Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Dodge City, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 11, 2024

4,543 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $325.42/cwt +40.45 vs last sale · ≈ $2,037/hd at 626 lb · 259 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $291.57/cwt -1.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,529/hd at 524 lb · 211 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $271.17/cwt -7.39 vs last sale · ≈ $1,534/hd at 566 lb · 189 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,543 6,186 2,296
Feeder cattle 3,150 5,233 1,746
Slaughter cattle 641 705 320
Replacement cattle 752 248 230

Market comments — USDA reporter

**Special Bred Cow Sale today. No Sale on Christmas and New Year's Day** Compared to last week, feeder steers under 650 lbs sold steady to 5.00 lower while steers over 650 lbs sold steady to 3.00 lower. Heifers 500 weight sold 8.00 lower, over 600 lbs not well tested, softer undertone noted. Feeders under 500 lbs were fleshier than last week. Slaughter cows sold steady to 3.00 higher. Good demand for heavy supply.

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
292 292 19 485.00 $485.00 $1,416 +111.00
308–341 327 14 415.00–425.00 $422.20 $1,381 -6.34
352–391 370 21 400.00–418.00 $409.24 $1,514 -15.11
423–426 fancy 423 31 400.00–413.00 $411.73 $1,742 +7.93
413–448 437 32 360.00–377.50 $366.98 $1,604 -10.83
453 fancy 453 3 387.50 $387.50 $1,755 +3.22
452–487 473 40 355.00–378.00 $366.26 $1,732 +11.08
501–544 541 168 322.50–340.00 $331.49 $1,793 -26.99
554–595 573 147 311.50–330.00 $321.18 $1,840 -4.22
603–645 619 186 296.00–322.00 $309.49 $1,916 +27.29
644 fancy 644 73 366.00 $366.00 $2,357 —
651 fancy 651 3 293.00 $293.00 $1,907 —
658–689 684 110 272.50–284.00 $278.84 $1,907 +5.13
701–713 709 134 256.00–278.00 $268.50 $1,904 -2.87
773–797 790 65 256.00–262.00 $257.81 $2,037 +3.73
801–831 819 115 249.00–255.00 $252.58 $2,069 -3.42
882–894 888 106 232.00–253.00 $248.45 $2,206 -5.65
915 915 50 247.00 $247.00 $2,260 -3.57
964 964 12 225.75 $225.75 $2,176 -19.25
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323–327 325 9 345.00–350.00 $347.21 $1,128 -4.79
362–396 377 7 365.00–385.00 $374.01 $1,410 -25.02
473–496 486 45 322.00–340.00 $329.46 $1,601 -5.38
501–522 512 23 292.50–322.50 $311.76 $1,596 +5.84
565–588 572 13 279.00–306.00 $297.46 $1,701 -9.44
600–648 627 92 277.00–291.00 $285.93 $1,793 +24.93
676–693 688 40 232.00–252.00 $245.93 $1,692 -14.04
733–747 743 45 245.00–250.50 $246.54 $1,832 -5.04
797 797 5 231.00 $231.00 $1,841 +6.32
800 800 5 228.00 $228.00 $1,824 —
910 910 13 238.00 $238.00 $2,166 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1038 1038 15 224.75 $224.75 $2,333 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 4 312.50 $312.50 $1,453 -5.97
501 501 7 268.00 $268.00 $1,343 —
580 580 4 258.00 $258.00 $1,496 -27.89

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
281 281 9 402.50 $402.50 $1,131 +53.25
305 305 6 353.00 $353.00 $1,077 +8.00
371–399 391 28 327.50–341.00 $331.72 $1,297 -62.38
401–440 418 54 325.00–350.00 $341.33 $1,427 -1.16
421–447 fancy 430 11 375.00–380.00 $376.89 $1,621 +2.06
455 fancy 455 4 320.00 $320.00 $1,456 -13.13
450–498 476 57 292.50–310.00 $302.96 $1,442 -13.12
503–511 fancy 507 58 306.00–313.00 $309.04 $1,567 —
505–548 531 153 277.00–302.00 $284.95 $1,513 -7.96
551 fancy 551 14 297.50 $297.50 $1,639 -0.50
550–592 567 175 255.00–278.00 $269.06 $1,526 -8.28
603–638 615 162 247.00–268.00 $259.14 $1,594 -5.30
654–694 679 105 235.00–260.00 $248.03 $1,684 -4.59
711–736 719 23 225.00–235.00 $232.96 $1,675 -13.93
764–765 765 48 232.00–250.00 $242.92 $1,858 -3.03
805–816 808 11 220.00–222.00 $220.55 $1,782 -13.45
917 917 18 228.50 $228.50 $2,095 +3.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316 316 3 307.50 $307.50 $972 —
425–446 434 22 309.00–334.00 $315.15 $1,368 -7.60
496 496 6 270.00 $270.00 $1,339 -25.55
541–542 542 10 257.00–272.00 $264.51 $1,434 +4.95
576–593 587 9 250.00 $250.00 $1,468 —
707 707 7 240.00 $240.00 $1,697 —
753 753 3 222.00 $222.00 $1,672 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 3 400.00 $400.00 $1,660 +21.64
529–547 532 14 300.00–314.00 $302.06 $1,607 +8.19
622 622 4 255.00 $255.00 $1,586 -4.18
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415 415 6 351.00 $351.00 $1,457 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1730 1218 80-85% 410 103.00–127.50 $118.30 $1,441 +0.26
1130–1345 1238 80-85% 2 132.50–133.00 $132.77 $1,644 +14.73
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1050 1042 85-90% 7 92.50–93.00 $92.93 $968 —
895–1335 1167 85-90% 36 80.00–90.00 $86.91 $1,014 +4.75
1030–1450 1222 85-90% 26 95.00–113.00 $97.86 $1,196 -6.55
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435 1435 75-80% 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,909 -3.64
1345–1675 1536 75-80% 32 114.00–127.00 $120.46 $1,850 -3.68
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2055 2055 65-75% 1 117.00 $117.00 $2,404 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1570–1930 1688 5 124.00–129.00 $125.66 $2,121 —
1255–2575 1795 34 130.00–147.00 $139.58 $2,505 —
1385–2690 2074 4 149.00–154.00 $150.87 $3,129 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
685–1195 980 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 38 140.00–235.00 $193.86 $1,900
780–1310 1104 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 26 127.00–201.00 $151.58 $1,673
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
683–885 727 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 13 202.50–240.00 $227.81 $1,656

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
896–1300 999 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 34 1,800.00–2,485.00 $2,282.38
960–1041 1002 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 35 2,800.00–2,850.00 $2,826.72
1050–1271 1243 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 12 1,550.00–1,825.00 $1,780.30
1025–1613 1285 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 41 1,650.00–2,700.00 $2,347.91
850–1635 1293 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 182 1,510.00–3,100.00 $2,584.65
1280–1343 1334 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 27 1,675.00–2,225.00 $2,101.16
1192–1555 1341 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 6 1,725.00–2,025.00 $1,867.33
1138–1458 1354 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 139 1,675.00–2,185.00 $2,051.79
1165–1605 1361 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 75 1,725.00–2,575.00 $2,380.83
1231–1530 1411 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 21 2,150.00–2,535.00 $2,423.30

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
865–932 925 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 10 2,125.00–2,625.00 $2,578.26
936 936 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 2,300.00 $2,300.00
882–976 961 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 37 1,525.00–2,800.00 $2,658.07

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950–1000 967 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 2,350.00–2,800.00 $2,650.00 —
1000 1000 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 6 2,725.00 $2,725.00 —
1100 1100 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 9 2,860.00 $2,860.00 —
1000–1300 1240 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 20 2,900.00–3,025.00 $2,992.50 +337.92

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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.