Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 9, 2021

14,513 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $158.28/cwt +1.54 vs last sale · ≈ $1,374/hd at 868 lb · 2,122 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $155.51/cwt +2.91 vs last sale · ≈ $1,448/hd at 931 lb · 1,806 head
heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $153.37/cwt +2.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,494/hd at 974 lb · 1,389 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 14,513 16,225 9,737
Feeder cattle 13,163 15,146 8,084
Slaughter cattle 1,350 1,079 1,653

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers steady to 3.00 higher. Very good demand remains for yearling steers and heifers, especially those coming right off grass. Grass yearlings continue to come to town and the market is very active as these long strings are very desirable as buyers can fill their pens or whole yards of green, easy gaining yearling cattle. The heavier fleshed feedyard backgrounded cattle are also highly sought after as the winter and spring months of the CME Live Cattle contracts are very attractive. The cash fed cattle market topped at 127.50 in Iowa, 204.00 dressed, fully 5.00 over the Aug futures contract. Cattle feeders are feeling rather bullish are want to strike while the iron is hot and are willing to buy cattle with breakeven prices higher than the where the futures contracts are at. Slaughter cows and bull 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
470–475 473 13 186.00–191.00 $189.09 $894 —
609–642 624 72 167.50–168.00 $167.78 $1,047 -10.90
677–690 684 103 165.50–177.50 $170.78 $1,168 -5.19
706–744 737 172 164.00–168.75 $167.78 $1,237 -1.25
750–788 778 469 162.00–169.00 $167.91 $1,306 +3.71
804 thin fleshed 804 66 168.10 $168.10 $1,352 —
808–848 830 1,110 154.50–165.25 $160.67 $1,334 +2.29
851–892 868 2,122 146.25–163.00 $158.28 $1,374 +1.54
905–949 931 1,806 146.50–159.75 $155.51 $1,448 +2.91
963–966 965 22 138.50–143.75 $139.93 $1,350 -10.66
951–999 974 1,367 143.00–158.00 $153.59 $1,496 +3.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1017–1047 1029 596 137.50–152.50 $144.40 $1,486 +0.37
1054–1095 1072 484 135.75–143.10 $141.27 $1,514 +2.67
1113–1123 1115 185 130.00–143.00 $141.19 $1,574 +1.09
1170 1170 10 129.25 $129.25 $1,512 +4.25
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225–1236 1230 19 122.50–125.00 $123.69 $1,521 —
1442 1442 40 130.50 $130.50 $1,882 +7.27
1359–1493 1449 185 124.50–127.50 $125.73 $1,822 +2.50
1471 1471 5 128.00 $128.00 $1,883 -5.00
1504–1556 1522 115 125.75–130.00 $126.59 $1,927 +3.47
1788 1788 16 115.50 $115.50 $2,065 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
546 546 10 152.00 $152.00 $830 —
576–595 587 25 161.00–165.75 $163.05 $957 +3.05
649 649 7 138.00 $138.00 $896 -25.44
685–697 693 17 140.00–162.00 $156.53 $1,085 -6.96
725 725 26 158.00 $158.00 $1,146 +9.96
820 820 6 139.50 $139.50 $1,144 +0.04
861 861 16 146.00 $146.00 $1,257 +1.94
926–934 930 16 142.00–143.50 $142.66 $1,327 +8.30
999 999 6 124.00 $124.00 $1,239 -4.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
492 492 12 169.75 $169.75 $835 —
557–596 567 42 159.00–164.00 $161.47 $916 -1.29
607–649 633 271 152.75–164.00 $160.12 $1,014 -0.94
656–697 673 419 150.00–158.25 $156.78 $1,055 +0.06
700–745 719 533 150.25–158.75 $154.70 $1,112 +1.72
757–798 784 244 148.25–156.75 $151.73 $1,190 +1.43
822 822 4 134.00 $134.00 $1,101 -14.24
802–849 827 647 139.50–150.50 $147.11 $1,217 -1.13
856–891 879 595 137.00–149.50 $145.51 $1,279 -0.82
903–949 932 614 135.50–147.50 $143.18 $1,334 +5.32
955–983 962 251 134.00–146.10 $141.20 $1,358 +2.13
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1011–1038 1028 105 125.00–134.10 $131.13 $1,348 +0.74
1053–1083 1062 136 128.25–137.00 $132.31 $1,405 +5.98
1127–1140 1137 23 114.50–123.00 $120.80 $1,373 -5.45
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1079–1339 1248 43 120.00–122.50 $120.59 $1,505 —
1149–1405 1271 168 124.00–127.50 $125.75 $1,598 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
526 526 7 158.00 $158.00 $831 +7.33
563–578 568 25 153.00–154.50 $154.01 $875 +2.86
596 thin fleshed 596 18 160.00 $160.00 $954 —
706–744 735 44 140.00–144.00 $143.13 $1,052 +6.07
755 755 4 122.00 $122.00 $921 —
842–847 845 27 130.75–137.00 $133.52 $1,128 -0.02

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1286–1610 1391 75-80% 11 64.00–71.50 $70.22 $977 —
1170–2025 1517 75-80% 129 72.00–79.00 $74.13 $1,125 -7.46
1530–1888 1719 75-80% 13 81.50–85.00 $81.99 $1,409 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765–1393 1056 85-90% 20 47.00–55.00 $52.26 $552 +5.01
826–1380 1092 85-90% 11 15.00–33.00 $22.29 $243 -8.84
900–1590 1244 85-90% 89 56.00–63.50 $59.44 $739 +0.51
1603 1603 85-90% 2 65.00 $65.00 $1,042 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1016–1690 1307 80-85% 77 64.00–71.50 $67.84 $887 —
1315 1315 80-85% 2 73.50 $73.50 $967 +5.96
1314–1530 1347 80-85% 9 60.00–63.00 $62.62 $843 -4.92

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1740 1549 5 76.00–94.00 $90.28 $1,398 —
1815–2290 2039 11 97.00–101.00 $98.51 $2,009 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1398 1369 106 106.00–110.00 $108.26 $1,482 —
1423–1481 1437 40 112.00–115.00 $112.54 $1,617 -4.24

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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.