Mitchell Livestock Auction Market Report

Mitchell, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 2, 2024

3,150 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $229.25/cwt +0.12 vs last sale · ≈ $2,134/hd at 931 lb · 388 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $215.46/cwt -3.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,888/hd at 876 lb · 250 head

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $218.67/cwt -0.43 vs last sale · ≈ $2,165/hd at 990 lb · 166 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,150	2,710	1,433
Feeder cattle	3,150	2,710	1,433

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Light steers up to 750 lbs. to go to grass, were dollars higher , most were thin fleshed. Steers 900-1150 lbs. were steady to 2.00 lower. Light heifers up to 700 lbs. sold dollars higher also, due to thin flesh. Heifers 800-1000 lbs. sold unevenly steady. Demand was good. Some load lots in todays offering. The next feeder cattle auction will be May 9th, expecting 2500 head of feeders, starting at 10:00 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
417–449	425	59	359.00–391.00	$382.34	$1,625	—
474–498	486	42	366.00	$366.00	$1,779	+43.00
500–531	518	89	337.50–352.00	$345.72	$1,791	+20.72
561–591	571	95	312.00–336.00	$327.50	$1,870	—
604–614	608	49	323.50–329.00	$325.88	$1,981	—
652–660	656	104	273.00–290.00	$285.88	$1,875	+19.88
689	689	11	274.00	$274.00	$1,888	+8.00
702–719	711	46	263.50–271.50	$268.91	$1,912	+10.06
792	792	15	244.00–251.00	$247.73	$1,962	+3.34
817	817	70	241.25	$241.25	$1,971	+1.50
903–947	931	388	223.00–234.25	$229.25	$2,134	+0.12
988–993	990	166	218.50–218.75	$218.67	$2,165	+18.67

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1059–1098	1085	206	213.00–215.00	$214.42	$2,326	+0.31
1173	1173	205	206.75	$206.75	$2,425	-5.60
1202	1202	75	202.75	$202.75	$2,437	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
374	374	10	394.00	$394.00	$1,474	—
422–445	432	12	327.00–327.50	$327.21	$1,414	—
452–456	454	16	321.00–338.00	$328.47	$1,491	—
543	543	6	321.00	$321.00	$1,743	—
672–690	687	17	250.00–265.00	$252.59	$1,735	-12.41
701–749	733	12	243.00–252.00	$245.87	$1,802	—
820	820	12	228.00	$228.00	$1,870	-3.00
869	869	8	225.50	$225.50	$1,960	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
529	529	29	272.50	$272.50	$1,442	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
397	397	25	363.00	$363.00	$1,441	-12.00
412–447	421	12	312.50–330.00	$324.37	$1,366	+12.37
460–492	471	53	301.00–314.00	$308.13	$1,451	+7.13
502–547	522	117	283.00–325.00	$301.39	$1,573	+17.21
555–590	578	134	285.00–311.50	$300.22	$1,735	—
602	602	17	288.00	$288.00	$1,734	—
629	629	26	250.00	$250.00	$1,572	-8.00
664–690	680	54	257.00–261.00	$259.48	$1,764	+17.48
725	725	4	242.00	$242.00	$1,754	—
796	796	77	226.00	$226.00	$1,799	-4.17
802	802	23	221.50	$221.50	$1,776	-2.88
845	845	15	211.00	$211.00	$1,783	-13.38
875–878	875	121	201.00–206.75	$206.46	$1,807	-12.35
873–881	877	129	223.25–224.50	$223.91	$1,964	+5.10
930–932	932	52	205.00–209.00	$205.84	$1,918	-3.03
970	970	52	193.25	$193.25	$1,875	-5.25
957–990	984	89	202.10–207.00	$202.90	$1,997	+4.40

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
306–312	308	11	265.00–370.00	$331.35	$1,021	—
416–428	420	35	337.50–341.00	$339.78	$1,427	—
499	499	4	272.50	$272.50	$1,360	—
514–544	528	17	255.00–276.00	$265.18	$1,400	—
563–596	573	50	212.50–278.00	$267.62	$1,533	—
607–627	614	31	230.00–248.00	$241.79	$1,485	-8.21
682–684	683	38	226.00–231.00	$229.42	$1,567	—
735–748	738	44	209.00–236.00	$231.52	$1,709	+15.52
892	892	3	197.50	$197.50	$1,762	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1010–1040	1021	100	198.85–208.00	$202.78	$2,070	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
442	442	14	255.00	$255.00	$1,127	—
487	487	20	255.00	$255.00	$1,242	—

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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.