Cattle Market Pulse

Texas Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Texas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 18, 2023

1,218 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Texas Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $282.18/cwt +17.42 vs last sale · ≈ $1,473/hd at 522 lb · 102 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $206.00/cwt ≈ $1,687/hd at 819 lb · 64 head
light 9-weight M&L 1-2 steers $195.60/cwt ≈ $1,790/hd at 915 lb · 63 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,218 2,619 2,230
Feeder cattle 1,102 2,010 2,039
Slaughter cattle 54 501 56
Replacement cattle 62 108 135

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Not enough comparable sales for a market trend. Some sales closed this week for the holidays and others had light receipts to close out the 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
359 359 8 332.00–333.00 $332.50 $1,194 +17.04
411–421 414 23 316.00–330.00 $319.72 $1,324 +13.61
459 459 8 315.50 $315.50 $1,448 +35.66
500–538 522 102 264.00–285.00 $282.18 $1,473 +14.84
555–589 568 30 240.00–271.00 $260.47 $1,479 +17.48
619 619 22 239.00 $239.00 $1,479 +1.43
676 unweaned 676 9 216.00 $216.00 $1,460 -2.60
688 688 6 225.00 $225.00 $1,548 -4.65
721 721 6 220.00 $220.00 $1,586 +19.22
774 774 7 215.00 $215.00 $1,664 ±0.00
819 819 17 215.00 $215.00 $1,761 +9.00
859–897 873 42 202.00–207.00 $205.16 $1,791 +16.16
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 2 307.00 $307.00 $906 —
369–391 381 32 310.00–325.00 $316.82 $1,207 —
448 448 27 298.00 $298.00 $1,335 —
475–493 480 16 289.00–291.00 $290.49 $1,394 —
545 545 5 262.00 $262.00 $1,428 +4.00
571–597 581 13 241.00–245.00 $243.59 $1,415 +4.57
644 644 7 237.00 $237.00 $1,526 +16.32
819 819 64 206.00 $206.00 $1,687 —
915 915 63 195.60 $195.60 $1,790 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 2 285.00 $285.00 $841 +2.00
361 361 6 220.00 $220.00 $794 -35.30
402–439 429 57 245.00–261.00 $255.87 $1,098 +7.29
461–493 470 46 245.00–252.00 $247.75 $1,164 -11.25
498 fancy 498 2 271.00 $271.00 $1,350 —
578–580 578 35 209.00–219.00 $218.14 $1,261 -2.12
614 614 4 221.00 $221.00 $1,357 +13.16
628–633 unweaned 631 26 207.00–208.00 $207.42 $1,309 +19.42
651 unweaned 651 14 195.00 $195.00 $1,269 —
851 851 18 180.00 $180.00 $1,532 +9.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357–370 365 35 260.00–265.00 $263.18 $961 —
478–495 482 9 240.00–243.00 $240.68 $1,160 +6.65
588 588 2 225.00 $225.00 $1,323 +19.29
668 668 2 203.00 $203.00 $1,356 +1.00
711 711 6 192.00 $192.00 $1,365 -6.46
759 759 17 190.00 $190.00 $1,442 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
233 233 2 242.00 $242.00 $564 —
301 301 8 232.00 $232.00 $698 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376 376 4 329.00 $329.00 $1,237 —
455–483 478 12 230.00–292.00 $282.17 $1,349 +7.17
593 593 13 231.00 $231.00 $1,370 +33.00
635 635 22 218.00 $218.00 $1,384 -17.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
616 616 5 210.00 $210.00 $1,294 +9.00
807 807 8 178.00 $178.00 $1,436 —
1038 1038 9 145.00 $145.00 $1,505 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
815–980 898 85-90% 2 75.00–76.50 $75.68 $680 +7.84
1010 1010 85-90% 1 95.00 $95.00 $960 +39.77
915–1209 1121 85-90% 37 80.00–89.50 $84.83 $951 -2.42
1300 1300 85-90% 1 66.00 $66.00 $858 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130 1130 80-85% 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,074 —
1275 1275 80-85% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,033 —
1148–1350 1293 80-85% 8 87.00–90.00 $88.56 $1,145 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600 1600 75-80% 1 76.50 $76.50 $1,224 —
1520–1695 1608 75-80% 2 90.00–92.00 $90.95 $1,462 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1018 1018 (<2 yrs)Open 5 170.00 $170.00 $1,731
958–1069 1023 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 25 100.50–118.00 $107.56 $1,100
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
838 838 (<2 yrs)Open 7 116.00 $116.00 $972

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1093–1305 1135 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,400.00–1,550.00 $1,434.48
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1125 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1175 1175 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1180 1180 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,225.00 $1,225.00

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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.