Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, April 3, 2023

7,046 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $190.98/cwt +1.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,778/hd at 931 lb · 563 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $199.70/cwt +10.55 vs last sale · ≈ $1,437/hd at 720 lb · 466 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $205.65/cwt +5.07 vs last sale · ≈ $1,704/hd at 829 lb · 460 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,046 22,163 20,893
Feeder cattle 6,651 20,361 19,734
Slaughter cattle 395 1,802 1,159

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Only 2 reported auctions this week as midweek and late week auctions across much of the state were cancelled due to the large winter storm that moved across the region creating blizzard conditions. Feeder steers and heifers sold with steady to higher undertones. Very good demand for all weights of steers and heifers as cash fed cattle topped at 173.00 last week and 178.00 this week. The feeder market was very active as cattle feeders are feeling very bullish as the cash fat market has skyrocketed well past the levels of the April Live Cattle contract. Cattle feeders know they have finally gotten the leverage they needed due to the short supplies of market ready cattle. Slaughter cows 7.00 to 9.00 higher, bulls 5.00 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
417 417 5 295.00 $295.00 $1,230 +29.13
478–498 494 20 262.50–287.50 $282.66 $1,396 +29.08
500–537 519 35 237.00–260.00 $246.92 $1,282 -2.23
563–594 577 90 217.00–235.00 $225.10 $1,299 -13.22
620–648 639 65 214.00–225.50 $221.71 $1,417 +14.71
656–699 675 244 211.50–222.50 $218.03 $1,472 -7.49
727 value added 727 101 220.00 $220.00 $1,599 —
705–745 734 350 205.00–216.00 $211.96 $1,556 +18.82
755–798 777 345 199.00–212.00 $207.85 $1,615 +5.70
805–842 827 308 201.00–208.00 $204.00 $1,687 +3.42
832 value added 832 152 209.00 $209.00 $1,739 —
850–899 874 349 185.00–195.50 $191.07 $1,670 -1.46
876 value added 876 25 200.50 $200.50 $1,756 —
909–949 931 563 185.25–196.50 $190.98 $1,778 +20.98
956–986 968 161 183.50–188.00 $185.65 $1,797 +2.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
459–495 478 21 240.00–253.00 $248.38 $1,187 +30.59
512 512 18 242.00 $242.00 $1,239 +12.92
606–624 618 21 202.00–210.00 $206.52 $1,276 -0.97
651–693 680 38 186.00–210.00 $198.21 $1,348 -6.93
726–748 742 63 197.00–202.00 $198.21 $1,471 +0.69
783–798 790 46 194.00–197.00 $194.65 $1,538 +4.50
825–840 835 92 173.00–191.00 $188.56 $1,574 +5.56
882 882 11 178.00 $178.00 $1,570 +0.58
905–942 938 42 176.00–178.00 $177.77 $1,667 +11.77
988 988 26 178.00 $178.00 $1,759 +20.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1049 1049 11 174.50 $174.50 $1,831 -5.02
1116–1129 1123 230 177.75–182.60 $181.54 $2,039 +4.79
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1421 1421 7 174.00 $174.00 $2,473 +4.99
1412–1444 1428 12 167.00 $167.00 $2,385 -2.01
1592 1592 14 174.50 $174.50 $2,778 -0.23
1723 1723 6 174.00 $174.00 $2,998 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 6 170.00 $170.00 $813 ±0.00
559 559 6 160.00 $160.00 $894 —
616 616 7 143.00 $143.00 $881 -42.00
688 688 5 160.00 $160.00 $1,101 -16.00
734 734 5 145.00 $145.00 $1,064 +0.42
876 876 7 145.00 $145.00 $1,270 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1146 1146 20 159.00 $159.00 $1,822 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
374–384 379 11 250.00–265.00 $258.08 $978 —
414 414 6 263.00 $263.00 $1,089 +30.23
454 fancy 454 4 253.00 $253.00 $1,149 —
482–498 490 21 230.00–237.00 $234.15 $1,147 +6.23
500–521 511 13 220.00–230.00 $224.58 $1,148 +2.05
551 fancy 551 5 223.00 $223.00 $1,229 +4.00
560–597 580 111 207.00–218.00 $210.92 $1,223 -12.49
600–648 623 173 200.50–219.00 $211.20 $1,316 +11.36
660–693 672 123 189.00–201.00 $194.94 $1,310 +1.66
707 fancy 707 222 204.00 $204.00 $1,442 —
711–748 731 226 191.00–199.00 $196.81 $1,439 +6.04
734 734 18 183.00 $183.00 $1,343 -7.77
753–774 763 360 179.50–200.50 $192.77 $1,471 +7.13
776 776 45 180.00 $180.00 $1,397 +5.58
805–847 833 359 171.25–187.50 $177.00 $1,474 -2.61
859–896 875 451 167.50–182.50 $178.08 $1,558 +13.92
924–925 924 72 165.50–166.50 $166.39 $1,537 +3.45
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
499 499 5 215.00 $215.00 $1,073 —
581 581 28 197.25 $197.25 $1,146 -4.24
601 601 20 196.00 $196.00 $1,178 +9.20
711–744 725 150 170.00–187.25 $181.97 $1,319 +2.04
750–776 774 94 171.25–177.00 $171.61 $1,328 -1.78
992 992 13 156.00 $156.00 $1,548 -2.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1032 1026 267 170.75–184.60 $177.94 $1,826 +15.84
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1246 1246 6 172.00 $172.00 $2,143 +8.00
1334 1334 12 167.00 $167.00 $2,228 —
1355–1505 1410 43 172.00–175.00 $173.59 $2,448 +1.59
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
516 516 7 173.00 $173.00 $893 +1.00
612 612 9 161.00 $161.00 $985 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
750–1410 1105 85-90% 17 10.00–62.00 $41.84 $462 —
980–1395 1173 85-90% 27 72.00–85.00 $77.19 $905 -7.62
1030–1590 1232 85-90% 54 84.50–96.00 $91.29 $1,125 +8.97
1260–1295 1278 85-90% 4 94.00–95.00 $94.51 $1,208 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1255–1675 1465 80-85% 2 60.00–91.00 $77.72 $1,139 -11.39
1148–1897 1474 80-85% 52 95.00–102.00 $98.25 $1,448 +9.14
1513 1513 80-85% 2 104.00 $104.00 $1,574 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1285–1635 1436 75-80% 22 102.00–110.00 $105.22 $1,511 —
1340–1970 1577 75-80% 3 111.00–113.00 $112.17 $1,769 +14.09
1258–1855 1650 75-80% 14 96.00–99.50 $97.37 $1,607 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1645–2250 1948 2 105.00–112.00 $107.96 $2,103 —
1770–2640 2100 9 112.00–125.00 $120.42 $2,529 —
2015–2200 2116 5 124.50–131.00 $128.20 $2,713 —

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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.