Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, January 31, 2022

16,389 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $165.56/cwt +0.81 vs last sale · ≈ $1,279/hd at 772 lb · 1,537 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $171.59/cwt +3.87 vs last sale · ≈ $1,242/hd at 724 lb · 1,218 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $154.99/cwt +3.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,115/hd at 720 lb · 1,061 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 16,389 28,503 21,207
Feeder cattle 14,702 26,998 19,054
Slaughter cattle 1,687 1,505 2,153

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers 2.00 to 5.00 higher. Very good demand for all weights of steers and heifers this week as the cattle futures contracts rallied and cash fat cattle rose to the 140.00 level. Cattle feeders were finally able to push the fat cattle market higher as daily kill levels came closer to where they should be for this time of year. The open winter this year has allowed cattle to grow easily, helping to keep cost of gains from being even higher. Cattle feeders want to have cattle to meet these oncoming months of the fat market, especially as the futures contracts are at much higher levels than last year. The demand for cattle to graze and sell as yearlings in the fall is red hot as the feeder cattle contracts for the fall are pushing towards 190.00. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 higher, bulls 2.00 higher.

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
344 344 9 231.00 $231.00 $795 —
361–371 367 9 210.00–230.00 $221.25 $812 +0.41
410–443 431 63 208.00–219.00 $215.86 $930 +3.37
451–495 471 97 197.00–218.00 $209.06 $985 +26.94
494 494 4 190.00 $190.00 $939 +6.00
503–524 514 11 182.00–192.00 $186.44 $958 -4.56
508–549 538 292 195.00–213.00 $203.75 $1,096 +2.44
555–599 576 213 183.00–204.00 $191.01 $1,100 +0.10
584–593 587 44 184.00–186.00 $185.31 $1,088 +18.47
608 thin fleshed 608 10 191.00 $191.00 $1,161 —
600–649 631 743 175.00–200.00 $187.16 $1,181 +5.05
623–648 640 69 165.00–178.00 $173.50 $1,110 -8.61
672 672 8 172.00 $172.00 $1,156 -2.88
651–699 678 404 163.75–187.00 $173.93 $1,179 -0.95
700–724 715 35 151.00–164.50 $158.44 $1,133 -10.08
700–749 724 1,183 162.00–179.75 $171.98 $1,245 +12.73
750–766 thin fleshed 754 139 172.10–173.75 $172.51 $1,301 —
752–794 774 1,387 156.00–174.25 $164.98 $1,277 +10.63
786 786 11 151.00 $151.00 $1,187 -13.85
802–849 827 725 152.75–166.00 $159.35 $1,318 +1.83
851–897 876 813 151.00–163.00 $157.75 $1,382 +2.88
901–941 918 438 149.00–160.25 $156.64 $1,438 +4.50
953–994 968 219 147.00–154.75 $152.46 $1,476 -2.58
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1344–1492 1422 150 139.00–142.25 $140.81 $2,002 -0.62
1468–1494 1479 19 142.00–144.00 $142.85 $2,113 -0.15
1513–1597 1558 132 137.00–143.25 $139.33 $2,171 —
1512–1638 1568 146 144.00–146.50 $144.64 $2,268 —
1601–1653 1627 225 136.25–141.00 $139.08 $2,263 +2.94
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1026 1026 59 154.25 $154.25 $1,583 +3.50
1071–1089 1082 176 144.00–154.50 $147.58 $1,597 +10.58
1106–1130 1116 53 141.75–146.50 $143.13 $1,597 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 5 191.00 $191.00 $821 +6.00
463 463 9 194.00 $194.00 $898 +18.00
511–539 523 18 173.00–178.00 $175.29 $917 -4.09
589–593 591 9 180.00 $180.00 $1,064 +5.96
609–636 624 28 154.00–180.00 $171.11 $1,068 +5.72
652–692 680 59 159.00–177.50 $168.96 $1,149 +6.65
700–711 706 12 156.50–160.00 $158.59 $1,120 -0.41
760–787 765 90 152.50–156.50 $154.61 $1,183 +6.19
816–818 817 22 144.00–151.50 $148.44 $1,213 —
853–897 879 17 145.00–148.25 $146.30 $1,286 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
639 639 6 158.00 $158.00 $1,010 —
770 770 5 121.00 $121.00 $932 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1182 1182 3 127.00 $127.00 $1,501 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–374 362 16 195.00–216.00 $205.15 $743 +6.50
412–449 438 67 178.00–192.00 $188.23 $824 +0.66
454–499 482 87 175.00–194.00 $183.32 $884 -0.02
504–543 526 464 166.00–186.00 $175.93 $925 +1.19
553–598 576 364 158.50–178.00 $168.35 $970 +0.35
600–647 624 704 155.00–171.00 $165.81 $1,035 +4.92
628–640 633 11 147.00–153.00 $150.24 $951 -10.65
650–698 667 944 141.50–167.50 $158.66 $1,058 +2.67
700–748 719 1,021 144.50–163.50 $155.35 $1,117 +5.48
710–748 736 40 144.00–146.50 $145.72 $1,072 -23.30
751 751 8 131.00 $131.00 $984 -16.48
768 thin fleshed 768 11 159.75 $159.75 $1,227 —
752–799 776 652 143.50–155.50 $150.39 $1,167 +2.91
807 807 26 179.00 $179.00 $1,445 +39.50
801–848 827 484 143.75–153.00 $150.14 $1,242 +5.13
869–899 880 338 139.00–150.00 $148.06 $1,303 +5.30
902–949 920 67 140.50–149.00 $145.60 $1,340 +2.54
959 959 100 144.00 $144.00 $1,381 +2.26
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391–399 396 17 169.00–184.00 $177.90 $704 -3.10
415–445 432 28 170.00–180.00 $174.33 $753 -5.54
508–546 534 44 146.00–169.00 $153.43 $819 +0.90
576–598 591 16 155.00–157.50 $156.74 $926 +4.73
615–632 630 41 138.00–155.75 $152.23 $959 +5.41
658–692 677 37 147.00–150.00 $148.53 $1,006 +3.91
716–738 728 57 146.50–150.50 $147.91 $1,077 +4.81
764–790 782 58 141.50–148.50 $145.80 $1,140 +7.78
807 807 5 123.00 $123.00 $993 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1336–1479 1434 75 137.50–146.00 $142.34 $2,041 —
1299–1560 1485 139 136.25–140.50 $139.08 $2,065 +1.63
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
573 573 12 151.00 $151.00 $865 —
1026 1026 19 146.50 $146.50 $1,503 +5.38
1059 1059 5 140.00 $140.00 $1,483 —
1148 1148 50 145.10 $145.10 $1,666 +4.60
1159–1165 1162 101 145.10 $145.10 $1,686 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1102–1115 1108 11 125.00–131.00 $128.26 $1,421 —
1154 1154 5 124.50 $124.50 $1,437 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
314 314 8 161.00 $161.00 $506 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1965 1557 75-80% 46 64.00–77.00 $69.28 $1,079 —
1110–1870 1559 75-80% 110 70.00–76.50 $74.56 $1,162 —
1478–1850 1641 75-80% 26 78.00–87.50 $81.20 $1,332 +16.34
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1040–1365 1243 80-85% 9 60.00–63.00 $62.10 $772 —
910–2040 1390 80-85% 78 63.00–71.50 $67.32 $936 —
1376–1496 1401 80-85% 17 70.00–72.00 $71.09 $996 —
1595 1595 80-85% 2 47.00 $47.00 $750 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
795–1455 1108 85-90% 23 10.00–47.00 $24.39 $270 —
825–1507 1191 85-90% 19 45.00–55.00 $49.72 $592 +19.34
1055–1690 1295 85-90% 52 56.00–62.00 $58.71 $760 —
1478 1478 85-90% 7 62.00 $62.00 $916 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1289–2420 1701 18 64.00–93.50 $86.80 $1,476 —
1108–2175 1734 15 94.00–98.00 $95.30 $1,653 —
1980 1980 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,980 +6.20

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1449 1449 10 120.50 $120.50 $1,746 +4.86
1418–1554 1458 27 112.50–116.00 $113.52 $1,655 —
1467 1467 10 110.00 $110.00 $1,614 —

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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.