Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Pratt, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 17, 2020

3,678 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $135.89/cwt +2.17 vs last sale · ≈ $933/hd at 687 lb · 315 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $131.94/cwt +2.71 vs last sale · ≈ $969/hd at 734 lb · 285 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $145.59/cwt +5.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,057/hd at 726 lb · 235 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,678 6,481 2,807
Feeder cattle 3,261 5,815 2,123
Slaughter cattle 335 499 594
Replacement cattle 82 167 90

Market comments — USDA reporter

*** Note *** Pratt Livestock will not have a sale on December 24 or December 31 due to the Christmas Holiday. *** Final Report *** Compared to last week, feeder steers 500 lb to 950 lb sold 2.00 to 6.00 higher. Steer calves 400 lb to 500 lb sold steady. Steer calves 300 lb to 400 lb sold 5.00 lower. Feeder heifers 700 lb to 850 lb sold steady. Heifers 850 lb to 950 lb sold 4.00 higher. Heifer calves 400 lb to 500 lb sold 8.00 lower. Heifers 500 lb to 550 lb sold 2.00 higher. Demand was good. Breaker and boner cows sold 1.00 lower. Lean cows sold 2.00 higher. Slaughter bull 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
320–345 330 13 201.50–220.00 $211.18 $697 -15.82
355–391 377 5 205.00–214.00 $208.39 $786 +3.87
425–447 431 48 192.00–204.50 $200.04 $862 -6.55
452–476 465 34 184.00–198.00 $193.40 $899 +5.65
465 unweaned 465 4 172.00 $172.00 $800 —
487 487 2 163.00 $163.00 $794 -24.75
510–529 fancy 513 39 191.00–193.50 $193.10 $991 +6.10
523 unweaned 523 11 162.00 $162.00 $847 +5.71
508–546 533 49 171.00–181.00 $176.70 $942 +28.70
542 542 12 166.50 $166.50 $902 +18.50
552–581 565 52 151.00–164.50 $161.85 $914 -3.91
557–589 unweaned 571 26 149.00–152.00 $150.69 $860 +15.34
558–596 fancy 587 31 170.00–174.50 $173.67 $1,019 -5.83
617 617 74 167.50 $167.50 $1,033 +36.98
663 663 18 143.00 $143.00 $948 -2.49
650–696 672 208 145.00–154.25 $151.26 $1,016 +5.77
702–735 726 235 138.00–148.00 $145.59 $1,057 +5.57
787 fancy 787 25 146.00 $146.00 $1,149 —
760–799 792 102 132.50–141.00 $137.96 $1,093 -1.91
824–842 832 136 137.25–142.50 $139.81 $1,163 +6.86
859–884 867 125 132.50–136.00 $134.64 $1,167 +2.14
935–940 936 70 132.00–133.00 $132.80 $1,243 +6.05
953 953 54 137.50 $137.50 $1,310 +6.34
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
406 406 19 160.00 $160.00 $650 —
493 493 58 149.00 $149.00 $735 —
800 800 21 131.50 $131.50 $1,052 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
310–320 317 3 188.00–200.00 $196.08 $622 —
355–391 383 14 164.00–171.00 $166.40 $637 +2.04
403 fancy 403 3 168.00 $168.00 $677 -2.00
415–426 424 41 150.00–159.00 $152.80 $648 -11.74
457–492 478 114 142.00–155.00 $146.90 $702 -11.48
488–497 fancy 493 22 150.00–158.00 $153.24 $755 —
498 unweaned 498 4 131.50 $131.50 $655 +1.50
507–542 unweaned 510 26 136.00–139.00 $136.25 $695 +3.46
521–527 fancy 525 26 149.00–151.00 $149.76 $786 —
520–548 538 41 140.50–151.50 $144.48 $777 +3.48
565 565 10 158.00 $158.00 $893 +13.22
578–586 fancy 583 182 147.00–150.00 $149.69 $873 —
581–595 588 10 128.50–140.00 $132.44 $779 -12.34
589 unweaned 589 9 125.00 $125.00 $736 -4.55
631–639 632 65 129.75–138.00 $134.68 $851 -0.60
642 unweaned 642 6 121.50 $121.50 $780 -4.50
675 675 28 161.00 $161.00 $1,087 +27.28
680–698 688 287 128.50–134.75 $133.44 $918 -0.28
719 unweaned 719 10 125.00 $125.00 $899 +2.00
705–748 735 275 130.00–135.50 $132.19 $972 +2.65
771 771 19 123.00 $123.00 $948 -3.47
803–838 825 113 127.50–131.75 $128.70 $1,062 -0.85
852 852 61 128.50 $128.50 $1,095 +7.25
962 962 2 114.50 $114.50 $1,101 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 333 8 149.00 $149.00 $496 —
393 393 31 146.00 $146.00 $574 —
479 479 54 142.00 $142.00 $680 -6.50
538 538 7 123.00 $123.00 $662 +5.00
639 639 12 126.00 $126.00 $805 -2.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
999 999 5 107.00 $107.00 $1,069 —
1022 1022 4 100.00 $100.00 $1,022 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 4 180.00 $180.00 $752 —
584 584 6 128.50 $128.50 $750 —
640 640 17 122.00 $122.00 $781 —
705 705 3 111.00 $111.00 $783 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1585 1298 75-80% 164 55.00–63.00 $58.89 $764 —
1420–1780 1470 75-80% 15 64.00–71.00 $64.82 $953 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1495 1230 80-85% 69 49.00–54.50 $51.73 $636 -0.88
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1405 1152 85-90% 31 40.00–48.50 $45.97 $530 +2.67

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1102–1810 1310 4 61.00–65.00 $62.85 $823 —
1450–2150 1775 11 68.00–79.50 $74.01 $1,314 —
1660–2270 1959 4 80.00–85.00 $81.45 $1,596 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1120 1120 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1225–1302 1229 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 36 725.00–810.00 $805.00
1230–1580 1294 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 18 680.00–880.00 $848.64
1295 1295 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 900.00 $900.00
1585 1585 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 975.00 $975.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
893 893 (<2 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 7 1,040.00 $1,040.00
1010–1055 1016 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 1,125.00–1,160.00 $1,155.46

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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.