Mitchell Livestock Auction Market Report

Mitchell, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 14, 2023

3,226 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $259.71/cwt +32.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,738/hd at 669 lb · 293 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $250.85/cwt -9.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,458/hd at 581 lb · 281 head

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $198.93/cwt +16.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,944/hd at 977 lb · 243 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,226	4,100	6,957
Feeder cattle	3,226	4,100	6,957

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Light feeder steers sold a higher undertone, 700-800 lbs, sold 10.00-13.00 higher, 1050-1100 lbs. sold 4.00 higher. Light feeder heifers sold on a higher undertone, 600-650 lbs. sold 12.00 higher. 850-900 lbs, sold 2.00-3.00 higher. Demand was good. Had one feature consignment of over 700 head of feeders. Many reputation sellers today bringing in repeat orders for their cattle causing prices to be sharply higher instances 15.00-25.00 higher. The next feeder cattle auction will be Dec. 21st, expecting 3500 head of feeders, 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
411–418	415	21	321.00–341.00	$333.46	$1,384	+10.54
480–493	490	73	298.00–309.50	$307.04	$1,504	-3.85
522	522	3	268.00	$268.00	$1,399	-18.99
510–530	523	35	295.00–300.00	$298.33	$1,560	+11.34
555–597	566	76	265.00–294.00	$286.23	$1,620	+14.83
607 thin fleshed	607	155	285.00	$285.00	$1,730	—
604–647	618	56	252.00–264.00	$258.80	$1,599	+8.80
666 thin fleshed	666	52	280.00	$280.00	$1,865	—
652–683	669	231	244.00–262.25	$255.89	$1,712	+35.39
694	694	10	242.50	$242.50	$1,683	+13.91
703–749	712	149	232.00–252.85	$247.24	$1,760	+13.55
734	734	30	230.00	$230.00	$1,688	+16.00
764	764	32	230.00	$230.00	$1,757	+9.99
809–844	839	158	225.00–232.50	$231.45	$1,942	+44.45
859–888	876	62	202.00–223.00	$211.61	$1,854	+30.61
939	939	60	227.60	$227.60	$2,137	+10.18
973	973	39	193.00	$193.00	$1,878	-20.00

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1027	1027	57	206.75	$206.75	$2,123	—
1057–1079	1076	121	194.00–204.50	$203.46	$2,189	+4.63
1233	1233	8	176.00	$176.00	$2,170	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
332	332	3	312.00	$312.00	$1,036	-5.50
393	393	5	265.00	$265.00	$1,041	—
401	401	5	313.00	$313.00	$1,255	—
462–499	490	56	271.00–291.00	$278.91	$1,367	-11.86
535	535	3	278.00	$278.00	$1,487	+6.61
552–597	590	22	243.00–263.00	$257.38	$1,519	-4.13
628	628	9	249.00	$249.00	$1,564	+6.90
663–689	680	21	231.00–236.00	$233.54	$1,588	+42.62
738–746	743	7	190.00–209.00	$200.91	$1,493	+3.89
912	912	4	150.00	$150.00	$1,368	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
928	928	6	141.00	$141.00	$1,308	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
382	382	6	290.00	$290.00	$1,108	—
418	418	3	277.00	$277.00	$1,158	+24.23
450–468	467	55	267.50–285.00	$283.77	$1,325	+34.27
517–519	518	45	257.00–259.00	$257.71	$1,335	+17.34
574	574	30	238.00	$238.00	$1,366	-1.00
558–593	582	251	242.00–254.50	$252.39	$1,469	+13.39
620–643	635	88	235.00–249.00	$238.66	$1,515	+31.35
644	644	8	228.00	$228.00	$1,468	+20.69
668–695	674	124	219.00–241.00	$236.47	$1,594	+30.75
672–691	680	46	205.00–216.00	$213.39	$1,451	+7.67
711–735	726	36	218.50–230.00	$222.88	$1,618	—
790–794	794	44	196.00–209.00	$208.12	$1,652	+13.23
808	808	20	201.00	$201.00	$1,624	+10.36
849	849	12	182.00	$182.00	$1,545	—
888	888	65	192.75	$192.75	$1,712	+3.14
918–944	929	180	183.75–195.25	$190.92	$1,774	+2.34
962–998	977	243	179.85–212.50	$198.93	$1,944	+16.57

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
370–397	389	17	260.00–290.00	$273.82	$1,065	+10.64
422–440	430	13	251.00–267.00	$257.89	$1,109	+20.89
458–486	482	31	240.00–245.00	$243.32	$1,173	+15.42
525	525	13	240.00	$240.00	$1,260	+13.03
558–588	564	58	215.00–231.00	$227.83	$1,285	+2.21
603–618	610	13	219.00–230.00	$224.14	$1,367	+17.95
681	681	6	202.00	$202.00	$1,376	+25.00
756	756	36	197.00	$197.00	$1,489	+16.59
863–869	865	16	167.50–194.00	$175.82	$1,521	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
884–894	885	61	155.00–163.00	$162.34	$1,437	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1030	1030	5	173.00	$173.00	$1,782	-3.29
1133	1133	3	170.00	$170.00	$1,926	+27.00

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1168	1168	3	169.00	$169.00	$1,974	—

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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.