Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 23, 2020

19,487 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $162.11/cwt +2.26 vs last sale · ≈ $931/hd at 574 lb · 1,962 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $168.81/cwt +0.85 vs last sale · ≈ $886/hd at 525 lb · 1,898 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $155.17/cwt +1.40 vs last sale · ≈ $735/hd at 474 lb · 1,552 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 19,487 50,090 17,681
Feeder cattle 19,357 46,250 17,501
Slaughter cattle 130 3,840 180

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer calves unevenly steady, heifer calves steady to 4.00 higher. Yearling feeder steers mostly steady, heifers steady to 3.00 lower. Moderate to good demand for calves, much lighter offering this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday as most auction markets don’t hold feeder cattle sales this week. Good demand for yearling steers and heifers, especially after the friendly Cattle On Feed report came out. Much larger auction receipts expected for next week as all the auction markets will resume their normal sale schedules. Slaughter cows 1.00 to 3.00 higher, bulls 2.00 lower.

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
285 285 9 211.00 $211.00 $601 +32.02
303–345 328 87 171.00–220.00 $183.67 $602 -9.95
350–398 375 268 161.50–205.00 $187.55 $703 -4.41
411 411 17 164.00 $164.00 $674 -2.00
400–449 422 855 168.00–202.50 $183.56 $775 -5.92
450–499 471 1,421 153.50–190.50 $175.20 $825 -0.80
486 486 5 151.00 $151.00 $734 -25.00
500–549 525 1,898 148.00–179.50 $168.81 $886 +1.62
550–599 574 1,928 141.00–170.00 $162.39 $932 +2.50
550–598 587 34 136.00–149.00 $146.30 $859 +1.80
603 603 6 146.00 $146.00 $880 +0.50
600–646 620 1,135 138.50–164.00 $155.22 $962 +9.72
620–643 629 27 131.00–141.00 $136.84 $861 -18.13
656–695 675 206 136.00–148.75 $144.55 $976 -3.88
708–749 712 88 139.75–149.00 $141.11 $1,005 -3.05
759–798 779 50 142.50–147.00 $143.78 $1,120 -0.46
810–830 818 163 134.00–145.00 $141.77 $1,160 -0.64
853–895 887 77 143.75–149.50 $144.75 $1,284 +0.65
900–942 918 142 134.00–144.00 $143.04 $1,313 +3.01
916–941 938 72 130.00–136.00 $130.73 $1,226 +1.73
950 950 8 129.00 $129.00 $1,226 -7.82
956–991 972 481 133.75–138.50 $136.37 $1,326 -0.45
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
639 639 9 136.00 $136.00 $869 -7.00
1005–1034 1017 240 130.00–136.75 $134.67 $1,370 +0.57
1057 1057 7 120.50 $120.50 $1,274 -10.60
1109–1129 1118 132 125.50–132.25 $129.42 $1,447 +6.36
1248 1248 6 101.00 $101.00 $1,260 -20.50
1259 1259 41 123.00 $123.00 $1,549 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
226 226 8 210.00 $210.00 $475 —
259–296 279 33 137.50–207.50 $169.01 $472 -16.10
302–346 329 62 132.50–205.00 $156.82 $516 -19.04
361–392 374 62 125.00–182.00 $156.97 $587 -21.86
409–422 418 67 145.00–182.00 $171.18 $716 +5.10
491–496 494 20 150.00–162.00 $157.23 $777 -3.49
529–547 543 48 142.00–158.00 $146.11 $793 -8.55
568–590 579 14 146.00–149.00 $147.47 $854 +1.59
600–632 609 39 128.00–140.50 $136.67 $832 -4.70
664 664 5 149.50 $149.50 $993 +6.93
717 717 20 138.50 $138.50 $993 +0.03
905 905 11 132.00 $132.00 $1,195 +8.50
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
398 398 6 161.00 $161.00 $641 —
536 536 7 161.00 $161.00 $863 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1074–1078 1076 10 122.00–126.50 $124.25 $1,337 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
312–347 328 130 144.00–187.00 $161.94 $531 -4.03
351–397 374 338 148.00–178.00 $162.81 $609 -1.86
417 417 8 141.00 $141.00 $588 -19.00
402–449 428 751 145.00–172.00 $159.34 $682 +2.59
433 433 6 139.00 $139.00 $602 -17.75
467 467 25 137.00 $137.00 $640 -16.95
450–499 474 1,522 135.00–167.00 $155.52 $737 +1.57
488 488 5 138.00 $138.00 $673 -7.05
500–549 520 1,236 133.75–164.00 $148.27 $771 -7.84
522–525 524 29 131.00–134.00 $132.24 $693 -16.43
520–540 531 276 158.50–183.00 $166.08 $882 +31.24
550–598 569 919 128.00–157.00 $148.41 $844 +4.75
620 620 11 121.00 $121.00 $750 -16.11
600–647 623 168 129.00–143.25 $135.77 $846 -1.34
654–693 662 103 131.00–144.25 $136.34 $903 +15.84
705–737 728 114 131.50–138.50 $134.20 $977 -5.58
759–786 773 208 130.00–144.50 $133.75 $1,034 -5.58
804–845 833 159 131.00–138.50 $134.84 $1,123 +0.01
866 866 62 120.50 $120.50 $1,044 -7.99
870–897 890 58 132.50–133.00 $132.91 $1,183 +4.42
891 891 418 137.50 $137.50 $1,225 +9.01
903–935 920 203 122.25–133.25 $131.11 $1,206 -8.89
921 921 10 122.00 $122.00 $1,124 -18.00
951–954 952 1,020 138.50–139.00 $138.75 $1,321 +17.04
955–991 970 285 119.50–131.00 $121.84 $1,182 +0.13
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
293 293 5 150.00 $150.00 $440 -12.25
302–337 323 67 118.00–155.00 $141.05 $456 -15.06
364–397 384 41 124.00–169.00 $132.84 $510 -18.95
414–441 418 47 135.00–144.00 $136.64 $571 -2.46
461–497 489 67 130.00–140.00 $136.20 $666 -6.09
530–532 531 44 133.50–134.00 $133.81 $711 -5.54
594 594 8 131.00 $131.00 $778 +1.82
674 674 18 124.00 $124.00 $836 -0.45
728 728 6 117.00 $117.00 $852 -9.00
846 846 14 120.00 $120.00 $1,015 —
859 859 9 124.50 $124.50 $1,069 +4.89
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1034–1039 1036 48 121.00–121.25 $121.09 $1,254 -0.28
1059–1078 1074 35 115.00 $115.00 $1,235 -0.35
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302 302 5 153.00 $153.00 $462 —
495 495 11 137.00 $137.00 $678 -8.00
606 606 7 126.00 $126.00 $764 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
693 693 7 106.00 $106.00 $735 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 8 178.00 $178.00 $691 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
983–1240 1070 85-90% 6 31.00–35.00 $32.73 $350 +5.16
1074–1340 1175 85-90% 29 36.00–42.00 $39.03 $459 —
1055–1533 1264 85-90% 26 40.00–48.50 $44.29 $560 +7.59
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1178–1560 1274 80-85% 4 55.00–62.00 $59.86 $763 —
1165–1538 1345 80-85% 19 45.00–58.00 $52.46 $706 +2.51
1155–1420 1350 80-85% 5 41.00–46.00 $44.13 $596 -12.76
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1155–1610 1430 75-80% 3 63.00–66.00 $64.07 $916 —
1165–1570 1444 75-80% 14 51.00–62.00 $58.58 $846 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530–1655 1596 65-75% 6 67.00–71.00 $67.69 $1,080 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1735 1565 4 61.00–71.00 $64.65 $1,012 —
1565–2080 1856 4 69.00–74.00 $72.31 $1,342 —

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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.