Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 8, 2021

12,558 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 $144.73/cwt -0.65 vs last sale · ≈ $1,052/hd at 727 lb · 1,330 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $148.86/cwt -1.88 vs last sale · ≈ $1,008/hd at 677 lb · 1,072 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $135.04/cwt -1.38 vs last sale · ≈ $916/hd at 678 lb · 822 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 12,558 13,016 7,482
Feeder cattle 12,558 13,016 7,482

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers steady to 3.00 lower, heifers steady to 2.00 lower. Moderate demand for cattle bound for finishing yards, good to very good demand for cattle suitable for grazing this summers' grass and for replacement quality heifers. A large offering again this week as cattle producers work to sell last year's calf crop to make way for this year's crop that is starting to hit the ground. The cash fed cattle and April Live Cattle futures continue to disappoint as April stays below 120.00 and this marks the 6th consecutive week cash feed cattle has remained steady. Cattle feeders count on a spring fed cattle rally as April is normally the month where fed cattle supplies are the tightest, this is causing great concern as many outgoing fed cattle were bought last year with a 120.00 breakeven price.

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
324 324 11 213.00 $213.00 $690 —
362 362 8 175.00–207.50 $187.19 $678 -16.24
403–442 434 45 185.00–204.00 $191.01 $829 +1.01
464–478 469 91 180.50–192.50 $188.83 $886 +9.13
500–548 527 191 162.00–183.00 $175.84 $927 -1.93
553–599 580 356 148.00–170.00 $162.93 $945 -5.00
600–649 623 805 145.00–168.50 $158.90 $990 -1.33
655 fancy 655 86 163.50 $163.50 $1,071 —
650–699 679 986 142.00–156.50 $147.58 $1,002 -3.16
707–749 727 1,330 134.00–152.50 $144.73 $1,052 -0.65
750–796 786 628 130.50–142.50 $136.66 $1,074 -2.20
800–836 815 483 127.00–139.75 $134.70 $1,098 -1.77
854–899 886 537 128.25–135.50 $131.33 $1,164 +0.02
901–924 906 480 117.00–133.50 $130.29 $1,180 +0.44
994–998 996 130 123.60–125.00 $124.30 $1,238 -4.58
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
481–483 482 22 157.00–172.00 $162.44 $783 +20.44
588 588 14 148.00 $148.00 $870 -3.61
621 621 11 140.00 $140.00 $869 -6.10
690–692 690 22 139.00–141.00 $139.46 $962 —
726 726 37 138.00 $138.00 $1,002 —
753–761 758 16 128.00–129.00 $128.37 $973 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008–1009 1009 13 109.00–117.50 $112.92 $1,139 -13.58
1139 1139 10 112.00 $112.00 $1,276 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362 362 13 167.00 $167.00 $605 +1.00
406–443 429 102 156.00–164.50 $160.24 $687 -9.12
452–491 471 128 151.50–169.00 $159.34 $750 +1.71
502–543 532 327 146.00–161.50 $153.78 $818 -2.02
551–598 581 430 135.00–152.00 $143.91 $836 -0.66
602–645 618 462 132.50–148.00 $142.45 $880 +1.45
638 638 14 142.00 $142.00 $906 +0.23
653–692 667 65 135.00–139.50 $137.78 $919 +1.36
654–698 679 757 126.00–138.75 $134.81 $915 -1.61
710 710 31 139.00 $139.00 $987 +8.45
701–749 721 580 120.00–137.50 $129.74 $935 -0.81
759–796 770 129 124.50–160.25 $143.06 $1,102 +16.80
752–799 782 631 119.00–130.50 $125.45 $981 -12.05
800–838 810 169 114.00–125.00 $121.24 $982 -10.51
805–824 810 47 125.00–149.00 $142.25 $1,152 +10.50
857 857 47 117.50 $117.50 $1,007 -1.30
862–869 863 53 121.00–139.50 $137.04 $1,183 +18.24
915 915 11 124.00 $124.00 $1,135 +7.54
916–945 935 21 109.50–111.00 $110.51 $1,033 -5.95
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
487 487 26 136.00 $136.00 $662 -4.99
529 529 11 138.00 $138.00 $730 -5.69
589 589 5 136.50 $136.50 $804 +6.00
746 746 7 120.50 $120.50 $899 —
789 789 11 117.00 $117.00 $923 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1036 1036 8 109.50 $109.50 $1,134 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
645 645 6 127.00 $127.00 $819 —

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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.