Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, February 1, 2021

11,672 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 heifers $139.94/cwt -1.36 vs last sale · ≈ $868/hd at 620 lb · 1,305 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $135.97/cwt -3.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,055/hd at 776 lb · 1,240 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $145.42/cwt +2.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,040/hd at 715 lb · 962 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 11,672 12,982 8,162
Feeder cattle 11,672 12,982 8,162

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers 2.00 to 4.00 lower, instances to 8.00 lower on 600-650 lbs, heifers unevenly steady. Moderate to good demand for all weights and classes however cattle feeders backed off the gas in their pursuit of feeder cattle this week. Concern over the cash fed cattle market not rising up to the Feb Live Cattle futures contract added pressure to the feeder cattle market. Fed cattle rose up to 114.50 in Iowa on Friday but that still leaves the cash market with a negative 2.00 basis. Costs of gain have risen considerably as cash corn is over 5.50. The fed cattle market remains plagued with overweight fat cattle as many cattle over 1600 lbs still remain. Much colder weather moved into the region late week with double digits below zero in the forecast.

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
285 285 1 212.50 $212.50 $606 —
328–347 343 9 198.00–206.00 $199.70 $685 —
360–380 373 17 190.00–199.00 $195.93 $731 -11.45
400–426 409 51 182.50–204.50 $197.11 $806 +7.73
452–491 479 226 175.00–194.00 $182.82 $876 -2.62
503–544 532 222 163.25–183.50 $174.98 $931 -2.01
551–597 575 525 156.50–175.75 $167.75 $965 +0.59
600–648 629 268 145.00–158.00 $152.17 $957 -7.60
653–696 680 762 136.50–152.50 $148.25 $1,008 -2.67
701–749 715 962 131.25–149.75 $145.42 $1,040 +2.13
752–799 776 1,240 129.50–141.50 $135.97 $1,055 -3.83
800–846 829 376 125.00–135.75 $132.43 $1,098 -1.36
861–892 874 287 125.00–133.00 $128.92 $1,127 -3.59
905–942 917 382 120.00–134.50 $130.44 $1,196 +0.39
994–999 998 62 121.50–126.50 $125.86 $1,256 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 458 8 156.00 $156.00 $714 —
506–548 534 40 143.00–163.00 $150.31 $803 —
622 622 6 138.00 $138.00 $858 -0.58
671–672 672 14 132.00–132.50 $132.32 $889 —
738 738 27 121.00 $121.00 $893 -10.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1012 1012 54 128.75 $128.75 $1,303 +3.75
1443 1443 36 105.00 $105.00 $1,515 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308–311 310 25 168.00–174.00 $171.61 $532 +15.68
356–390 379 60 166.50–169.50 $166.92 $633 +0.82
424–449 439 55 153.00–166.00 $162.03 $711 +0.95
456–496 469 215 146.00–167.00 $160.23 $751 +1.76
503–546 525 219 140.00–159.00 $153.08 $804 +0.28
551–597 571 393 136.00–155.00 $148.61 $849 -3.11
600–647 619 1,252 129.00–148.00 $139.91 $866 -3.19
640–649 645 53 139.50–142.00 $140.72 $908 -0.38
650–693 667 401 122.00–136.00 $130.37 $870 -3.39
656–695 679 62 132.00–162.00 $139.01 $944 +5.25
701–734 719 142 127.00–135.50 $128.08 $921 -0.92
702–749 730 372 118.00–127.50 $125.14 $914 -8.58
753–766 762 121 128.00–149.00 $143.43 $1,093 +18.28
751–795 774 347 118.00–131.00 $125.27 $970 +0.12
790 790 6 116.00 $116.00 $916 -9.15
803–826 811 165 120.00–126.00 $123.83 $1,004 -15.67
862–893 872 103 118.00–122.00 $119.38 $1,041 -1.62
876 876 8 110.50 $110.50 $968 -10.50
926 926 14 137.50 $137.50 $1,273 +21.99
951 951 28 115.50 $115.50 $1,098 +3.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 9 142.00 $142.00 $615 -2.18
470–476 473 20 128.00–137.00 $132.47 $627 —
513 513 9 125.00 $125.00 $641 -2.05
575–598 588 11 125.00–126.00 $125.44 $738 -7.42
604–648 625 22 121.00–125.00 $122.58 $766 +6.58
658 658 12 119.00 $119.00 $783 +2.26
757 757 45 106.00 $106.00 $802 —
835 835 5 107.00 $107.00 $893 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1073 1073 11 98.50 $98.50 $1,057 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
638 638 13 138.00 $138.00 $880 —

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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.