Cattle Market Pulse

Mitchell Livestock Auction Market Report

Mitchell, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, January 16, 2025

5,589 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $279.67/cwt -1.33 vs last sale · ≈ $2,321/hd at 830 lb · 706 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $296.58/cwt -26.27 vs last sale · ≈ $2,145/hd at 723 lb · 354 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $235.10/cwt -2.35 vs last sale · ≈ $2,279/hd at 969 lb · 349 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,589 5,507 3,700
Feeder cattle 5,589 5,507 3,700

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers unevenly steady overall, feeder heifers mostly steady. Good demand for this large offering of feeder cattle, best demand was seen on light weight cattle to background. Many long strings of home-raised spring born steers and heifers, including full load lots, quality was very attractive but at times they were carrying extra flesh condition. There were several consignments of yearling steers and heifers. The flesh condition on the yearlings was pretty heavy overall, especially the heifers. Cattle feeders are watching flesh conditions closely and bidding accordingly. The market was active, but not as fever pitched as it's been, as there has been a huge volume of cattle moved across the greater region since the start of the year. Next week 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
349 349 11 460.00 $460.00 $1,605 —
385 385 5 452.50 $452.50 $1,742 +12.50
401–440 423 24 410.00–442.50 $422.75 $1,788 -0.76
451–487 473 38 375.00–420.00 $383.88 $1,816 -4.42
505–519 510 50 370.00–392.50 $384.26 $1,960 +12.54
543 543 7 350.00 $350.00 $1,900 -21.72
551–597 577 265 327.50–360.00 $339.46 $1,959 -22.79
601–642 609 174 318.00–340.00 $333.09 $2,029 +1.26
650–698 680 279 303.00–323.00 $312.57 $2,125 -1.67
700–748 723 341 281.00–308.00 $297.29 $2,149 -13.06
730 730 13 278.00 $278.00 $2,029 -32.35
755–798 766 149 277.00–290.00 $285.10 $2,184 +2.39
804–844 828 645 271.50–287.25 $281.20 $2,328 +0.20
848 848 61 263.50 $263.50 $2,234 —
860–894 872 218 264.00–275.50 $267.90 $2,336 +1.62
873 873 13 247.00 $247.00 $2,156 -19.28
937–943 940 160 250.00–262.50 $255.25 $2,399 -9.24
959 959 9 249.00 $249.00 $2,388 -16.74
963–964 964 167 255.00–255.50 $255.33 $2,461 -10.41
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
398 398 8 385.00 $385.00 $1,532 -50.00
533 533 7 360.00 $360.00 $1,919 +10.00
581 581 14 308.00 $308.00 $1,789 -16.00
629 629 10 310.00 $310.00 $1,950 -9.00
661 661 6 301.00 $301.00 $1,990 +8.00
756 756 18 281.00 $281.00 $2,124 —
902 902 19 253.00 $253.00 $2,282 —
952–954 953 39 247.00–248.00 $247.46 $2,358 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1060 1060 70 252.00 $252.00 $2,671 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
358–379 374 44 405.00–410.00 $405.76 $1,518 —
436–444 439 42 350.00–371.00 $359.16 $1,577 -18.21
467–490 476 41 325.00–340.00 $329.45 $1,568 -2.24
512–547 530 74 311.00–350.00 $331.86 $1,759 -5.35
556–594 587 127 300.00–319.00 $304.61 $1,788 -7.52
605–643 625 204 286.00–300.50 $296.31 $1,852 -3.13
658–699 682 284 277.00–301.00 $283.29 $1,932 +23.29
671–696 687 16 268.00–270.00 $269.27 $1,850 +9.27
706–732 713 220 264.00–275.00 $273.06 $1,947 +0.86
754–799 767 272 254.00–264.75 $261.19 $2,003 -3.45
801–828 825 141 249.00–257.00 $254.62 $2,101 -1.39
864 864 78 250.00 $250.00 $2,160 +1.20
860–894 880 88 230.00–236.00 $232.54 $2,046 -1.96
916–940 926 199 237.50–239.50 $238.25 $2,206 —
954–993 967 212 232.00–233.75 $232.90 $2,252 -4.99
973 973 137 238.50 $238.50 $2,321 +0.61
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316 316 11 350.00 $350.00 $1,106 —
438 438 9 330.00 $330.00 $1,445 —
530 530 29 282.00 $282.00 $1,495 —
579 579 7 298.00 $298.00 $1,725 +4.14
608–613 611 22 276.00–277.00 $276.45 $1,689 -1.98
748 748 7 259.00 $259.00 $1,937 +4.00
870–879 874 29 231.00–233.00 $232.17 $2,029 —
1014–1018 1015 21 221.00–224.00 $223.00 $2,263 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1014 1014 14 228.00 $228.00 $2,312 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413 413 17 385.00 $385.00 $1,590 —
547 547 28 335.00 $335.00 $1,832 —
722 722 24 295.00 $295.00 $2,130 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
796 796 130 259.75 $259.75 $2,068 —

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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.