1 143.00 $143.00 $1,044 —
840 840 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,084 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 2 287.00 $287.00 $1,234 —
605 605 2 191.00 $191.00 $1,156 —
779 779 4 154.00 $154.00 $1,200 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
855 855 80-85% 1 88.00 $88.00 $752 +3.67
793–995 925 80-85% 20 70.00–74.00 $72.41 $670 -4.42
860–980 939 80-85% 13 76.00–82.00 $77.76 $730 +0.93
1009–1230 1085 80-85% 16 70.00–75.00 $72.56 $787 -6.86
1000–1320 1116 80-85% 20 75.50–83.00 $79.32 $885 +5.12
1116–1403 1206 80-85% 32 85.00–89.00 $86.16 $1,039 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 75-80% 1 94.00 $94.00 $827 —
995 995 75-80% 1 89.00 $89.00 $886 +0.20
1235–1446 1330 75-80% 15 90.00–95.00 $92.63 $1,232 +1.54
1110–1615 1359 75-80% 15 107.00–113.00 $109.56 $1,489 —
1090–1502 1411 75-80% 52 97.00–105.00 $98.33 $1,387 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
588–851 746 85-90% 12 48.00–57.00 $54.00 $403 -7.32
750–930 853 85-90% 3 65.00–67.00 $65.95 $563 +12.30
867–907 882 85-90% 13 60.00–62.00 $61.21 $540 +7.56
875–885 882 85-90% 10 68.00 $68.00 $600 +14.35
1098–1140 1106 85-90% 10 53.00–54.00 $53.79 $595 -12.00
1100–1170 1130 85-90% 3 64.00–65.00 $64.35 $727 -1.44
1075–1224 1167 85-90% 15 56.00–60.00 $58.48 $682 -1.42
1198–1370 1223 85-90% 7 66.00–69.00 $66.90 $818 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1325 1090 4 94.00–106.00 $99.62 $1,086 —
1015–1390 1241 7 110.00–114.00 $112.97 $1,402 —
2255–2290 2273 2 127.00–132.00 $129.48 $2,943 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1226 1226 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 43 2,125.00 $2,125.00 —

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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.