Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 30, 2021

10,163 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.07/cwt -2.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,233/hd at 827 lb · 919 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $157.15/cwt -1.98 vs last sale · ≈ $1,457/hd at 927 lb · 760 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $197.19/cwt +9.37 vs last sale · ≈ $934/hd at 474 lb · 508 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 10,163 19,545 16,815
Feeder cattle 9,127 17,902 15,090
Slaughter cattle 1,036 1,643 1,725

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steer calves under 400 lbs steady to 5.00 higher, over 400 lbs 10.00 to 15.00 higher, heifer calves under 450 lbs unevenly steady, over 450 lbs 5.00 to 10.00 higher. Yearling feeder steers 2.00 to 4.00 lower, except 1000-1050 lbs steady, yearling heifers steady to 4.00 higher. Very good demand again this week for spring born calves, as long strings of western calves were on offer and there is a lot of interest from cattle feeders in getting these light fleshed cattle bought. Many of these calves are not fully preconditioned as they are only carrying their spring shots, yet there are plenty of buyers aggressively bidding and chasing the market higher. Yearlings were under pressure this week as the Live Cattle futures front months lost 4.00 this week and bids on fed cattle are getting harder to come by. Slaughter cows steady to 3.00 lower, 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
252–277 261 28 223.00–252.50 $239.89 $626 +21.43
328 unweaned 328 4 200.00 $200.00 $656 —
318–346 333 109 228.00–247.50 $239.39 $797 +5.06
362–398 384 102 221.00–234.00 $227.84 $875 -0.87
400–426 412 319 197.50–237.00 $229.22 $944 +17.01
458 unweaned 458 10 181.00 $181.00 $829 —
450–497 474 498 177.00–207.00 $197.52 $936 +9.70
500–532 513 181 177.00–198.50 $188.79 $968 -4.02
533 533 16 166.50 $166.50 $887 -26.31
551–585 559 48 175.00–185.00 $178.22 $996 -3.62
604–638 621 59 158.00–178.50 $171.64 $1,066 -1.99
628 628 17 165.50 $165.50 $1,039 -8.13
653–681 667 92 156.00–169.25 $163.58 $1,091 -9.58
712–739 725 124 156.00–169.00 $165.88 $1,203 -1.81
752–794 769 124 156.50–169.00 $162.28 $1,248 -6.29
799 799 57 153.50 $153.50 $1,226 -15.07
804–849 821 328 149.00–165.00 $158.58 $1,302 -3.16
854–897 870 276 150.00–167.50 $157.82 $1,373 -3.98
908–947 927 760 148.50–165.75 $157.15 $1,457 -2.40
962–990 971 181 144.00–156.25 $153.19 $1,487 -0.36
983 983 13 140.50 $140.50 $1,381 -13.05
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1204–1265 1237 41 117.00–124.25 $120.48 $1,490 —
1287 1287 38 126.00 $126.00 $1,622 -0.13
1328–1484 1421 158 122.00–125.50 $123.77 $1,759 -2.20
1501–1527 1510 128 122.50–127.50 $124.82 $1,885 -1.70
1561 1561 7 131.00 $131.00 $2,045 —
1625–1652 1634 110 123.25–125.00 $124.42 $2,033 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1002–1019 1011 232 138.50–157.00 $148.56 $1,502 -1.39
1055–1061 1060 73 138.25–149.00 $140.01 $1,484 -5.22
1129 1129 11 137.50 $137.50 $1,552 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
446 446 7 132.00 $132.00 $589 —
529–534 533 17 156.00–160.00 $156.93 $836 -8.07
638 638 40 140.00 $140.00 $893 -34.50
719 719 12 162.50 $162.50 $1,168 +3.06
759–779 772 36 147.00–155.00 $149.62 $1,155 -4.04
802–822 807 15 152.00–158.00 $153.63 $1,240 —
817 817 3 126.00 $126.00 $1,029 —
857–885 863 117 138.00–146.75 $139.92 $1,208 -9.35
946 946 14 131.00 $131.00 $1,239 +1.00
952–966 954 34 125.00–127.00 $126.70 $1,209 -6.80
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
828 828 7 140.00 $140.00 $1,159 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
243–244 244 8 225.00–245.00 $232.48 $567 +25.66
278–290 286 10 227.50–235.00 $229.68 $657 +8.81
308–349 326 120 201.00–215.00 $206.83 $674 -4.45
362–390 379 323 179.00–196.00 $191.58 $726 -10.32
404 unweaned 404 7 171.00 $171.00 $691 —
401–449 435 352 180.50–191.00 $186.12 $810 -12.29
454–481 464 297 150.00–190.00 $186.21 $864 +10.11
510–514 513 59 173.50–179.00 $174.24 $894 +5.15
558–591 573 36 160.50–169.00 $165.43 $948 -0.57
612–649 633 178 137.00–164.00 $159.70 $1,011 +0.27
663–692 685 229 151.00–162.50 $159.13 $1,090 -5.42
705–748 734 336 155.00–164.00 $159.42 $1,170 +2.85
769–795 777 169 145.00–155.00 $151.37 $1,176 -0.70
798 798 36 148.50 $148.50 $1,185 -4.22
818 818 63 137.50 $137.50 $1,125 -13.78
800–846 828 856 143.00–155.50 $149.92 $1,241 -1.36
850–890 868 337 141.00–150.00 $144.90 $1,258 -4.71
902–946 917 274 136.00–148.50 $144.56 $1,326 -3.56
936 936 9 129.00 $129.00 $1,207 -19.12
952–996 967 343 131.00–144.00 $140.93 $1,363 -4.13
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1004–1046 1028 139 130.00–142.00 $138.81 $1,427 +0.31
1066–1087 1079 27 122.50–128.00 $126.00 $1,360 -8.92
1156–1180 1158 46 130.50–131.50 $130.59 $1,512 -3.16
1210 1210 14 120.00 $120.00 $1,452 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335 335 8 186.00 $186.00 $623 +13.00
356 356 13 168.00 $168.00 $598 +8.00
474 474 4 135.00 $135.00 $640 —
577 577 8 161.00 $161.00 $929 +6.95
566–584 thin fleshed 579 18 152.00–166.00 $155.80 $902 —
623–645 634 10 130.00–155.00 $142.72 $905 -11.28
690 thin fleshed 690 7 148.00 $148.00 $1,021 —
722 722 3 151.00 $151.00 $1,090 +17.70
803–840 828 66 134.00–140.00 $138.34 $1,145 -2.27
947 947 4 128.50 $128.50 $1,217 -6.00
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245 1245 9 111.00 $111.00 $1,382 —
1261–1376 1347 49 120.00–125.00 $123.16 $1,659 —
1374 1374 11 117.00 $117.00 $1,608 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
921 921 6 110.00 $110.00 $1,013 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
353 353 4 202.00 $202.00 $713 —
403 403 6 186.00 $186.00 $750 —
509 509 10 166.00 $166.00 $845 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
798–1435 991 85-90% 27 18.00–45.50 $37.05 $367 —
930–1483 1218 85-90% 52 41.00–59.00 $52.34 $638 +0.60
1025–1703 1300 85-90% 87 55.00–62.50 $57.45 $747 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345 1345 80-85% 1 71.00 $71.00 $955 +12.40
991–1700 1357 80-85% 62 63.00–69.00 $66.23 $899 —
1150–1880 1412 80-85% 12 56.00–62.50 $60.22 $850 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1219–2015 1415 75-80% 23 69.00–74.00 $71.15 $1,007 —
1415–1617 1557 75-80% 10 78.00–85.00 $80.53 $1,254 —
1255–1875 1565 75-80% 2 68.00–69.00 $68.60 $1,074 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–2180 1670 65-75% 7 83.00–99.00 $89.71 $1,498 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–2485 1887 26 73.00–89.00 $84.77 $1,600 —
1830–2390 2069 4 90.00–94.50 $92.31 $1,910 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1374–1540 1475 28 110.00–113.50 $111.58 $1,646 —

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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.