Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 17, 2024

2,433 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $245.82/cwt -1.70 vs last sale · ≈ $2,048/hd at 833 lb · 636 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $251.56/cwt -0.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,292/hd at 513 lb · 130 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $271.63/cwt +8.63 vs last sale · ≈ $1,720/hd at 633 lb · 129 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,433 1,855 3,830
Feeder cattle 2,058 1,602 3,348
Slaughter cattle 353 245 482
Replacement cattle 22 8 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: The market took an upward turn with most classes benefitting. 500 lb steer calves were up 10.00 on comparable sales with 600lb feeder steers up 6.00 and 800lb steers steady. Heifer calves trended steady to higher with few comparable sales. Trading was active with high demand. High yielding slaughter bulls and cows remained steady to slightly lower on a short test.

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
332–342 unweaned 337 6 366.00–370.00 $368.03 $1,240 +35.25
385 385 20 369.00 $369.00 $1,421 —
418 unweaned 418 4 350.00 $350.00 $1,463 +22.30
436–439 438 20 337.50–348.00 $341.68 $1,497 +10.68
451–490 unweaned 473 17 280.00–299.00 $288.86 $1,366 -4.92
478 478 42 333.00 $333.00 $1,592 +3.00
520–529 526 25 284.00–300.00 $288.75 $1,519 -9.64
552–574 562 36 292.00–297.00 $294.59 $1,656 +22.50
562–570 unweaned 564 7 270.00–285.00 $280.67 $1,583 +18.67
567 567 3 282.50 $282.50 $1,602 +10.41
600–617 unweaned 615 48 267.00–280.00 $275.82 $1,696 —
601–647 644 81 269.00–272.00 $269.14 $1,733 +6.14
658 658 2 252.00 $252.00 $1,658 +19.50
705 unweaned 705 17 235.00 $235.00 $1,657 —
735–747 742 70 233.00–240.00 $237.42 $1,762 —
761 761 5 254.00 $254.00 $1,933 —
804–847 833 636 238.00–253.75 $245.82 $2,048 -1.70
850–882 867 107 244.50–245.00 $244.77 $2,122 —
915–940 936 34 231.00–234.50 $234.00 $2,190 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433–443 437 7 247.50–260.00 $252.93 $1,105 —
478 478 5 230.00 $230.00 $1,099 —
580–594 588 10 240.00–257.50 $250.60 $1,474 —
600–640 633 18 250.00–253.00 $250.47 $1,585 +25.47
698 unweaned 698 19 219.00 $219.00 $1,529 —
799 799 35 216.00 $216.00 $1,726 —
840 840 3 219.00 $219.00 $1,840 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 397 5 320.00 $320.00 $1,270 —
450–468 459 4 255.00–257.00 $255.98 $1,175 —
548 548 3 259.00 $259.00 $1,419 +76.50
711–719 713 17 198.00–219.00 $205.63 $1,466 +14.45
799 799 20 180.00 $180.00 $1,438 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358 358 29 315.00 $315.00 $1,128 +28.00
408–418 unweaned 414 8 248.00–260.00 $252.43 $1,045 -11.28
436–447 442 11 235.00–254.00 $245.48 $1,085 -7.14
461 461 47 290.00 $290.00 $1,337 +33.87
493 unweaned 493 2 239.00 $239.00 $1,178 —
508–536 512 106 255.00–262.00 $256.88 $1,315 +2.15
510–532 unweaned 520 24 222.00–235.00 $228.09 $1,186 -16.02
593–596 595 6 216.00–222.50 $218.16 $1,298 -41.71
606 606 26 237.00 $237.00 $1,436 -3.34
658 658 3 220.00 $220.00 $1,448 -24.00
720 unweaned 720 6 181.00 $181.00 $1,303 —
823 unweaned 823 2 171.00 $171.00 $1,407 —
886 886 27 221.00 $221.00 $1,958 +4.00
965 965 5 200.00 $200.00 $1,930 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374 374 8 282.00 $282.00 $1,055 —
439 439 8 210.00 $210.00 $922 -30.00
504–538 514 10 208.00–236.00 $216.79 $1,114 -18.97
831 831 9 222.00 $222.00 $1,845 —
850 850 2 185.00 $185.00 $1,572 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400–439 423 20 189.00–190.00 $189.38 $801 —
495 495 2 233.00 $233.00 $1,153 +23.00
543 543 5 212.50 $212.50 $1,154 —
683 683 3 204.00 $204.00 $1,393 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1078–1210 1115 80-85% 23 90.00–106.00 $98.76 $1,101 —
1038–1502 1291 80-85% 16 105.00–116.00 $112.16 $1,448 —
1038–1564 1298 80-85% 41 119.00–127.00 $121.94 $1,583 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720 720 85-90% 2 74.00 $74.00 $533 —
823–925 852 85-90% 13 60.00–86.00 $80.31 $684 —
893–950 922 85-90% 4 93.00–96.00 $94.55 $872 —
983–1043 1030 85-90% 9 83.00 $83.00 $855 -40.48
1090–1164 1127 85-90% 23 85.00–97.00 $88.65 $999 -5.37
1035–1218 1171 85-90% 12 102.00–108.00 $104.27 $1,221 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1170–1258 1205 75-80% 5 125.00–130.00 $127.09 $1,531 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1605–1705 1645 3 140.00–148.00 $144.59 $2,379 -7.32
YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1960 1960 1 158.00 $158.00 $3,097 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1059 1059 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 114.00 $114.00 $1,207
1154 1154 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 11 131.00 $131.00 $1,512
1234 1234 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 4 123.00 $123.00 $1,518
1373 1373 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 124.00 $124.00 $1,703
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1195 1195 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,314

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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.