Cattle Market Pulse

Sioux Falls Regional Cattle Auction Market Report

Worthing, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 18, 2023

4,453 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Sioux Falls Regional Cattle Auction report →

light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $193.28/cwt +8.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,813/hd at 938 lb · 392 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $269.90/cwt +21.53 vs last sale · ≈ $1,690/hd at 626 lb · 274 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $263.70/cwt +9.91 vs last sale · ≈ $1,523/hd at 578 lb · 246 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,453 5,797 2,979
Feeder cattle 4,279 5,573 2,864
Slaughter cattle 174 224 115

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: CME feeder cattle futures are rebounding today, bringing cattle prices up. Light steers 450-600 lbs were steady to substantially higher. Heavier steers 800-850 lbs 8.00-16.00 higher. Light heifers, 450-650 lbs, were 10.00 higher with instances substantially higher. Heifers 700-800 lbs were 5.00-8.00 higher. Heavier heifers 850-950 lbs mostly steady to 2.00 higher with instances up to 10.00 higher. Many load lots of both yearlings and calves offered today. Demand was good, especially for calves and black hided cattle. The next feeder sale is January 2nd. Slaughter cows: Breaker cows were 2.00 higher. Boner cows 1.00 higher. Lean cows steady to 1.00 higher. Not enough bulls for comparison.

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
301 301 6 370.00 $370.00 $1,114 —
374–393 386 30 360.00–382.50 $371.09 $1,432 +32.27
418–448 431 43 337.50–367.50 $348.63 $1,503 +33.63
455–478 461 58 325.00–357.50 $348.62 $1,607 +44.43
501–534 517 91 317.00–337.50 $323.94 $1,675 +10.87
532–543 535 73 295.00–300.00 $297.81 $1,593 -15.26
573 573 5 268.00 $268.00 $1,536 -3.04
554–599 575 95 273.00–300.00 $289.22 $1,663 +18.18
606–645 626 274 256.00–283.00 $269.90 $1,690 +21.53
654–687 677 100 252.00–267.00 $260.10 $1,761 +7.09
700–741 718 169 231.00–253.00 $240.60 $1,728 -2.75
741–747 745 20 221.00–225.00 $222.39 $1,657 -20.96
755–788 770 58 215.00–228.00 $225.23 $1,734 -15.66
804–849 829 96 214.00–236.00 $228.90 $1,898 +16.25
853–897 875 108 206.00–227.00 $215.91 $1,889 +9.54
928–937 930 79 208.50–214.00 $212.74 $1,978 —
952–997 992 48 192.00–199.00 $198.25 $1,967 -9.25
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1024–1026 1025 131 205.00–206.50 $205.61 $2,108 +7.49
1064 1064 14 188.00 $188.00 $2,000 -8.25
1151–1167 1165 32 175.00–176.00 $175.12 $2,040 —
1229 1229 9 183.00 $183.00 $2,249 +6.00
1369 1369 13 173.75 $173.75 $2,379 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 438 3 280.00 $280.00 $1,226 -12.38
532–544 541 21 286.00–292.00 $287.69 $1,556 +10.91
601 601 5 240.00 $240.00 $1,442 +4.82
723 723 3 221.00 $221.00 $1,598 —
805 805 6 191.00 $191.00 $1,538 —
886–891 887 19 197.00–202.00 $200.94 $1,782 +11.87

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278 278 6 315.00 $315.00 $876 —
374–396 385 35 287.50–305.00 $296.37 $1,141 —
413–444 424 31 277.50–291.00 $285.83 $1,212 +8.11
453–499 482 114 270.00–297.50 $283.40 $1,366 +10.24
496 496 6 261.00 $261.00 $1,295 -12.16
502–546 520 60 258.00–278.00 $269.65 $1,402 +9.60
551–591 577 224 251.50–274.00 $265.98 $1,535 +12.19
584 584 22 240.50 $240.50 $1,405 -13.29
602 602 6 237.00 $237.00 $1,427 -2.29
611–643 624 21 240.50–265.00 $251.55 $1,570 +12.26
650–687 666 178 233.00–264.00 $241.06 $1,605 +17.54
663–671 667 18 219.00–225.00 $221.98 $1,481 -1.54
703–742 718 84 209.00–223.50 $216.50 $1,554 +5.86
730 730 6 193.00 $193.00 $1,409 -17.64
755–799 777 150 193.00–218.00 $208.02 $1,616 +10.07
808–828 811 121 196.00–205.25 $203.35 $1,649 +8.16
872–873 873 119 183.00–194.85 $193.26 $1,687 +1.94
930–946 938 392 183.00–196.25 $193.28 $1,813 +8.26
971–992 981 131 183.00–186.00 $184.31 $1,808 -0.17
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1025 1007 67 173.00–184.00 $182.66 $1,839 -1.63
1052–1067 1057 86 165.00–186.50 $179.61 $1,898 —
1294 1294 7 166.00 $166.00 $2,148 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460 460 6 267.50 $267.50 $1,230 +18.65
559–564 561 11 230.00–231.00 $230.63 $1,294 -1.18
684 684 22 193.00–201.00 $194.45 $1,330 -15.55

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
561 561 7 287.50 $287.50 $1,613 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
741–1380 989 85-90% 13 20.00–51.00 $35.84 $354 —
780–1385 1155 85-90% 32 55.00–69.00 $62.12 $717 —
945–1720 1247 85-90% 18 71.00–83.00 $79.06 $986 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–1790 1424 75-80% 52 93.00–105.00 $99.06 $1,411 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1188–1650 1391 80-85% 48 84.00–92.00 $88.17 $1,226 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530–2090 1788 10 99.00–109.00 $102.68 $1,836 —
1970 1970 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,891 —

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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.