Cattle Market Pulse

Wichita Livestock Sales Market Report

Wichita Falls, Texas · barn-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 18, 2024

1,893 head sold ·Published by Wichita Livestock Sales Co., LLC

This is an archived report. See the latest Wichita Livestock Sales report →

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,893 1,838 —
Feeder cattle 1,462 1,428 —
Slaughter cattle 431 410 —

Market comments — Wichita Livestock Sales Co., LLC

We had another strong run for the last sale of the year. We saw more unweaned calves this week compared to last week, yet we still had impressive highs on some of our bigger front-end groups. We had a group of 65 steers averaging 618 lbs. bring $305.00/cwt. And a group of heifers of that same quality averaging 665 lbs. bring $282.00/cwt! The packer market continued strong another week and we saw a big interest in bred cows! Thanks, to all who sold with us this year we are so grateful for you! We will see you in the new year for our first sale back on January 8th, 2025

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–300 — — 495.00 $395.00 — —
300–400 — — 455.00 $362.00 — —
400–500 — — 390.00 $314.00 — —
500–600 — — 340.00 $281.00 — —
600–700 — — 305.00 $258.00 — —
700–800 — — 253.00 $217.00 — —
800–900 — — 244.00 $202.00 — —
900–1000 — — 232.00 $173.00 — —

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Feeder Heifers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200–300 — — 432.00 $358.00 — —
300–400 — — 430.00 $333.00 — —
400–500 — — 325.00 $277.00 — —
500–600 — — 297.00 $250.00 — —
600–700 — — 282.00 $234.00 — —
700–800 — — 236.00 $218.00 — —
800–900 — — 216.00 $204.00 — —
900–1000 — — 218.00 $197.00 — —

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Feeder Bulls

Cutting Bulls ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
500–600 — — 299.00 $263.00 — —
600–700 — — 285.00 $255.00 — —
700–800 — — 242.00 $222.00 — —
800–900 — — 210.00 $179.00 — —

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Slaughter Cows

Hol. Cow ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 70.00–117.00 — — —
Fat ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 104.00–120.00 — — —
Cutter ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 100.00–133.00 — — —
Canner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 60.00–115.00 — — —

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Slaughter Bulls

Light ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — — — — —
Thin ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 108.00–118.00 — — —
Heavy ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
— — — 140.00–169.00 — — —

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Bred Cows

Plainer ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $
— — — — —
Younger ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Age Head Price range Avg $
— — Younger — 1,500.00–2,700.00 —

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Baby Calves

Baby Calves ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — — 500.00–1,075.00 — —

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Older Pairs ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Age Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Older — — — —
Young Pairs ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Age Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
— — Young — 2,100.00–2,675.00 — —

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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.