Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 26, 2021

2,877 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $132.50/cwt -2.27 vs last sale · ≈ $893/hd at 674 lb · 263 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $181.40/cwt +0.45 vs last sale · ≈ $892/hd at 492 lb · 226 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $130.23/cwt -1.85 vs last sale · ≈ $932/hd at 716 lb · 222 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,877 5,371 7,564
Feeder cattle 2,877 5,371 7,564

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Limited offerings of feeder cattle this week, steers not well compared but lower undertones prevailed. Feeder heifers 2.00 to 6.00 lower. Moderate demand for all classes and weights, much higher corn prices and a lower cash fed cattle market added much pressure to the feeder cattle market. Extreme drought across North Dakota is causing cattle producers to adjust their numbers already, heifers that were held back as replacements are coming to town now as the grazing season looks very bleak.

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
399 399 7 190.00 $190.00 $758 +2.00
450–499 492 226 167.00–184.00 $181.40 $892 +0.45
502–533 518 64 165.00–182.50 $179.09 $928 +12.00
573–591 583 113 150.00–162.50 $160.54 $936 -3.81
632–642 636 43 143.00–148.75 $146.53 $932 -9.73
665–691 675 137 136.50–150.00 $144.35 $974 -1.23
741 741 27 139.25 $139.25 $1,032 -4.80
755–799 789 105 125.50–136.00 $134.15 $1,058 -4.62
815–826 822 63 134.00 $134.00 $1,101 +1.05
864–892 876 39 125.00–130.50 $127.66 $1,118 +2.66
915 915 30 129.00 $129.00 $1,180 +5.33
954–971 963 31 116.50–127.00 $122.27 $1,177 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
512 512 5 158.00 $158.00 $809 -4.89
605 605 6 136.00 $136.00 $823 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1031 1031 5 120.00 $120.00 $1,237 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–373 364 16 146.00–151.00 $146.96 $535 -9.04
429–437 432 21 140.00–145.00 $142.83 $617 -10.13
477–497 483 85 137.00–152.00 $145.35 $702 -7.55
510–549 525 134 137.00–148.00 $143.73 $755 -8.52
556–596 576 115 122.00–136.50 $132.24 $762 -18.16
605–637 613 107 135.00–142.00 $140.63 $862 -5.82
652–699 672 224 120.00–140.50 $131.80 $886 -2.97
687 687 39 136.50 $136.50 $938 +1.73
701–746 716 222 124.75–132.50 $130.23 $932 -1.85
751–791 768 188 122.00–128.00 $125.39 $963 -2.17
803–848 824 49 112.00–121.00 $116.45 $960 -4.97
853–863 859 24 117.00–119.50 $118.85 $1,021 +0.46
919 919 5 107.00 $107.00 $983 -11.88
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
497 497 8 136.00 $136.00 $676 —
504–545 527 26 119.00–127.00 $122.18 $644 -16.47
873 873 5 117.00 $117.00 $1,021 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
579 579 7 137.00 $137.00 $793 —
785 785 6 108.00 $108.00 $848 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
687 687 6 71.00 $71.00 $488 —

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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.