Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Dodge City, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 20, 2023

932 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $203.00/cwt -8.50 vs last sale · ≈ $1,616/hd at 796 lb · 162 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $256.70/cwt +17.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,434/hd at 559 lb · 89 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $215.22/cwt +1.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,844/hd at 857 lb · 76 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 932 2,296 1,915
Feeder cattle 750 1,746 1,533
Slaughter cattle 160 320 357
Replacement cattle 22 230 25

Market comments — USDA reporter

***No sale December 27th 2023*** Compared to last week, light test but a higher undertone was noted for feeder cattle. Slaughter cows and bulls sold steady.

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
295 295 5 320.00 $320.00 $944 —
313 313 9 334.00 $334.00 $1,045 —
427–445 443 29 316.00–327.00 $325.54 $1,442 +11.41
483 483 5 281.00 $281.00 $1,357 -42.40
513 513 14 292.00 $292.00 $1,498 +12.00
571 571 33 262.00 $262.00 $1,496 -7.18
641 641 5 237.00 $237.00 $1,519 -26.48
654 654 17 246.00 $246.00 $1,609 +20.00
745 745 1 218.00 $218.00 $1,624 -9.50
855–857 857 76 210.25–217.00 $215.22 $1,844 +1.69
986 986 22 186.00 $186.00 $1,834 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356 356 4 295.00 $295.00 $1,050 —
446 446 3 291.00 $291.00 $1,298 -6.00
467 467 2 271.00 $271.00 $1,266 +2.00
549 549 6 265.00 $265.00 $1,455 —
625 625 11 181.00 $181.00 $1,131 -55.00
743 743 3 210.25 $210.25 $1,562 —
840 840 2 205.50 $205.50 $1,726 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–346 337 27 277.00–301.00 $287.61 $969 -4.89
419 419 8 267.00 $267.00 $1,119 -26.00
509 509 5 246.00 $246.00 $1,252 +2.83
555 unweaned 555 4 245.00 $245.00 $1,360 +21.69
551–565 559 85 256.00–259.00 $257.25 $1,438 +13.25
617 617 15 237.50 $237.50 $1,465 +16.00
665 665 5 204.00 $204.00 $1,357 —
732–745 739 16 191.00–202.25 $194.55 $1,438 -15.60
796 796 162 203.00 $203.00 $1,616 —
987 987 54 176.00 $176.00 $1,737 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1047 1041 12 161.00–168.00 $166.83 $1,737 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
337 337 2 269.00 $269.00 $907 —
555 555 3 236.00 $236.00 $1,310 —
605 605 2 203.00 $203.00 $1,228 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1345 1112 85-90% 36 57.50–77.00 $71.76 $798 +1.06
845–1465 1320 85-90% 57 75.00–88.00 $84.91 $1,121 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1530 1334 80-85% 25 82.00–100.00 $89.23 $1,190 -4.99
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1762 1572 75-80% 10 95.00–107.00 $100.31 $1,577 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1465 1415 3 89.00–96.75 $91.67 $1,297 —
1275–2190 1745 11 102.00–113.50 $109.01 $1,902 —
1920–2260 2027 6 117.00–124.00 $121.78 $2,468 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
978 978 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,975.00 $1,975.00
1150 1150 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00
1285 1285 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,143.00 $1,143.00
1326–1410 1346 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 1,143.00–1,285.00 $1,237.23
1360 1360 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,300.00 $1,300.00
Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1455 1455 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,411.35 $1,411.35

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1205 1205 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,192.95 $1,192.95

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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.