Cattle Market Hub City Livestock Auction Market Report
Aberdeen, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock
Sale of Wednesday, December 18, 20243,537 head sold ·Official USDA report
This is an archived report. See the latest Hub City Livestock Auction report →
Receipts
| Head | This sale | Last sale | Last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total receipts | 3,537 | 4,648 | 1,483 |
| Feeder cattle | 3,537 | 4,648 | 1,483 |
Market comments — USDA reporter
New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓
Feeder Steers
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 339 | 339 | 4 | 440.00 | $440.00 | $1,492 | — |
| 354 | 354 | 13 | 447.00 | $447.00 | $1,582 | — |
| 401–428 | 412 | 19 | 382.50–407.50 | $396.57 | $1,634 | -13.21 |
| 452–486 | 468 | 138 | 362.00–381.00 | $373.42 | $1,748 | -4.54 |
| 501–545 | 530 | 255 | 339.00–366.00 | $350.12 | $1,856 | -21.06 |
| 558–590 | 569 | 224 | 333.00–355.00 | $343.71 | $1,956 | +5.09 |
| 611–644 | 632 | 377 | 298.50–317.00 | $309.83 | $1,958 | -15.05 |
| 651–697 | 684 | 357 | 291.50–310.50 | $304.09 | $2,080 | -2.11 |
| 715–743 | 732 | 57 | 270.00–290.00 | $287.44 | $2,104 | -6.02 |
| 772–785 | 776 | 103 | 276.00–278.00 | $276.49 | $2,146 | +14.19 |
| 906 | 906 | 43 | 260.75 | $260.75 | $2,362 | -2.70 |
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 381–389 | 385 | 15 | 367.50–402.50 | $385.99 | $1,486 | — |
| 433 | 433 | 4 | 347.50 | $347.50 | $1,505 | — |
| 454–497 | 481 | 38 | 342.00–356.00 | $349.36 | $1,680 | -2.16 |
| 520–544 | 533 | 32 | 329.00–332.00 | $330.37 | $1,761 | -9.67 |
| 589–596 | 591 | 26 | 304.00–313.00 | $310.56 | $1,835 | -2.44 |
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 451 | 451 | 16 | 333.00 | $333.00 | $1,502 | — |
| 517 | 517 | 18 | 290.00 | $290.00 | $1,499 | — |
| 1036 | 1036 | 56 | 256.50 | $256.50 | $2,657 | +5.31 |
Feeder Heifers
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 342 | 342 | 7 | 392.50 | $392.50 | $1,342 | -2.50 |
| 362–388 | 375 | 31 | 360.00–377.50 | $370.92 | $1,391 | — |
| 401–419 | 413 | 62 | 340.00–360.00 | $348.17 | $1,438 | -8.84 |
| 450–498 | 467 | 110 | 321.00–343.00 | $333.62 | $1,558 | -18.69 |
| 510–548 | 522 | 194 | 308.00–335.00 | $323.47 | $1,689 | +0.21 |
| 550–587 | 564 | 175 | 294.00–321.00 | $309.36 | $1,745 | +2.85 |
| 603–642 | 618 | 45 | 277.00–296.00 | $283.08 | $1,749 | -8.04 |
| 664–694 | 677 | 86 | 271.00–286.00 | $279.21 | $1,890 | +6.40 |
| 780 | 780 | 49 | 254.25 | $254.25 | $1,983 | +4.21 |
| 900–904 | 902 | 134 | 250.00 | $250.00 | $2,255 | +8.08 |
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 429 | 429 | 7 | 293.00 | $293.00 | $1,257 | — |
| 490 | 490 | 32 | 280.00 | $280.00 | $1,372 | — |
| 573 | 573 | 54 | 270.00 | $270.00 | $1,547 | — |
| 1010 | 1010 | 60 | 242.75 | $242.75 | $2,452 | +8.00 |
| 1094 | 1094 | 60 | 227.00 | $227.00 | $2,483 | +3.00 |
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 371 | 371 | 9 | 335.00 | $335.00 | $1,243 | — |
| 430–446 | 437 | 17 | 310.00–326.00 | $316.73 | $1,384 | -8.27 |
| 459–479 | 466 | 32 | 308.00–313.00 | $309.77 | $1,444 | -10.08 |
| 504–510 | 508 | 13 | 270.00–290.00 | $282.36 | $1,434 | -5.89 |
Feeder Bulls
| Weight (lb) | Avg wt | Head | Price range | Avg $ | ≈ $/hd | Δ last sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 429 | 429 | 12 | 345.00 | $345.00 | $1,480 | — |
| 549 | 549 | 37 | 310.00 | $310.00 | $1,702 | — |
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.
Compared to last week: steer calves 450 to 499 lbs 8.00 to 10.00 lower, 500 to 549 lbs not well compared, 550 to 599 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher with instances up to 10.00 higher, 600 to 649 lbs 6.00 to 8.00 lower, 650 to 699 lbs mostly steady. Best test on heifer calves 500 to 599 lbs mostly steady with instances up to 5.00 higher on 550 to 599 lbs. Yearling cattle not well tested today for comparison. Good to very good demand for both yearlings and calves. A much lighter yearling offering this week with just a handful of loads, mostly heifers, and some packages. Varied quality on packages but mostly attractive on loads. A large calf offering featuring many packages and quite a few loads. Only about a quarter of the calves today were off the cow with the majority being weaned, most of them for over 30 days. Most had several rounds of shots, a few with no shots or just one round. Flesh ranged from light to moderate plus. Weather has been fairly mild and long time weaned calves have had lots of good days to put on weight, calves competing with cows for feed are staying greener. An active market with most of the usual crowd of order buyers but a few less farmer feeders in the seats. This is the last feeder cattle sale of 2024, next feeder cattle sale will be a special Saturday sale on Saturday, January 4, 2025, and regular sale on Wednesday, January 8. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!