Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Pratt, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 3, 2020

1,052 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $137.11/cwt -3.16 vs last sale · ≈ $1,249/hd at 911 lb · 168 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $126.21/cwt +3.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,099/hd at 871 lb · 105 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $125.06/cwt ≈ $1,040/hd at 832 lb · 93 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,052 2,356 4,856
Feeder cattle 857 1,867 4,292
Slaughter cattle 182 460 544
Replacement cattle 13 29 20

Market comments — USDA reporter

*** Final Report *** Compared to 2 weeks ago, feeder steers 375 lb to 900 lb sold 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Steers 900 lb to 1000 lb sold 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers 375 lb to 900 lb sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher on light receipts. Demand was moderate. Breaker cows sold 2.00 lower. Boner and lean cows sold 1.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 2.00 to 5.00 higher.

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
365 unweaned 365 2 158.00 $158.00 $577 -18.00
375 375 2 172.00 $172.00 $645 -18.39
474 474 9 173.00 $173.00 $820 -4.47
544–548 547 25 154.00–158.00 $156.73 $857 -3.26
659 659 7 139.00 $139.00 $916 -3.50
717 717 7 135.00 $135.00 $968 -2.50
766–792 769 26 125.50–130.00 $129.47 $996 -3.91
827–834 830 36 133.50–135.00 $134.17 $1,114 -2.77
902 fancy 902 58 143.00 $143.00 $1,290 +2.15
910–922 916 110 133.50–134.50 $134.00 $1,227 +5.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
633 633 3 120.00 $120.00 $760 -19.00
792 792 13 119.25 $119.25 $944 —
890 890 10 111.50 $111.50 $992 —
943 943 35 127.00 $127.00 $1,198 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
377 377 3 155.00 $155.00 $584 +1.54
474 474 13 151.00 $151.00 $716 +6.23
516–536 530 25 148.00–152.00 $149.09 $790 +8.11
534 unweaned 534 7 131.00 $131.00 $700 +3.00
653 unweaned 653 4 125.50 $125.50 $820 +6.50
741–749 742 78 130.00–131.50 $131.23 $974 +2.07
779–791 789 74 126.00–131.50 $130.40 $1,029 +12.90
805–845 832 93 123.00–126.25 $125.06 $1,040 —
851–894 871 105 124.50–128.00 $126.21 $1,099 +3.25
922–940 927 12 118.00–125.00 $123.22 $1,142 +2.43
983 983 3 105.00 $105.00 $1,032 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
701 701 19 122.50 $122.50 $859 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1026 1026 7 104.00 $104.00 $1,067 -3.88

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1765 1261 80-85% 96 46.00–56.00 $50.89 $642 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1013–1745 1289 75-80% 19 57.00–61.50 $59.69 $769 —
1410–1675 1535 75-80% 7 63.00–64.50 $63.74 $978 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1470 1219 85-90% 21 35.00–44.00 $41.53 $506 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1460–1965 1791 5 66.00–73.00 $69.65 $1,247 —
1195–2280 1813 5 60.00–64.00 $62.33 $1,130 —
1755–2170 2031 4 75.50–80.50 $78.12 $1,587 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1640 1640 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 950.00 $950.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
860–1125 963 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 780.00–835.00 $817.07

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1200 1200 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 810.00 $810.00 —
1200 1200 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 3 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —

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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.