Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 1, 2021

32,240 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $147.20/cwt -0.33 vs last sale · ≈ $1,065/hd at 723 lb · 2,206 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $135.06/cwt -1.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,112/hd at 823 lb · 2,105 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $136.81/cwt -1.05 vs last sale · ≈ $926/hd at 677 lb · 2,064 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 32,240 46,313 24,910
Feeder cattle 29,295 43,956 23,334
Slaughter cattle 2,945 2,357 1,576

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 750 lbs steady to 2.00 lower, except 450-500 lbs and 550-600 lbs 1.00 to 2.00 higher, over 750 lbs 2.00 to 5.00 lower except 900-1000 lbs steady. Feeder heifers 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Very good demand for light fleshed cattle for backgrounding, only moderate demand for cattle bound for finishing yards. Cattle feeders backed off the gas this week in their pursuit of feeder cattle as a spring fed cattle rally seems to be withering away. April Live Cattle futures now only at 119.00, which is a now only a 5.00 premium to the current cash market. Large auction receipts again as spring is arriving quickly and calving time as well, cattle producers will need the additional space and time to devote to getting this year’s calf crop on the ground. The artic weather of two weeks ago was replaced with above normal temps which allowed cattle producers to get their cattle shipped to town easily. The market is very active for the cattle that will be backgrounded, either in a yard or on grass, as those cattle are getting tougher to find. There is a plentiful supply of heavier cattle that are heading to yards and are facing a much higher cost of gain as corn is substantially higher than last year, the market is not near as active for these cattle. Slaughter cows 2.00 to 4.00 lower, bulls 1.00 to 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
355–395 386 32 183.00–208.00 $200.89 $775 +4.14
405 thin fleshed 405 5 200.00 $200.00 $810 —
402–443 423 98 175.00–195.00 $186.40 $788 -1.86
456–499 481 303 172.00–199.50 $185.82 $894 +5.82
490–494 491 26 160.50–167.00 $162.26 $797 -17.74
503–549 527 495 161.00–193.00 $177.14 $934 +20.31
559–562 560 14 151.00 $151.00 $846 -18.36
550–599 572 562 157.50–183.00 $170.52 $975 +1.16
601–646 626 1,537 151.00–167.75 $160.54 $1,005 -1.75
608–649 633 71 145.00–152.50 $150.86 $955 -11.43
650–698 671 1,653 142.00–163.00 $152.49 $1,023 -1.49
663–688 676 49 135.00–143.00 $140.42 $949 -13.56
700–749 723 2,162 139.00–154.50 $147.54 $1,067 +12.54
741–749 745 44 126.00–135.50 $130.44 $972 -5.78
755–761 756 29 127.00–133.50 $132.15 $999 -1.80
750–799 774 1,823 133.00–147.50 $139.84 $1,082 -5.97
800–847 823 2,045 126.00–142.00 $135.31 $1,114 -2.13
825–849 827 60 123.50–127.00 $126.58 $1,047 -14.17
854–879 858 26 124.25–126.50 $126.15 $1,082 -8.45
850–899 869 1,936 122.00–136.25 $130.73 $1,136 -3.87
900–945 920 1,013 124.00–135.25 $129.55 $1,192 -0.33
954–999 966 635 121.25–133.00 $128.47 $1,241 +0.76
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1369–1385 1372 45 110.50–116.00 $111.90 $1,535 —
1435–1442 1440 54 105.00 $105.00 $1,512 —
1426–1489 1469 148 108.00–113.25 $110.96 $1,630 -2.25
1515 value added 1515 9 114.00 $114.00 $1,727 —
1500–1580 1536 912 108.50–112.60 $111.01 $1,705 —
1578 1578 17 109.00 $109.00 $1,720 -8.07
1604–1669 1621 189 108.00–111.75 $110.40 $1,790 —
1659 1659 8 105.00 $105.00 $1,742 -7.06
1726 1726 34 108.25 $108.25 $1,868 -2.50
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1045 1026 284 121.00–128.00 $124.28 $1,275 -2.44
1061–1088 1076 115 118.00–128.50 $123.74 $1,331 -0.91
1102 1102 22 121.25 $121.25 $1,336 -1.01
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
367–389 381 44 185.00–198.00 $189.88 $723 +9.42
430–436 432 10 173.00–178.00 $175.98 $760 -5.21
455–494 482 28 165.00–183.00 $175.69 $847 +20.07
504 504 11 183.00 $183.00 $922 +16.99
571–588 584 62 155.50–159.00 $157.78 $921 +0.64
609–649 639 33 143.75–149.25 $146.49 $936 -1.34
663–695 682 60 139.00–149.00 $142.05 $969 -6.18
734–748 747 67 136.75–138.00 $136.82 $1,022 -0.79
782 782 10 130.25 $130.25 $1,019 +2.25
827 827 5 113.00 $113.00 $935 —
988 988 5 113.00 $113.00 $1,116 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 323 10 162.50 $162.50 $525 -22.35
352–393 378 63 159.00–169.00 $163.22 $617 -10.16
403–444 428 192 152.00–175.00 $162.90 $697 -4.78
452–496 474 364 150.00–166.50 $159.89 $758 +0.77
521 thin fleshed 521 9 162.75 $162.75 $848 —
500–549 528 616 142.00–162.50 $151.48 $800 -1.33
531 531 32 139.25 $139.25 $739 -13.56
559 thin fleshed 559 48 155.75 $155.75 $871 —
551–597 576 1,352 137.00–151.50 $146.59 $844 -1.81
600–649 625 1,447 132.50–150.00 $141.72 $886 -1.78
623–634 629 42 125.00–132.25 $129.82 $817 -13.68
650–698 675 1,755 128.25–147.00 $136.11 $919 -1.74
673–697 682 209 140.00–157.00 $147.36 $1,005 +9.51
674–696 692 100 117.00–129.00 $127.09 $879 -1.41
712–716 713 105 144.00–146.00 $145.46 $1,037 -8.29
701–747 722 1,183 123.75–139.50 $130.79 $944 -3.94
738 738 19 126.25 $126.25 $932 -8.48
759 759 7 117.75 $117.75 $894 -2.38
750–798 771 766 120.50–131.50 $125.35 $966 +5.22
757–783 772 187 131.00–147.00 $143.15 $1,105 +23.02
800–849 824 688 118.50–126.25 $123.55 $1,018 -2.85
851–894 870 728 117.50–124.75 $122.83 $1,069 -1.99
902–949 921 217 115.25–122.75 $119.79 $1,103 -2.71
954–978 966 175 107.00–121.75 $117.34 $1,134 -5.70
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1220–1391 1283 71 104.35–107.75 $105.70 $1,356 —
1315–1562 1432 967 106.00–111.50 $108.96 $1,560 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
691 691 76 1,200.00 $1,200.00 +256.56
713–745 731 247 1,000.00–1,130.00 $1,043.00 -11.90
758–790 775 306 1,010.00–1,225.00 $1,142.72 -217.28
800–810 807 31 1,035.00–1,080.00 $1,047.95 -55.98
861–875 866 204 975.00–1,290.00 $1,226.29 -198.71
923 923 10 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–388 377 47 161.00–174.00 $165.43 $624 -8.52
407–442 424 31 145.00–155.00 $147.96 $627 -7.51
450–455 453 14 142.00–159.00 $148.03 $671 +1.92
504–548 524 67 123.00–143.00 $137.78 $722 -7.37
579–599 594 77 130.00–138.50 $137.02 $814 -0.36
600–648 626 103 123.00–134.00 $127.38 $797 -6.28
679–692 686 74 121.00–128.00 $124.57 $855 -0.99
702 702 4 121.00 $121.00 $849 -1.66
755–779 769 16 121.25–122.00 $121.57 $935 +4.97
891 891 4 101.50 $101.50 $904 —
918 918 4 109.00 $109.00 $1,001 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1183–1197 1191 116 95.50–98.00 $97.07 $1,156 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1229 1229 25 112.75 $112.75 $1,386 +9.25

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
422 422 3 177.00 $177.00 $747 —
616 616 8 127.50 $127.50 $785 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
522 522 9 146.00 $146.00 $762 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
841–1318 988 85-90% 8 30.00–36.50 $34.26 $338 —
980–1730 1334 85-90% 15 42.00–47.50 $45.69 $610 -9.14
965–1720 1398 85-90% 104 46.50–55.00 $51.89 $725 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1263 1263 80-85% 2 61.00 $61.00 $770 —
1130–1965 1421 80-85% 87 54.00–61.50 $58.03 $825 -2.62
1215–2145 1612 80-85% 17 51.50–55.00 $52.84 $852 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1900 1539 75-80% 82 60.00–65.00 $62.90 $968 +0.92
1380–1719 1581 75-80% 17 56.00–61.50 $57.89 $915 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1825 1617 65-75% 67 62.50–69.00 $66.07 $1,068 -4.44

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1755 1450 2 70.00–79.00 $75.45 $1,094 —
1141–2420 1632 26 82.50–90.00 $86.11 $1,405 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1261 1261 9 76.00 $76.00 $958 —
1367–1564 1444 106 94.00–99.50 $97.29 $1,405 —

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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.