Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 19, 2024

2,756 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $229.15/cwt +11.15 vs last sale · ≈ $1,874/hd at 818 lb · 201 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $266.74/cwt -3.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,800/hd at 675 lb · 198 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $256.17/cwt -2.00 vs last sale · ≈ $1,959/hd at 765 lb · 196 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,756 3,092 0
Feeder cattle 2,275 2,650 0
Slaughter cattle 480 442 0
Replacement cattle 1 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

****Special Note****This is the last sale of the year. Sales will not resume until after the Christmas and New Year Break, January 9th 2025. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year******* Compared to last week: All classes took a pretty good slide backward but the market and demand still remains good. Heifers weighing 300 - 400 pounds made the gains of the day bringing from 7.00-9.00 higher. Slaughter cattle made a jump higher on good demand. High yielding cows gained 2.00-4.00 with average yielding boner cows up almost 12.00. Slaughter bulls gained 2.00. Have a Merry Christmas and safe and Happy New Year!

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
290 290 2 382.50 $382.50 $1,109 —
315 315 9 385.00–410.00 $404.44 $1,274 -18.20
334–345 fancy 339 11 425.00–427.50 $425.46 $1,442 —
375 thin fleshed 375 3 391.00 $391.00 $1,466 -63.00
380–394 390 15 385.00–395.00 $387.60 $1,512 -10.68
398 398 2 380.00 $380.00 $1,512 -18.28
405–441 429 6 327.50–345.00 $339.49 $1,456 -84.87
425–444 435 10 355.00–372.50 $365.20 $1,589 -59.16
438 fancy 438 5 385.00 $385.00 $1,686 -40.00
459 thin fleshed 459 18 330.00 $330.00 $1,515 —
463–480 474 15 347.00–362.50 $352.04 $1,669 +2.92
500 fancy 500 5 332.50 $332.50 $1,662 -23.97
538 538 18 307.00 $307.00 $1,652 -10.11
510–549 545 66 299.00–318.00 $304.85 $1,661 -12.26
566 566 6 312.50 $312.50 $1,769 +6.96
570–593 583 13 265.00–287.00 $276.90 $1,614 -28.64
601–615 611 34 291.00–295.00 $292.04 $1,784 +9.00
653–693 675 198 235.00–276.00 $266.74 $1,800 -5.09
700–744 738 23 240.00–259.00 $256.65 $1,894 +2.72
753 753 6 238.00 $238.00 $1,792 -20.17
757–772 765 190 241.00–261.00 $256.74 $1,964 -1.43
801 801 27 229.00 $229.00 $1,834 -32.00
852–889 854 67 245.00–249.00 $248.75 $2,124 -3.25
941 941 4 217.50 $217.50 $2,047 —
1403 1403 6 163.00 $163.00 $2,287 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
484 484 5 295.00 $295.00 $1,428 -17.82
543 thin fleshed 543 17 286.00 $286.00 $1,553 —
614–624 619 11 267.00–274.00 $270.15 $1,672 -4.57
655–660 658 9 240.00–250.00 $243.32 $1,601 -22.68
671 thin fleshed 671 4 248.00 $248.00 $1,664 —
710 710 16 205.00 $205.00 $1,456 —
765 765 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,454 -40.00
891 891 37 214.00 $214.00 $1,907 -1.45
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 2 310.00 $310.00 $1,162 —
430 430 2 320.00 $320.00 $1,376 +52.50
473 473 4 310.00–312.50 $311.25 $1,472 +50.25
570 570 7 304.00 $304.00 $1,733 +47.00
618 618 3 260.00 $260.00 $1,607 +47.50
655–683 664 12 219.00–230.00 $222.77 $1,479 -21.23
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
205–230 218 3 900.00–1,125.00 $1,004.20 —
260 260 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
280 280 1 725.00 $725.00 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328 328 2 360.00 $360.00 $1,181 —
363 363 4 325.00 $325.00 $1,180 -18.51
370 370 6 350.00 $350.00 $1,295 +6.49
373 unweaned 373 8 331.00 $331.00 $1,235 —
415–449 435 22 288.00–308.00 $293.33 $1,276 +9.22
439 fancy 439 8 333.00 $333.00 $1,462 +8.00
488 unweaned 488 24 289.00 $289.00 $1,410 —
461–491 489 118 298.00–352.50 $301.20 $1,473 +8.66
525 fancy 525 91 311.00 $311.00 $1,633 —
514–548 536 26 250.00–272.00 $266.55 $1,429 -5.88
573 fancy 573 7 305.00 $305.00 $1,748 —
553–598 575 18 241.00–260.00 $253.74 $1,459 -56.26
607–631 622 23 249.00–270.00 $255.01 $1,586 -7.46
669–675 670 14 233.00–239.00 $238.14 $1,596 -2.91
695 695 2 220.00 $220.00 $1,529 -26.00
708 708 44 225.00 $225.00 $1,593 —
787 787 14 224.00 $224.00 $1,763 -4.90
803–825 818 201 228.00–230.50 $229.15 $1,874 +11.15
875 875 2 201.00 $201.00 $1,759 -12.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
570 570 2 218.00 $218.00 $1,243 -16.46
578–585 580 8 185.00–217.50 $193.20 $1,121 -41.26
613 613 2 230.00 $230.00 $1,410 +37.50
669–684 673 17 180.00–226.00 $193.74 $1,304 —
800 800 34 217.00 $217.00 $1,736 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
371–395 380 11 325.00–335.00 $331.02 $1,258 —
484 thin fleshed 484 12 273.00 $273.00 $1,321 —
504 504 4 240.00 $240.00 $1,210 —
513 thin fleshed 513 6 272.00 $272.00 $1,395 —
591 thin fleshed 591 5 256.00 $256.00 $1,513 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
208–230 219 4 800.00–950.00 $878.77 —
255 255 1 725.00 $725.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
700 700 2 222.50 $222.50 $1,558 —
773 773 3 241.00 $241.00 $1,863 —
815 815 2 197.50 $197.50 $1,610 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820 820 80-85% 2 92.50 $92.50 $758 —
922–973 948 80-85% 6 89.00–98.00 $93.62 $888 —
1027–1243 1154 80-85% 14 114.00–119.00 $117.59 $1,357 —
1021–1531 1269 80-85% 129 103.00–114.00 $109.19 $1,386 -6.51
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1413–1601 1450 75-80% 54 114.00–127.00 $123.02 $1,784 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
828 828 85-90% 3 77.00 $77.00 $638 —
868 868 85-90% 2 101.00 $101.00 $877 +28.14
888 888 85-90% 2 86.00 $86.00 $764 +11.96
986–1133 1035 85-90% 6 85.00–97.00 $92.62 $959 —
900–1317 1134 85-90% 16 80.00–88.00 $85.08 $965 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–2165 1415 7 146.00–153.00 $149.17 $2,111 —
YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165–1730 1605 5 126.00–135.00 $128.96 $2,070 —

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
301–323 307 7 215.00–220.00 $216.50 $665 —
375 375 6 200.00 $200.00 $750 -60.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1525 1525 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 1 2,000.00 $2,000.00 —

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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.