Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 17, 2021

22,602 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 steers $130.68/cwt +2.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,209/hd at 925 lb · 1,866 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $132.32/cwt +1.08 vs last sale · ≈ $959/hd at 725 lb · 1,514 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $140.50/cwt +1.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,165/hd at 829 lb · 1,483 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 22,602 20,005 20,161
Feeder cattle 21,189 19,034 18,448
Slaughter cattle 1,413 971 1,713

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 700 lbs 2.00 to 5.00 higher, 700-850 lbs steady to 3.00 lower, over 850 lbs 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 850 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher, except 600-700 lbs mostly steady. Good demand for all weights of steers and heifers, but the best demand is centered on light to moderate fleshed cattle that will reach finished weights late in the year. Old crop corn gained 15 cents but is much lower than where it was two weeks ago. Cattle feeders still can only manage to get bids of 119.00-120.00 for their finished cattle in spite of boxed beef prices at 325.00. The back months of the board are offering a glimmer of hope as those months are closer to 130.00. Over fleshed feeder cattle are tough to sell as buyers are searching for cattle that will gain as efficiently as possible with projected costs of gain over 1.20 per pound. Lots of replacement quality heifers continue to come to town as widespread drought relief still has not arrived, some places that got a little rain to start the grass growing are short of water behind their dams making it impossible to graze cattle where they can’t get to water. Slaughter cows steady to 3.00 higher, bulls steady.

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
400–441 419 21 172.00–190.00 $181.50 $760 -0.30
457–496 467 136 170.00–190.00 $183.33 $856 +20.33
472 472 12 170.00 $170.00 $802 +7.00
503–538 526 216 167.00–187.00 $176.62 $929 +4.50
550–596 569 222 160.50–176.50 $168.21 $957 +1.30
600–641 614 398 150.00–171.50 $164.18 $1,008 +7.08
651–689 673 525 144.00–166.50 $155.01 $1,043 -1.73
695 695 73 153.00 $153.00 $1,063 +6.50
700–744 718 243 136.00–155.00 $148.35 $1,065 +9.35
758–782 778 54 133.00–135.00 $134.68 $1,048 -11.82
754–799 782 519 136.50–147.75 $143.87 $1,125 -2.63
791 791 7 132.00 $132.00 $1,044 -14.50
796 796 67 144.50 $144.50 $1,150 -2.00
806–845 829 1,452 132.00–143.75 $140.75 $1,167 +1.09
843 843 31 129.00 $129.00 $1,087 -4.50
864 864 6 128.00 $128.00 $1,106 -5.63
850–899 876 732 131.25–140.50 $134.65 $1,180 +1.02
902–949 925 1,866 123.25–135.20 $130.68 $1,209 +2.26
956–999 973 562 122.00–128.25 $126.53 $1,231 +2.15
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1043 1018 917 120.50–128.60 $124.22 $1,265 +3.39
1055–1099 1086 625 117.25–122.75 $121.75 $1,322 +0.95
1100–1148 1123 490 115.75–121.25 $118.45 $1,330 +0.91
1150–1164 1155 323 116.75–119.50 $118.55 $1,369 +1.95
1204 1204 6 112.75 $112.75 $1,358 —
1255–1283 1257 49 110.00–114.00 $113.75 $1,430 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1391–1466 1447 90 117.00–119.50 $119.31 $1,726 —
1510–1563 1536 246 119.50–121.00 $120.57 $1,852 +1.01
1550 1550 11 129.00 $129.00 $2,000 —
1650 1650 24 119.00 $119.00 $1,964 +1.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
351 351 7 172.00 $172.00 $604 +14.00
419 419 10 135.00 $135.00 $566 -26.00
450–496 477 47 128.00–165.00 $154.91 $739 —
511–529 524 40 158.50–162.00 $161.06 $844 +6.02
564–590 579 38 130.00–158.00 $150.09 $869 +2.96
605–641 616 17 146.00–148.50 $147.73 $910 —
666–696 683 54 140.50–147.50 $143.42 $980 +4.79
700–734 719 72 128.00–146.00 $138.68 $997 +1.59
756–799 790 39 134.00–139.00 $136.68 $1,080 +7.27
819–827 822 27 118.00–124.00 $121.76 $1,001 -0.02
949 949 4 121.00 $121.00 $1,148 +10.50
972 972 4 116.50 $116.50 $1,132 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357 357 6 158.00 $158.00 $564 -2.14
445–449 446 23 156.00–158.50 $156.77 $699 -9.31
451–497 474 93 142.00–161.00 $153.74 $729 -4.65
507–543 523 146 140.00–159.50 $151.68 $793 +5.07
560 thin fleshed 560 9 152.00 $152.00 $851 —
555–597 575 445 138.50–154.50 $147.67 $849 +5.90
631–637 fancy 633 115 170.00–180.00 $173.94 $1,101 —
604–647 635 495 133.25–147.00 $140.69 $893 +6.43
650–699 673 966 129.00–146.00 $136.95 $922 +6.82
709–736 722 147 136.00–138.50 $137.24 $991 +8.74
700–749 725 1,320 121.50–138.50 $132.08 $958 +0.77
706–738 727 47 123.00–124.50 $123.73 $900 -7.58
760–772 765 173 131.00–136.00 $135.29 $1,035 +16.29
750–798 775 1,083 122.50–139.00 $131.05 $1,016 +12.05
808–846 814 46 123.00–124.00 $123.16 $1,003 -4.84
800–842 822 904 119.50–129.25 $127.19 $1,046 +4.30
851–862 860 88 127.25–131.25 $130.53 $1,123 +18.03
852–895 878 821 116.25–124.50 $120.90 $1,062 +0.72
884 884 22 116.25 $116.25 $1,028 -3.93
902–927 916 697 115.50–122.75 $119.73 $1,097 +1.00
909–943 939 81 123.00–125.00 $123.70 $1,162 +4.97
962–978 969 254 115.25–118.75 $118.28 $1,146 +0.11
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
361 361 6 144.00 $144.00 $520 -12.00
438–445 442 20 150.00–153.00 $151.81 $671 -2.19
462–485 473 42 115.00–150.50 $138.95 $657 -14.63
532–548 535 66 140.00–148.50 $146.22 $782 +7.40
564–594 576 76 130.00–140.00 $137.64 $793 +1.51
634–645 637 16 122.00–129.00 $123.77 $788 -3.21
663–690 671 64 121.50–134.00 $125.93 $845 +0.54
732–748 742 25 114.00–115.50 $115.20 $855 +9.21
754–786 776 52 115.25–123.00 $118.09 $916 +3.59
844 844 9 113.00 $113.00 $954 —
863 863 5 119.50 $119.50 $1,031 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1316 1316 12 127.00 $127.00 $1,671 +10.79
1320–1444 1360 206 116.75–119.00 $117.92 $1,604 —
1422–1556 1487 15 115.00–116.00 $115.72 $1,721 +9.72
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1016–1041 1030 34 112.85–117.50 $114.87 $1,183 ±0.00
1054–1067 1059 34 111.00–113.50 $112.54 $1,192 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
925 925 64 1,155.00 $1,155.00 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
685 685 9 116.00 $116.00 $795 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
557 557 9 133.00 $133.00 $741 -14.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1821 1628 65-75% 100 75.50–83.00 $79.60 $1,296 —
1785 1785 65-75% 10 84.50 $84.50 $1,508 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960–1790 1294 80-85% 69 62.00–68.00 $65.04 $842 —
1408–1855 1557 80-85% 3 57.75–60.00 $58.64 $913 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1890 1472 75-80% 60 68.00–75.00 $70.86 $1,043 —
1340–1825 1583 75-80% 2 62.50–66.00 $63.98 $1,013 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
719–1085 834 85-90% 7 16.00–35.00 $26.60 $222 —
1070 1070 85-90% 1 64.00 $64.00 $685 —
1008–1330 1138 85-90% 5 45.00–49.00 $46.88 $533 —
1066–1510 1256 85-90% 48 52.00–61.50 $57.15 $718 -5.11

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–2505 1870 21 70.00–89.50 $84.33 $1,577 —
1735–2615 2032 9 90.00–97.00 $93.74 $1,905 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1319–1587 1455 113 98.50–105.00 $101.42 $1,476 +6.27
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945 945 57 116.00 $116.00 $1,096 —

↑ Back to top

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.