Cattle Market Pulse

North Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, October 21, 2024

7,339 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $299.47/cwt +1.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,727/hd at 577 lb · 690 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $321.65/cwt +4.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,698/hd at 528 lb · 592 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $285.93/cwt -2.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,790/hd at 626 lb · 509 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,339 3,542 3,338
Feeder cattle 7,339 3,542 3,338

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer calves 3.00 to 4.00 higher, heifers steady to higher undertones. Very good demand for steer and heifer calves, but the most interest is in a steer calf. Cash fed cattle spiked up to 192.00 this week and the Live Cattle futures traded higher as well, this lit a fire underneath the calf market as yearling operators had a very profitable year and want to secure their cattle needs while these light calves are available. Dry conditions in western North Dakota are pushing calves to town while central ND is in better shape and producers there are working on their corn harvest and not ready to sell calves yet.

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
312–349 331 112 375.00–463.00 $431.08 $1,427 +24.81
367–396 385 123 372.50–409.00 $399.49 $1,538 +17.08
421 421 6 325.00 $325.00 $1,368 -49.78
413–438 422 264 364.00–394.50 $377.99 $1,595 +3.21
476–478 477 21 310.00–319.00 $312.99 $1,493 -24.08
452–499 479 469 314.00–352.50 $334.23 $1,601 -2.84
500–549 528 592 310.00–335.00 $321.65 $1,698 +4.12
552–599 574 569 281.00–313.00 $301.37 $1,730 +3.89
570–597 589 121 278.50–294.50 $290.52 $1,711 -6.96
600–649 626 509 266.00–306.00 $285.93 $1,790 -2.71
652–674 659 26 252.00–261.00 $258.17 $1,701 -27.12
652–697 675 416 260.00–282.50 $270.94 $1,829 -14.35
703–747 733 108 257.00–280.00 $267.32 $1,959 -3.28
753–796 780 50 241.00–254.00 $249.58 $1,947 -6.92
805–836 828 74 246.00–267.00 $256.67 $2,125 —
852–875 863 85 242.00–259.50 $254.50 $2,196 +4.50
939 939 10 242.00 $242.00 $2,272 -2.50
976–981 978 118 243.50 $243.50 $2,381 +9.51
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
359–387 373 36 340.00–375.00 $353.11 $1,317 -21.89
409–447 431 108 330.00–349.00 $338.45 $1,459 —
472–477 474 25 300.00–312.50 $307.47 $1,457 —
534–548 541 28 290.00–300.00 $297.04 $1,607 +9.91
564–591 580 34 260.00–280.00 $273.05 $1,584 +15.43
603–641 626 23 230.50–236.00 $233.93 $1,464 —
661–692 673 15 203.00–240.00 $218.21 $1,469 —
773 773 9 217.50 $217.50 $1,681 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1123 1123 8 221.00 $221.00 $2,482 +3.00
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
252 252 2 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
308 308 3 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316–348 331 99 345.00–382.50 $361.75 $1,197 +7.39
353 fancy 353 2 385.00 $385.00 $1,359 —
357–395 372 110 307.50–364.00 $342.15 $1,273 +11.11
403–443 426 291 308.00–336.50 $320.06 $1,363 +9.45
432 432 6 288.00 $288.00 $1,244 -22.61
456–496 473 346 260.00–310.00 $288.18 $1,363 -7.10
502–545 531 362 259.00–288.00 $272.82 $1,449 -4.66
542 542 20 260.00 $260.00 $1,409 -17.48
563–573 fancy 567 51 276.00–297.00 $284.43 $1,613 —
550–598 581 329 240.00–276.00 $262.42 $1,525 +1.12
590 590 59 286.50 $286.50 $1,690 +25.20
600–645 623 123 243.00–268.00 $260.01 $1,620 +9.16
659–686 677 232 238.00–265.00 $251.83 $1,705 +6.27
701–725 707 222 244.00–252.00 $249.06 $1,761 —
756–795 771 174 244.00–251.50 $250.39 $1,931 +17.12
800–847 815 28 229.00–243.50 $236.90 $1,931 +3.95
868–893 879 33 233.50–243.50 $238.95 $2,100 +8.20
903 903 13 241.75 $241.75 $2,183 +10.89
964–996 976 16 223.00–226.00 $224.70 $2,193 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
338 338 5 340.00 $340.00 $1,149 —
395 395 11 287.50 $287.50 $1,136 +3.50
431–446 442 23 270.00–272.50 $271.20 $1,199 +10.24
491–496 492 33 256.00–266.00 $258.44 $1,272 -8.80
552–588 568 11 234.00–242.50 $238.50 $1,355 -1.50
618 618 11 239.00 $239.00 $1,477 +9.00
723 723 20 205.00–212.50 $209.88 $1,517 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1027–1038 1033 26 219.50–222.00 $220.65 $2,279 +3.19
1054 1054 9 215.50 $215.50 $2,271 +1.50
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
274–294 288 28 1,000.00–1,160.00 $1,109.28 —
305 305 7 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401 401 7 315.00 $315.00 $1,263 —
527 527 30 287.50 $287.50 $1,515 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
514 514 5 242.50 $242.50 $1,246 —

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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.