Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock Market Report

Pratt, Kansas · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 29, 2024

4,171 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $241.97/cwt +1.79 vs last sale · ≈ $2,001/hd at 827 lb · 673 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $254.84/cwt +0.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,955/hd at 767 lb · 592 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $232.75/cwt -1.78 vs last sale · ≈ $2,034/hd at 874 lb · 406 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,171 3,799 3,992
Feeder cattle 3,787 3,449 3,733
Slaughter cattle 384 240 259
Replacement cattle — 110 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder heifers and feeder steers over 600 lbs sold unevenly steady. One load of fancy 6- weight steers sold 20.00 higher than the average. Heifer calves under 500 lbs sold 10.00 higher. There wasn't enough of a comparison on steer calves for an accurate market trend. Slaughter cattle sold steady to 2.00 higher. Buyer attendance and demand is good.

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 14 360.00 $360.00 $1,051 —
379 379 21 333.00 $333.00 $1,262 —
411–445 425 22 330.00–355.00 $345.15 $1,467 -19.02
544 544 35 327.00 $327.00 $1,779 —
577–596 587 37 295.00–310.00 $306.00 $1,796 +1.44
628 fancy 628 45 305.50 $305.50 $1,919 —
640–645 642 43 285.00–291.00 $288.20 $1,850 -0.21
658 658 108 267.50 $267.50 $1,760 -9.20
661–673 667 151 283.50–294.00 $288.78 $1,926 +12.08
702–748 724 400 257.00–271.50 $264.87 $1,918 +0.68
751–796 767 592 246.10–263.50 $254.84 $1,955 +0.65
804–844 827 673 235.00–251.00 $241.97 $2,001 +1.79
853–896 874 406 220.25–236.50 $232.75 $2,034 -2.21
907–936 926 109 221.00–234.50 $229.32 $2,124 +1.15
971 971 31 216.50 $216.50 $2,102 +0.29
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
689–692 691 13 251.75–263.00 $257.82 $1,782 —
717 717 5 236.00 $236.00 $1,692 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1053 1053 3 210.00 $210.00 $2,211 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313–338 326 20 340.00–357.00 $348.83 $1,137 +24.53
371–389 383 16 330.00–348.00 $342.56 $1,312 +25.93
422–449 434 50 302.00–322.00 $313.95 $1,363 +9.09
454–475 462 20 299.50–310.00 $303.81 $1,404 +8.18
506–533 523 13 282.50–295.00 $290.35 $1,519 -10.41
591 591 15 260.00 $260.00 $1,537 -22.41
602–636 621 9 255.00–262.50 $258.23 $1,604 -2.09
654–695 675 191 233.00–250.00 $245.99 $1,660 +1.26
707–746 727 115 231.50–234.75 $233.61 $1,698 -0.14
758–799 771 227 219.00–236.00 $229.99 $1,773 -0.13
805–841 828 129 211.00–221.00 $218.31 $1,808 +3.00
853 853 47 210.00–220.50 $219.83 $1,875 +15.83
918 918 13 208.00 $208.00 $1,909 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 387 14 305.00 $305.00 $1,180 —
669 669 8 229.00 $229.00 $1,532 +2.06
895 895 5 193.00 $193.00 $1,727 —
930 930 4 181.00 $181.00 $1,683 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
799 799 11 228.00 $228.00 $1,822 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1394–1771 1556 75-80% 111 125.00–130.00 $126.90 $1,975 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–1647 1400 80-85% 27 112.00–123.00 $118.10 $1,653 —

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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.