Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Dodge City, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 6, 2023

3,630 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Winter Livestock report →

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $233.68/cwt -5.70 vs last sale · ≈ $1,589/hd at 680 lb · 242 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $210.26/cwt -21.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,846/hd at 878 lb · 184 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $353.82/cwt ≈ $1,483/hd at 419 lb · 180 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,630 1,287 4,411
Feeder cattle 3,240 924 4,031
Slaughter cattle 340 320 321
Replacement cattle 50 43 59

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week on limited comparisons, steers sold 4.00 to 8.00 lower. Heifers sold 5.00 to 10.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady to 3.00 lower. Demand was moderate to good on good buyer attendance for weaned calf special.

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
335 thin fleshed 335 36 372.00 $372.00 $1,246 —
357–359 358 17 327.00–341.00 $336.90 $1,206 —
409–425 thin fleshed 417 164 354.00–361.00 $357.43 $1,490 —
436–445 440 16 310.00–326.00 $316.82 $1,394 —
452–492 485 161 285.00–322.00 $310.84 $1,508 +1.39
523–547 529 69 265.00–281.00 $277.16 $1,466 -9.84
556–584 564 137 260.00–288.00 $277.20 $1,563 —
601–610 605 117 243.00–260.00 $249.09 $1,507 -4.63
665–692 680 242 224.00–242.00 $233.68 $1,589 -5.70
770–784 774 83 217.50–222.00 $219.36 $1,698 —
803–805 804 18 225.00 $225.00 $1,809 -8.34
850–891 878 184 209.00–213.00 $210.26 $1,846 -21.83
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 thin fleshed 430 4 293.00 $293.00 $1,260 —
433 433 6 283.00 $283.00 $1,225 —
468–496 473 18 257.00–280.00 $261.02 $1,235 —
543 543 4 258.00 $258.00 $1,401 -12.43
561–592 570 30 226.00–262.50 $233.41 $1,330 —
620–646 638 65 221.00–243.00 $228.52 $1,458 —
667–697 682 37 210.00–221.00 $216.13 $1,474 +5.13
706–744 731 112 198.00–215.00 $211.90 $1,549 —
765–786 782 111 199.50–210.00 $207.32 $1,621 —
835–840 836 60 199.00–208.00 $200.81 $1,679 +21.81
923–928 928 53 201.00–207.50 $206.89 $1,920 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 7 177.00 $177.00 $1,805 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 thin fleshed 305 31 351.00 $351.00 $1,071 —
302–308 306 5 277.50–290.00 $282.44 $864 —
378 thin fleshed 378 5 322.50 $322.50 $1,219 —
375–384 384 137 282.50–298.00 $297.67 $1,143 +1.26
423–448 439 14 280.00–305.00 $296.40 $1,301 +26.47
463 thin fleshed 463 115 280.00 $280.00 $1,296 —
465–497 485 26 244.00–285.00 $255.95 $1,241 -2.12
533 533 15 241.00 $241.00 $1,285 -7.33
556–596 575 87 228.00–240.00 $231.71 $1,332 +11.27
606–637 625 28 217.50–219.00 $218.07 $1,363 +2.15
655–685 674 118 206.00–212.00 $211.21 $1,424 —
710–717 713 64 197.50–207.50 $202.36 $1,443 -16.64
828–832 831 108 190.25–195.50 $192.26 $1,598 -14.46
856–862 859 132 185.25–188.00 $186.62 $1,603 -10.38
923 923 47 184.25 $184.25 $1,701 —
955 955 4 188.00 $188.00 $1,795 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 6 297.50 $297.50 $1,145 +26.91
454–461 459 20 235.00–275.00 $265.11 $1,217 —
515–541 529 17 222.50–238.00 $229.60 $1,215 —
571–595 589 18 217.00–253.00 $231.15 $1,361 —
607–643 612 81 200.50–236.50 $229.25 $1,403 —
673–675 675 22 198.00–199.50 $199.16 $1,344 —
714–748 743 53 195.00–201.00 $198.07 $1,472 —
773–782 780 21 192.00–193.00 $192.24 $1,499 -10.26
864 864 5 182.50 $182.50 $1,577 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
257–264 unweaned 261 21 700.00–725.00 $713.26 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 12 219.00 $219.00 $1,413 —
785 785 4 173.00 $173.00 $1,358 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
780–1276 1178 85-90% 47 65.00–86.00 $70.18 $827 -17.55
1027–1524 1259 85-90% 74 84.00–92.00 $88.21 $1,111 —
1165–1421 1330 85-90% 19 94.00–97.00 $94.92 $1,262 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1062–1285 1131 80-85% 6 81.00–89.00 $82.67 $935 —
1030–1420 1246 80-85% 91 89.00–100.00 $94.28 $1,175 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1186–1611 1407 75-80% 42 91.00–102.00 $94.17 $1,325 -8.70

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–2095 1706 13 88.00–95.00 $91.96 $1,569 —
1555–2410 1847 13 97.00–110.00 $101.54 $1,875 —
1770–2225 1998 4 108.50–121.50 $113.83 $2,274 +1.87

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1053–1125 1101 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 9 1,575.00 $1,575.00
1340–1415 1385 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,450.00–1,550.00 $1,488.70
Medium 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1238 1238 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,560.00 $1,560.00

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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.