Cattle Market Pulse

Cattlemen's Livestock Auction Market Report

Dalhart, Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, March 19, 2026

2,809 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 $316.59/cwt ≈ $2,650/hd at 837 lb · 277 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $316.41/cwt -1.09 vs last sale · ≈ $3,088/hd at 976 lb · 150 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $382.29/cwt -10.38 vs last sale · ≈ $2,600/hd at 680 lb · 140 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,809 1,797 2,290
Feeder cattle 2,498 1,550 2,012
Slaughter cattle 310 247 278
Replacement cattle 1 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: There was an exceptional turn out of cattle coming off of wheat this week, however; there were few comparable sales to state a trend. Sentiment seemed to follow the downshift in the board with the exception of 600-700 pound steers selling on a positive note. Average yielding slaughter cows brought 3.00 lower and no test on high yielding cows. Trade was 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
418–448 435 7 520.00–540.00 $528.23 $2,298 -49.27
455 thin fleshed 455 10 595.00 $595.00 $2,707 +27.73
475 475 3 552.50 $552.50 $2,624 +65.00
500–503 502 7 510.00–525.00 $516.41 $2,592 -4.59
540 540 22 495.00 $495.00 $2,673 -26.00
621 thin fleshed 621 74 452.00 $452.00 $2,807 +45.00
634–638 636 25 417.50–432.50 $426.52 $2,713 +28.52
653–693 680 140 374.00–393.00 $382.29 $2,600 -10.38
711 711 67 384.00 $384.00 $2,730 +4.37
748 thin fleshed 748 45 378.00 $378.00 $2,827 —
771 771 9 367.00 $367.00 $2,830 -8.05
768–794 776 77 356.00–364.00 $361.34 $2,804 -13.71
821 thin fleshed 821 4 352.50 $352.50 $2,894 —
837 837 9 330.00 $330.00 $2,762 -17.00
883 883 52 325.00 $325.00 $2,870 -20.00
963–990 976 150 312.50–322.50 $316.41 $3,088 -1.09
1001–1042 1029 237 291.00–309.00 $298.40 $3,071 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
569–580 572 7 420.00–430.00 $422.90 $2,419 —
615–638 629 5 401.00–406.00 $404.04 $2,541 +16.54
793 793 2 330.00 $330.00 $2,617 -18.00
801 801 5 317.00 $317.00 $2,539 —
928 928 14 289.00 $289.00 $2,682 —
966 966 5 296.00 $296.00 $2,859 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 3 460.00 $460.00 $2,116 —
684 thin fleshed 684 5 335.00 $335.00 $2,291 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 2 522.50 $522.50 $1,766 —
378 378 2 537.50 $537.50 $2,032 —
428–430 429 8 460.00–470.00 $463.74 $1,989 —
480 480 2 400.00 $400.00 $1,920 -58.03
553 fancy 553 7 405.00 $405.00 $2,240 —
558–592 580 21 367.50–385.00 $376.37 $2,183 +23.87
620–626 625 38 361.00–367.00 $362.10 $2,263 —
650–691 667 108 336.00–359.25 $356.63 $2,379 -4.16
714–729 722 25 336.00–339.00 $337.70 $2,438 —
751–757 756 125 333.50–335.50 $335.26 $2,535 —
801–846 837 277 311.00–324.50 $316.59 $2,650 —
905–947 926 110 298.00–306.50 $302.08 $2,797 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
713 713 3 297.50 $297.50 $2,121 —
783 783 6 302.50 $302.50 $2,369 —
803 803 13 298.00 $298.00 $2,393 —
918 918 9 275.00 $275.00 $2,524 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
406 406 4 417.50 $417.50 $1,695 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
998 998 80-85% 5 145.00 $145.00 $1,447 —
1043–1549 1158 80-85% 13 133.00–143.00 $140.00 $1,621 -3.16
1010–1528 1269 80-85% 70 145.00–157.00 $151.52 $1,923 -2.90
1570–1848 1709 80-85% 4 159.00–161.00 $159.92 $2,733 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–995 914 85-90% 11 125.00–130.00 $126.39 $1,155 +2.99

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2150 2150 1 206.50 $206.50 $4,440 —
YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1715 1715 1 181.00 $181.00 $3,104 —

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Beef/Dairy Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
488 488 2 355.00 $355.00 $1,732 —
700 700 2 300.00 $300.00 $2,100 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715 715 3 290.00 $290.00 $2,074 —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1590 1590 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 3,250.00 $3,250.00 —

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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.