Cattle Market Pulse

Mitchell Livestock Auction Market Report

Mitchell, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 11, 2021

3,740 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Mitchell Livestock Auction report →

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $133.11/cwt +2.76 vs last sale · ≈ $1,159/hd at 871 lb · 470 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $138.87/cwt +0.84 vs last sale · ≈ $1,075/hd at 774 lb · 344 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $148.54/cwt -0.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,015/hd at 683 lb · 304 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,740 5,287 3,233
Feeder cattle 3,740 5,287 3,233

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers steady to 3.00 higher, heifers steady to 4.00 higher. Good to very good demand, depending on the flesh and the kind, for this nice offering of high quality, backgrounded feeder cattle. The bitter cold weather caused some cancellations, the weighing condition was attractive for buyers as the cold weather is hard on the cattle. Flesh condition ranged from light to heavy and there were plenty of buyers for all kinds. Growing conditions have been really good all winter, until this week, which allowed for cattle to put on weight and flesh easily. With rising costs of gain and cattle feeders continuing to struggle with profitability the heavier fleshed cattle found far fewer outlets. Next week will be the Hereford influenced sale, expecting 5,000 feeder cattle starting at 9:00 am.

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
370 370 12 191.00 $191.00 $707 —
402 unweaned 402 5 171.00 $171.00 $687 —
486–499 491 22 174.00–188.00 $182.82 $898 +6.76
503 thin fleshed 503 24 185.75 $185.75 $934 +2.75
506 unweaned 506 23 171.00 $171.00 $865 —
519–547 526 25 167.50–183.00 $178.17 $937 +11.67
550–576 563 42 156.00–174.00 $162.16 $913 +6.27
564 thin fleshed 564 5 175.25 $175.25 $988 —
593 unweaned 593 9 153.00 $153.00 $907 —
618–640 622 122 157.75–160.00 $158.56 $986 +8.56
651–699 683 286 145.25–154.25 $149.06 $1,018 +0.17
682–683 unweaned 683 18 138.50–141.75 $140.31 $958 —
719–745 739 60 142.00–145.00 $142.73 $1,055 +9.73
745 745 13 138.25 $138.25 $1,030 +5.25
754–796 774 344 134.75–142.85 $138.87 $1,075 +0.84
833 833 20 128.25 $128.25 $1,068 -6.15
826–840 836 35 131.50–136.75 $135.42 $1,132 +1.02
859–885 867 55 130.25–132.00 $131.45 $1,140 +1.10
851–898 871 415 127.50–135.60 $133.33 $1,161 +2.98
943 943 24 127.50 $127.50 $1,202 -3.82
945 945 13 124.00 $124.00 $1,172 -7.32
973 973 12 127.75 $127.75 $1,243 -1.66
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1002–1048 1014 159 124.00–126.60 $125.41 $1,272 -3.69
1051–1094 1078 221 125.50–129.75 $128.22 $1,382 +0.12
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
518–548 530 30 158.00–165.00 $162.10 $859 +5.10
788 788 9 131.25 $131.25 $1,034 -2.11
811 811 18 131.00 $131.00 $1,062 +8.99
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
757 757 9 123.50 $123.50 $935 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–343 330 11 171.00–172.00 $171.53 $566 —
421–436 432 26 157.00–160.00 $159.21 $688 +0.05
450 450 32 165.00 $165.00 $742 +10.06
507–533 523 49 142.50–153.50 $148.37 $776 +3.57
519–533 thin fleshed 525 45 155.00–158.00 $156.71 $823 —
534 unweaned 534 7 141.50 $141.50 $756 —
555–592 581 195 139.50–148.00 $142.59 $828 +0.05
594 unweaned 594 19 120.00 $120.00 $713 —
595 595 8 135.25 $135.25 $805 -7.29
613–637 628 169 139.00–140.75 $139.92 $879 +4.31
651–686 671 258 133.00–137.85 $135.21 $907 +3.56
700–744 725 277 126.00–133.75 $131.16 $951 +8.91
731 731 9 125.25 $125.25 $916 -4.49
758–793 780 107 125.00–129.25 $126.73 $988 -1.83
823–835 828 13 126.00 $126.00 $1,043 +0.13
842 842 24 122.75 $122.75 $1,034 -3.12
871–895 888 209 119.75–125.35 $122.67 $1,089 -0.54
916 916 10 123.25 $123.25 $1,129 -0.91
973 973 12 115.50 $115.50 $1,124 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 5 153.00 $153.00 $707 +10.00
512 512 6 142.00 $142.00 $727 +15.50
593–594 593 15 128.00–132.75 $129.90 $770 +3.20
633 633 51 131.60 $131.60 $833 +14.60
746 746 18 126.25 $126.25 $942 —
793 793 7 122.50 $122.50 $971 +3.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012 1012 9 116.50 $116.50 $1,179 +8.50
1054 1054 18 118.00 $118.00 $1,244 —
1081 1081 6 110.50 $110.50 $1,195 —

↑ Back to top

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.