South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 20, 2021

3,011 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $178.79/cwt -2.09 vs last sale · ≈ $1,101/hd at 616 lb · 216 head

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $162.49/cwt +0.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,024/hd at 630 lb · 167 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $170.97/cwt -2.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,145/hd at 670 lb · 125 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	3,011	20,918	1,835
Feeder cattle	2,522	19,646	1,835
Slaughter cattle	489	1,272	0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Only 1 reported feeder cattle auction as all other auction markets did not host a feeder cattle sale, no price comparisons will be made due to the limited volume. Demand remains very good for all weights of steers and heifers. Next week some auction locations will host their weekly feeder cattle auctions, however many will not until after the start of the New Year. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 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 $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
283	283	10	220.00	$220.00	$623	—
317	317	9	225.00	$225.00	$713	+5.00
418–445	431	46	207.00–221.00	$214.09	$923	+4.48
474	474	5	173.00	$173.00	$820	-27.91
474–491	481	12	200.00–205.00	$202.87	$976	+1.96
503–519	510	23	196.00–207.00	$200.77	$1,024	+7.40
552–592	566	114	174.00–189.50	$183.76	$1,040	+15.06
602–639	616	212	174.00–181.50	$179.24	$1,104	-0.26
619	619	4	155.00	$155.00	$959	-24.50
652–698	670	125	163.00–178.50	$170.97	$1,145	-1.60
706–749	729	102	160.00–174.50	$165.99	$1,210	-1.81
784–799	787	18	155.00–162.00	$156.58	$1,232	-6.37
828–834	829	20	154.50–156.00	$155.70	$1,291	-8.48
853	853	8	154.00	$154.00	$1,314	-7.42
927	927	5	138.00	$138.00	$1,279	-18.16
982	982	6	147.50	$147.50	$1,448	+7.21

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1016–1042	1041	360	151.00–154.00	$153.93	$1,602	-4.19
1118	1118	8	137.50	$137.50	$1,537	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1471–1483	1476	12	140.00–140.50	$140.21	$2,069	+0.25
1529–1573	1558	40	139.50–141.50	$140.80	$2,194	+0.47
1616	1616	32	143.50	$143.50	$2,319	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
321	321	4	210.00	$210.00	$674	-8.80
498	498	6	185.00	$185.00	$921	+9.60
506	506	13	189.00	$189.00	$956	—
557	557	5	177.00	$177.00	$986	+9.39
631–649	642	16	156.00–167.00	$160.05	$1,028	-0.25
659–669	667	24	154.00–158.00	$154.82	$1,033	+2.14
743	743	5	157.00	$157.00	$1,167	+3.93

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
271–283	276	14	186.00–222.50	$202.03	$558	—
341	341	5	198.00	$198.00	$675	+24.00
390–393	391	16	183.00–191.00	$186.01	$727	+4.29
425–432	429	9	182.00–188.00	$185.36	$795	+5.82
474–483	480	18	177.00–178.00	$177.33	$851	+0.22
519–548	534	112	165.00–179.00	$175.53	$937	+6.18
551–593	570	36	159.00–171.50	$166.64	$950	+1.73
603–649	630	167	154.00–170.00	$162.49	$1,024	+1.54
661–695	684	63	140.00–154.00	$147.91	$1,012	+8.19
704–748	725	41	144.00–157.00	$149.67	$1,085	-3.14
832	832	61	148.50	$148.50	$1,236	-1.25
931–944	943	66	144.00–150.50	$149.82	$1,413	+1.46

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1219–1434	1293	46	132.00–136.50	$135.26	$1,749	+15.26
1317–1497	1445	114	138.50–142.50	$141.06	$2,038	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
423	423	5	166.00	$166.00	$702	-6.74
463	463	8	158.00	$158.00	$732	+0.76
506	506	7	155.00	$155.00	$784	+0.53
552–577	567	24	155.00–155.50	$155.30	$881	+4.06
628–644	638	30	143.00–151.00	$147.60	$942	+0.13
689	689	7	136.50	$136.50	$940	-12.51
728	728	13	140.00	$140.00	$1,019	+1.14
821–842	830	31	131.00–134.00	$132.28	$1,098	-4.72
950	950	7	130.00	$130.00	$1,235	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1058	1058	4	141.00	$141.00	$1,492	-0.50
1116	1116	46	138.25	$138.25	$1,543	+0.82

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
880–1368	1116	85-90%	15	20.00–38.00	$29.75	$332	—
1045–1530	1244	85-90%	38	40.00–53.00	$48.94	$609	—
1150–1595	1335	85-90%	38	53.00–59.50	$55.86	$746	-5.12
1361–1508	1404	85-90%	7	60.00–61.50	$60.83	$854	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1175	1175	80-85%	1	68.00	$68.00	$799	—
1065–1610	1373	80-85%	56	62.00–67.00	$63.86	$877	—
1407–1835	1507	80-85%	16	48.00–63.00	$58.35	$879	—
1435–1600	1544	80-85%	5	22.00–50.50	$43.01	$664	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1257–1500	1318	75-80%	4	78.00–83.50	$81.93	$1,080	—
1215–1840	1581	75-80%	7	61.00–68.00	$63.19	$999	—
1272–1780	1595	75-80%	12	70.00–75.00	$72.40	$1,155	—
1740	1740	75-80%	1	55.00	$55.00	$957	-23.16

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1155–2300	1691	20	41.00–84.50	$76.28	$1,290	—
1360–2117	1851	9	85.00–92.50	$87.82	$1,626	—
2125	2125	1	93.00	$93.00	$1,976	—

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1490–1633	1554	18	109.50–116.50	$112.77	$1,752	—

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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.