Mitchell Livestock Auction Market Report

Mitchell, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 12, 2024

3,896 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $223.07/cwt -2.18 vs last sale · ≈ $2,177/hd at 976 lb · 302 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $287.78/cwt +4.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,937/hd at 673 lb · 221 head

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $256.59/cwt -0.22 vs last sale · ≈ $2,368/hd at 923 lb · 214 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,896	4,544	3,226
Feeder cattle	3,896	4,544	3,226

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers 600-700 lbs. sold 4.00 higher, steers 700 lbs. sold and up sold unevenly steady. Heifers 500 lbs. and up sold unevenly steady, with a higher undertone on most. Demand was good. Manly large load lots in todays offering. Flesh and quality were top factors on price paid on feeders. The next feeder cattle auction will be Dec. 19th, expecting 4000 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
355–398	372	10	432.00–445.00	$440.82	$1,640	+7.55
439	439	7	405.00	$405.00	$1,778	+12.00
480–483	481	11	362.50–375.00	$371.58	$1,787	-10.17
500–530	509	65	342.50–358.00	$352.14	$1,792	-4.47
550–584	578	81	317.50–331.00	$322.47	$1,864	-3.00
604–636	611	146	293.50–324.50	$318.60	$1,947	+4.75
628	628	5	282.00	$282.00	$1,771	-31.85
654–697	673	221	278.50–305.00	$287.78	$1,937	+4.22
701–738	734	125	271.50–283.50	$274.65	$2,016	-3.11
762–790	781	156	263.00–269.00	$267.59	$2,090	+33.09
800–825	814	85	250.00–262.50	$261.31	$2,127	+9.84
846	846	18	246.00	$246.00	$2,081	-5.47
856–875	869	24	245.50–253.00	$247.96	$2,155	-2.83
912–928	923	214	252.50–258.00	$256.59	$2,368	-4.67
952	952	52	246.00	$246.00	$2,342	+10.00
960	960	135	263.85	$263.85	$2,533	+27.85

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1000–1007	1004	137	239.10–254.00	$246.44	$2,474	-5.28
1018	1018	18	227.00	$227.00	$2,311	-24.72
1073–1081	1080	181	240.00–246.10	$245.26	$2,649	+8.30
1168–1181	1175	114	227.00–231.50	$229.24	$2,694	—
1206	1206	19	222.25	$222.25	$2,680	+3.25

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
350	350	5	440.00	$440.00	$1,540	—
472–493	489	15	340.00–342.00	$340.39	$1,665	-1.91
540	540	11	324.00	$324.00	$1,750	-6.64
569–590	581	48	236.50–314.00	$284.72	$1,654	-23.95
600–648	626	36	250.00–293.50	$277.21	$1,735	-22.25
665–688	682	32	239.00–272.00	$248.06	$1,692	—
702	702	14	269.50	$269.50	$1,892	+9.50
761–765	762	10	235.00–246.00	$242.69	$1,849	-15.81
937	937	54	247.00	$247.00	$2,314	—
957	957	3	230.00	$230.00	$2,201	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
786	786	9	219.00	$219.00	$1,721	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1266	1266	6	206.50	$206.50	$2,614	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1112	1112	3	199.00	$199.00	$2,213	+14.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
367–399	389	19	349.00–375.00	$361.13	$1,405	+1.03
430	430	6	350.00	$350.00	$1,505	+10.79
455–480	475	64	301.00–337.50	$314.90	$1,496	-8.20
519–534	525	21	294.00–316.00	$306.42	$1,609	-4.78
554–597	568	182	280.00–301.00	$292.27	$1,660	-4.94
601–648	631	70	264.00–284.00	$272.85	$1,722	-1.11
655–691	679	173	256.00–274.00	$264.25	$1,794	+3.05
702–728	712	65	257.00–262.00	$258.95	$1,844	+3.51
757–776	773	33	256.00	$256.00	$1,979	+21.00
807–846	828	157	235.00–248.60	$242.59	$2,009	+7.59
868	868	65	247.00	$247.00	$2,144	+13.48
896	896	74	241.75	$241.75	$2,166	+8.23
899	899	16	227.50	$227.50	$2,045	-6.02
918–941	923	155	235.50–239.75	$238.67	$2,203	+4.31
952–998	976	302	220.50–224.00	$223.07	$2,177	-2.18

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
347	347	15	340.00	$340.00	$1,180	-12.50
385	385	3	347.50	$347.50	$1,338	+31.57
456–459	458	12	277.00–281.00	$278.33	$1,275	-18.73
536	536	6	265.00	$265.00	$1,420	-22.41
573–598	590	25	258.00–284.00	$273.18	$1,612	+3.54
627–647	636	31	259.00–262.00	$260.56	$1,657	+1.33
681–692	685	38	236.00–253.50	$242.51	$1,661	-9.51
734	734	6	231.00	$231.00	$1,696	-1.03
767–783	780	27	243.00–250.00	$244.27	$1,905	—
842	842	5	220.00	$220.00	$1,852	+9.65
882	882	3	231.00	$231.00	$2,037	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1032–1045	1034	97	220.25–229.50	$223.21	$2,308	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1096	1096	4	207.00	$207.00	$2,269	—

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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.