Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 28, 2020

7,583 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $126.76/cwt ≈ $1,173/hd at 925 lb · 743 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $138.74/cwt ≈ $1,215/hd at 876 lb · 543 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $136.97/cwt ≈ $1,340/hd at 978 lb · 470 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,583 1,835 4,703
Feeder cattle 7,170 1,835 4,703
Slaughter cattle 413 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Too few feeder steers and heifers offered last week to allow a complete comparison, higher to much higher undertones evident. Only two auction markets held feeder cattle auctions this week as most locations were closed for the holiday week. Good demand was evident for calves, very good demand for the strings of yearlings. Very few yearlings remain which is really helping to support the market at these prices levels. Cash fed cattle traded around 112.00, which was a much needed boost to the mentality of the cattle feeder. The futures contracts finally found some life as the December contract expired and rose to the 112.00 level, Feb at 115.00 and Apr at 119.00 helped to breathe some new life into the market. Much larger auction receipts for next week as all locations will be back on their normal sale schedules and cattle producers East River start offering their calves for sale.

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
435–443 441 14 186.00–187.50 $187.18 $825 -9.26
496–498 496 20 175.50–186.00 $177.61 $881 +2.79
513–545 534 70 173.25–184.00 $176.23 $941 +9.29
557–584 569 144 150.00–171.50 $168.64 $960 +7.87
609–642 620 165 148.50–163.50 $158.53 $983 +5.01
659–698 677 267 140.00–154.25 $150.16 $1,017 +11.16
709–748 732 243 142.00–148.75 $146.18 $1,070 —
751–797 784 186 140.00–147.75 $144.08 $1,130 +0.58
802–836 811 59 135.25–141.25 $139.57 $1,132 -3.93
853–890 875 521 133.25–140.85 $138.96 $1,216 —
898 898 22 133.50 $133.50 $1,199 —
907–945 934 113 136.00–136.60 $136.43 $1,274 +5.43
956–998 978 470 130.50–138.75 $136.97 $1,340 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003–1037 1021 515 127.50–137.25 $134.09 $1,369 —
1056–1098 1072 439 128.50–134.25 $132.23 $1,418 —
1118–1134 1122 244 125.85–128.50 $127.74 $1,433 —
1153 1153 5 108.00 $108.00 $1,245 —
1296 1296 15 117.00 $117.00 $1,516 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327 327 13 151.00 $151.00 $494 —
455–475 467 18 154.00–178.00 $160.39 $749 —
541–542 542 23 166.00–167.00 $166.57 $903 —
574–585 580 20 155.00 $155.00 $899 +15.50
613 613 9 142.75 $142.75 $875 —
667 667 6 139.00 $139.00 $927 —
751–759 756 13 135.50–138.50 $136.65 $1,033 +10.65
878 878 14 131.00 $131.00 $1,150 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1081 1081 27 121.50 $121.50 $1,313 —
1180 1180 10 121.00 $121.00 $1,428 —
1568 1568 39 112.00 $112.00 $1,756 —
1745 1745 38 108.00 $108.00 $1,885 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
881 881 19 122.00 $122.00 $1,075 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1006 1006 5 118.00 $118.00 $1,187 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
326 326 4 173.00 $173.00 $564 —
409–443 426 10 159.00–166.00 $162.36 $692 +1.11
472–489 485 27 166.00–167.25 $166.98 $810 +14.82
504–541 535 109 147.00–155.50 $153.35 $820 +8.54
551–594 562 152 147.00–152.50 $150.08 $843 +7.45
600–643 632 209 136.00–146.00 $142.60 $901 +6.80
651–691 670 116 128.00–143.25 $139.10 $932 —
700–746 729 214 126.00–138.25 $135.95 $991 —
754–798 772 451 128.00–137.25 $134.62 $1,039 +12.62
800–845 819 425 127.00–137.60 $132.45 $1,085 —
841 841 5 126.00 $126.00 $1,060 —
852–865 864 71 120.00–126.50 $125.96 $1,088 —
897 897 71 125.00 $125.00 $1,121 —
901–947 925 722 123.25–129.10 $126.89 $1,174 —
935–946 941 21 119.00–124.75 $122.30 $1,151 —
992–997 993 148 120.50–125.00 $124.11 $1,232 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1028–1046 1039 145 122.60–125.10 $124.13 $1,290 —
1095 1095 53 123.25 $123.25 $1,350 —
1106–1128 1113 50 113.50–117.00 $115.94 $1,290 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465–496 486 12 145.00–149.50 $148.06 $720 —
526 526 6 139.50 $139.50 $734 +7.50
563 563 14 143.00 $143.00 $805 —
610–644 616 24 113.00–136.50 $130.42 $803 —
672–697 675 30 121.50–137.00 $135.40 $914 —
827–842 838 24 112.75–125.00 $121.47 $1,018 —
880 880 22 126.00 $126.00 $1,109 —
928–940 933 11 109.00–115.00 $111.75 $1,043 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1167 1167 7 114.00 $114.00 $1,330 —
1359 1359 8 106.00 $106.00 $1,441 —
1448 1448 11 110.00 $110.00 $1,593 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657–848 727 85-90% 13 21.00–32.00 $24.29 $177 —
760–1673 1285 85-90% 55 38.00–53.00 $46.33 $595 —
1145–1478 1322 85-90% 25 51.50–57.00 $54.63 $722 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–2075 1459 80-85% 48 54.00–62.50 $58.54 $854 —
1225–1650 1511 80-85% 15 42.00–56.00 $53.01 $801 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1915 1587 75-80% 15 62.00–65.00 $62.68 $995 —
1498–1913 1725 75-80% 13 52.00–59.00 $56.86 $981 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1660–1817 1730 65-75% 18 65.00 $65.00 $1,124 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1480–2065 1635 4 65.50–77.00 $69.25 $1,132 —
1830–2315 1962 5 77.00–86.00 $82.14 $1,612 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415–1542 1479 28 90.25–91.50 $90.96 $1,345 —

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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.