Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 4, 2021

11,388 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $141.73/cwt -2.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,025/hd at 723 lb · 1,065 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $140.18/cwt -6.07 vs last sale · ≈ $1,087/hd at 776 lb · 845 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $136.17/cwt -1.62 vs last sale · ≈ $1,125/hd at 826 lb · 687 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 11,388 11,233 15,801
Feeder cattle 11,388 11,233 15,801

Market comments — USDA reporter

No recent price comparisons available for feeder steers and heifers this week, this report was last generated before the Christmas break. Good demand for this large offering of feeder steers and heifers. The mild weather is making it very easy on the producers of these cattle and allowing them to easily get them shipped to town. Cattle feeders had to be a little more defensive this week as the CME Live and Feeder Cattle contracts whipsawed from 3.00-4.00 lower on Monday and then putting nearly all of that back on by Tuesday. Packers were able to push the cash fed cattle market lower, to 110.00, this week which added more concern to cattle feeders. Corn prices pushed towards 5.00 this week adding more pressure to the feeder market.

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
390 390 16 186.00 $186.00 $725 -19.18
425 425 6 184.00 $184.00 $782 -10.55
466–496 483 95 167.00–183.00 $174.58 $843 -5.99
509–539 518 141 170.00–183.00 $178.33 $924 +7.94
551–599 576 417 151.00–170.75 $163.36 $941 +0.19
605–649 629 661 140.00–164.75 $156.45 $984 +2.87
650–696 672 470 135.50–159.25 $145.10 $975 -3.90
700–746 723 1,065 129.00–148.50 $141.73 $1,025 -2.38
750–797 775 817 130.25–147.50 $140.75 $1,091 -5.50
798 798 28 123.50 $123.50 $986 -22.75
802–849 826 687 127.00–140.00 $136.17 $1,125 -1.62
855–896 878 493 124.00–138.00 $134.01 $1,177 -6.14
901–932 915 613 128.75–134.75 $132.27 $1,210 -5.89
972 972 33 128.50 $128.50 $1,249 -4.00
1043 1043 56 126.75 $126.75 $1,322 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
476 476 7 149.50 $149.50 $712 -18.50
533–544 540 25 142.50–156.00 $148.36 $801 -11.00
578–594 586 30 141.50–148.00 $145.56 $853 -4.44
629–646 638 10 136.50–137.00 $136.75 $872 +13.75
670–695 681 26 131.00–140.25 $134.83 $918 -6.82
718–724 721 16 115.00–123.00 $119.48 $861 -19.52
770–779 775 12 123.00–127.00 $124.99 $969 -10.01
770–795 781 19 123.00–125.50 $124.43 $972 -10.57
967 967 11 113.00 $113.00 $1,093 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1028 1028 12 121.00 $121.00 $1,244 -7.50
1051 1051 60 130.25 $130.25 $1,369 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
336 336 6 157.55 $157.55 $529 -16.25
353–393 373 10 156.00–167.00 $161.79 $603 -4.69
411–447 427 45 152.00–161.50 $156.20 $667 +0.77
461–496 477 93 142.00–157.00 $149.98 $715 -1.63
500–549 528 265 139.00–154.00 $145.84 $770 -1.38
551–598 577 284 130.00–152.00 $139.62 $806 -1.02
608–649 628 538 126.00–138.00 $133.29 $837 +0.75
653–699 676 370 126.00–136.50 $132.58 $896 +2.52
701–746 726 494 123.00–133.00 $128.27 $931 -0.57
756–795 774 447 116.00–130.00 $126.23 $977 +0.85
807–840 831 278 120.00–126.50 $123.59 $1,027 -1.66
851–899 874 202 110.00–125.50 $122.12 $1,067 +1.02
903–935 919 39 120.00–126.00 $123.55 $1,135 -4.22
952–997 967 113 120.00–124.50 $121.71 $1,177 -5.29
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480–494 486 25 131.00–136.00 $134.62 $654 -0.38
566–598 581 13 116.00–127.50 $122.03 $709 -5.15
615 615 16 120.50 $120.50 $741 —
928 928 20 111.00 $111.00 $1,030 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1053–1098 1082 12 113.00–117.50 $115.11 $1,245 -4.39

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 11 165.00 $165.00 $792 —
543 543 13 151.00 $151.00 $820 -4.24

↑ Back to top

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.