Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 26, 2020

10,638 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $147.63/cwt +8.29 vs last sale · ≈ $921/hd at 624 lb · 1,260 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $144.67/cwt +6.73 vs last sale · ≈ $979/hd at 677 lb · 1,067 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $133.21/cwt +4.65 vs last sale · ≈ $772/hd at 580 lb · 898 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 10,638 7,329 11,754
Feeder cattle 10,638 7,329 11,754

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer calves 5.00 to 10.00 higher, heifer calves 2.00 to 5.00 higher. Much improved demand for calves this week, especially for steers. More cattle feeders want to feed steers as they will reach a heavier finished weight, usually 150-200 lbs heavier than the heifers, allowing them to return more dollars per head. As the weather improved and snows started to melt it made it easier for cow/calf producers to get their calves shipped to town. Cattle feeders were eager to buy these calves as many of them have their corn harvest complete and with a rally in the futures contracts the cloud that hung over the market started to disperse. Large auction receipts expected again next week as the fall marketing season continues.

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
301 301 5 177.50 $177.50 $534 +11.54
369–378 372 19 157.00–174.00 $168.54 $627 +2.47
405–446 429 92 159.50–182.00 $170.16 $730 +10.95
465 fancy 465 20 174.25 $174.25 $810 —
475 475 6 155.00 $155.00 $736 -4.35
455–499 476 388 143.00–178.25 $166.20 $791 +6.85
503–546 529 470 141.00–173.50 $154.73 $819 +3.13
500–547 fancy 540 61 164.50 $164.50 $888 —
550–599 568 782 140.00–165.00 $152.56 $867 +5.50
591 591 12 141.50 $141.50 $836 -5.56
619 619 6 137.00 $137.00 $848 -2.34
601–648 624 1,254 136.00–157.50 $147.68 $922 +8.34
652–699 677 1,067 135.50–154.00 $144.67 $979 +6.73
703–748 733 359 131.00–152.25 $141.51 $1,037 +6.02
750 unweaned 750 6 126.50 $126.50 $949 —
750–796 768 208 127.00–139.50 $134.29 $1,031 +1.28
802–827 816 60 131.50–136.75 $133.74 $1,091 -2.44
852–884 861 66 128.50–134.00 $131.56 $1,133 -3.16
922–949 928 57 125.00–131.75 $129.79 $1,204 -6.75
980–989 988 71 124.00–132.00 $131.22 $1,296 -1.87
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
392 392 5 155.00 $155.00 $608 +12.00
406–422 409 14 152.00–155.00 $154.34 $631 +32.34
476 476 6 152.50 $152.50 $726 +13.50
543 543 12 135.00 $135.00 $733 -0.39
550–569 561 10 129.00–136.00 $131.74 $739 -2.43
604–647 633 66 129.50–144.00 $136.27 $863 +18.27
683 683 24 128.50 $128.50 $878 —
729–737 736 33 119.00–132.75 $130.69 $962 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1028 1009 51 120.00–132.00 $127.93 $1,291 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–348 346 26 134.00–142.50 $135.58 $469 -3.42
351–398 375 52 134.00–155.00 $142.98 $536 +4.61
409–449 437 196 140.00–155.75 $148.50 $649 +11.24
454 fancy 454 8 154.50 $154.50 $701 —
460–498 484 311 123.50–146.00 $134.96 $653 +0.73
502–548 529 476 121.50–146.50 $137.91 $730 +2.34
575 575 47 144.75 $144.75 $832 +17.25
550–597 580 851 121.50–142.00 $132.57 $769 +5.07
600–647 620 458 115.00–134.00 $127.26 $789 +1.51
651–693 665 236 116.00–138.50 $129.62 $862 +2.02
707–724 712 37 118.00–122.00 $120.93 $861 -9.70
766–786 777 232 117.75–138.50 $133.66 $1,039 +1.66
822–829 825 20 120.75–124.00 $122.06 $1,007 -8.06
855–895 874 56 116.00–125.00 $122.50 $1,071 -1.50
920–934 928 32 118.50–125.50 $123.48 $1,146 +3.48
966–998 983 45 120.00–124.50 $121.71 $1,196 -0.98
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–382 374 10 137.00–138.50 $138.07 $516 +19.07
420–448 432 27 118.00–122.00 $120.77 $522 -0.21
498 498 3 121.00 $121.00 $603 -3.16
543 543 9 132.00 $132.00 $717 —
583–588 586 42 108.00–119.00 $114.36 $670 -0.64
633 633 7 111.00 $111.00 $703 —
747 747 7 124.50 $124.50 $930 —
912 912 8 104.00 $104.00 $948 -6.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1036 1011 53 116.00–122.75 $119.99 $1,213 +0.49
1087 1087 6 101.00 $101.00 $1,098 -14.50
1108 1108 7 113.00 $113.00 $1,252 -4.81

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409–446 421 15 152.00–165.00 $160.41 $675 —
462 462 6 159.00 $159.00 $735 —
533 533 6 142.00 $142.00 $757 —

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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.