Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 12, 2021

5,851 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 heifers $135.16/cwt -2.94 vs last sale · ≈ $985/hd at 729 lb · 458 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $130.65/cwt -1.97 vs last sale · ≈ $1,014/hd at 776 lb · 385 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.59/cwt -0.23 vs last sale · ≈ $937/hd at 627 lb · 365 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,851 10,544 3,372
Feeder cattle 5,851 10,544 3,372

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers steady to 3.00 lower, instances to 6.00 lower on 550-600 lbs, heifers steady to 4.00 lower. Moderate to good demand for this light offering of feeder cattle this week. CME Live and Feeder Cattle futures had a tough week as Live Cattle lost 3.00 and Feeder Cattle nearly 6.00 lower. Drought is a major concern now as the entire state has been declared a drought disaster already, even before the growing season has begun, as this September to March was the driest on record.

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
365–385 378 11 183.00–212.00 $193.19 $730 -0.89
418 418 17 197.75 $197.75 $827 -2.37
454–486 465 65 172.00–196.50 $190.79 $887 -1.39
510–544 535 32 173.50–183.50 $179.18 $959 -2.58
560–592 572 212 158.00–180.00 $171.00 $978 -6.57
608–647 618 214 155.00–171.75 $168.11 $1,039 -0.69
650–693 662 162 150.50–164.00 $158.09 $1,047 -2.04
705–748 727 342 140.00–152.50 $150.74 $1,096 -3.46
755–796 769 195 140.00–153.00 $149.28 $1,148 -1.18
803–844 828 123 135.00–140.50 $138.73 $1,149 -4.43
851–874 859 33 127.50–137.75 $135.32 $1,162 -4.07
901–946 934 46 125.00–130.50 $129.43 $1,209 -2.98
998 998 7 128.00 $128.00 $1,277 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
596 596 14 159.00 $159.00 $948 -8.50
636 636 12 154.00 $154.00 $979 -0.57
663 663 27 145.00 $145.00 $961 -6.30
814 814 7 122.00 $122.00 $993 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1001–1008 1005 11 119.00–123.50 $121.46 $1,221 -1.54

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 8 167.50 $167.50 $650 -15.65
483–486 486 31 146.50–156.00 $148.02 $719 -17.34
509–544 520 162 154.00–165.00 $160.77 $836 -1.58
558–598 581 154 141.00–160.50 $148.81 $865 -8.06
603–642 626 354 139.00–155.50 $149.58 $936 -0.24
648 648 11 150.00 $150.00 $972 +0.18
650–693 675 294 127.50–144.75 $138.95 $938 -4.03
684 684 55 146.00 $146.00 $999 +7.00
700–749 729 458 129.00–140.00 $135.16 $985 -1.94
754–766 764 90 134.75–136.00 $135.81 $1,038 +4.82
764–796 780 295 124.00–132.50 $129.08 $1,007 -8.35
801–844 829 292 120.50–131.50 $126.87 $1,052 -2.01
838 838 10 128.50 $128.50 $1,077 -0.38
850–899 870 312 122.25–128.00 $123.88 $1,078 -4.18
901–944 920 41 119.50–121.25 $120.61 $1,110 -0.89
964–991 974 66 119.25–120.00 $119.71 $1,166 +1.71
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
489 489 8 150.00 $150.00 $734 —
540–544 541 18 135.00–151.00 $146.53 $793 +1.53
619–644 635 14 132.00–133.00 $132.35 $840 -0.13
662 662 18 125.00 $125.00 $828 +7.00
793 793 8 115.00 $115.00 $912 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
585 585 4 156.00 $156.00 $913 —
679 679 5 142.25 $142.25 $966 —
807 807 6 116.50 $116.50 $940 —

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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.