Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 12, 2022

4,323 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $188.21/cwt -9.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,270/hd at 675 lb · 241 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $200.45/cwt -5.78 vs last sale · ≈ $1,269/hd at 633 lb · 191 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $203.85/cwt -11.34 vs last sale · ≈ $1,174/hd at 576 lb · 178 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,323 42,603 20,918
Feeder cattle 3,446 40,724 19,646
Slaughter cattle 877 1,879 1,272

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Only 1 reported feeder cattle auction this week, price comparisons will not be made. As the winter storm that struck the nation caused auction markets to cancel their sales for the week as interstate highways were closed and no travel advised on other roads. Large amounts of snow, over 3 feet in areas, along with 40-60 mph winds left behind much to clean up and move out of the way. Some auctions postponed their auctions to this coming week but now an artic blast of more than -20 degrees overnight lows and -10 daytime highs, along with windy conditions, will create even more challenges. Slaughter cows steady to 4.00 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
279 279 6 257.50 $257.50 $718 —
398 398 9 260.00 $260.00 $1,035 +11.02
419–435 427 25 239.00–241.50 $240.18 $1,026 -2.22
455–498 479 77 221.00–240.00 $226.73 $1,086 -6.13
514–548 537 145 199.00–220.00 $210.57 $1,131 +11.57
550–598 576 178 194.00–214.00 $203.85 $1,174 -10.07
609–647 633 191 189.00–203.00 $200.45 $1,269 +10.15
651–695 675 241 180.00–197.00 $188.21 $1,270 -9.73
708–748 716 152 180.00–193.00 $186.55 $1,336 -9.33
754–798 790 137 180.00–186.00 $182.44 $1,441 +2.19
804–844 813 43 178.50–180.00 $179.78 $1,462 -4.82
857–896 863 58 171.00–180.50 $178.55 $1,541 -6.19
956–967 959 50 168.00–171.00 $170.09 $1,631 -11.93
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1063 1063 5 135.00 $135.00 $1,435 —
1319 1319 5 151.00 $151.00 $1,992 —
1420 1420 10 154.50 $154.50 $2,194 -9.00
1371–1493 1480 125 157.00–160.00 $159.10 $2,355 +6.87
1481 1481 4 151.00 $151.00 $2,236 -12.00
1506 1506 10 147.00 $147.00 $2,214 -15.29
1504–1692 1546 173 157.00–160.00 $159.52 $2,466 +8.33
1546–1563 1560 126 154.00–156.50 $156.09 $2,435 -1.27
1610–1676 1641 15 147.00–155.00 $150.81 $2,475 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025 1025 199 172.75 $172.75 $1,771 -4.62
1085 1085 18 159.00 $159.00 $1,725 -16.63
1161–1170 1162 106 160.00–165.00 $164.71 $1,914 +2.21
1245 1245 16 159.75 $159.75 $1,989 —
1281 1281 44 161.25 $161.25 $2,066 +2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 22 230.00 $230.00 $874 +1.57
434 434 4 215.00 $215.00 $933 +7.95
452–480 462 11 200.00–208.00 $204.98 $947 -3.60
515–545 525 18 190.00–194.00 $192.68 $1,012 -7.79
578–584 580 31 188.00–194.00 $189.95 $1,102 -4.22
607 607 9 174.00 $174.00 $1,056 -4.76
655–662 657 23 175.00 $175.00 $1,150 +8.54
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 13 154.00 $154.00 $593 -28.63
464 464 14 154.00 $154.00 $715 —
565 565 12 154.00 $154.00 $870 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
311–323 315 12 195.00–200.00 $198.29 $625 -7.59
365–396 382 19 195.00–210.00 $204.60 $782 -5.56
408–427 417 11 187.00–200.00 $193.06 $805 -11.88
456–499 484 50 192.00–202.00 $196.37 $950 -2.11
509–546 524 132 180.50–199.50 $189.51 $993 -8.06
551–595 579 175 178.00–190.00 $187.06 $1,083 -14.94
604–647 619 108 175.00–192.00 $183.17 $1,134 -13.67
659–699 685 136 173.00–189.00 $177.14 $1,213 +25.14
691 691 5 166.00 $166.00 $1,147 -19.00
705 705 23 174.00 $174.00 $1,227 +3.00
788–794 791 50 170.00–170.25 $170.11 $1,346 -1.75
808–814 811 37 165.00–169.50 $168.02 $1,363 -5.89
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
342 342 9 188.00 $188.00 $643 +3.00
398 398 25 187.00 $187.00 $744 —
460–499 479 54 171.00–189.00 $181.90 $871 +5.10
510–530 522 39 167.50–177.00 $172.01 $898 -6.57
583–591 588 17 170.00–171.00 $170.65 $1,003 -1.90
621–645 628 44 175.00–177.00 $176.39 $1,108 +10.49
673–684 679 12 163.00–169.00 $165.98 $1,127 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1259 1259 13 150.00 $150.00 $1,888 +4.00
1362–1459 1417 82 155.00–159.00 $158.42 $2,245 -0.63
1426 1426 5 155.00 $155.00 $2,210 -4.05
1397–1477 1428 13 151.00–161.00 $154.98 $2,213 -4.07
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
352 352 10 146.00 $146.00 $514 —
460 460 4 155.00 $155.00 $713 +1.63
576 576 4 157.00 $157.00 $904 +18.11

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1201–1660 1452 75-80% 46 67.00–76.00 $71.42 $1,037 -2.98
1438–1565 1484 75-80% 11 62.00–70.00 $65.38 $970 -9.02
1614–1838 1690 75-80% 9 81.00–84.00 $82.36 $1,392 +20.76
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1373 1084 85-90% 17 32.00–49.00 $46.25 $501 —
860–1435 1204 85-90% 9 16.00–36.00 $25.99 $313 -23.67
895–1645 1270 85-90% 23 50.00–60.50 $55.22 $701 —
930–1405 1323 85-90% 8 58.00–63.00 $60.15 $796 +0.98
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1335 1233 80-85% 3 41.00–49.00 $45.87 $566 -5.13
990–1725 1311 80-85% 49 58.00–70.00 $63.55 $833 —
1440 1440 80-85% 1 68.00 $68.00 $979 —
1585–1595 1590 80-85% 2 56.00–61.00 $58.49 $930 -12.01

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1613–1785 1670 3 82.00–84.00 $82.71 $1,381 —
1273–2620 1880 6 88.00–94.00 $90.92 $1,709 +1.27

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1391–1597 1486 30 124.00–128.50 $126.10 $1,874 -4.38

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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.