South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 25, 2024

8,254 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $264.63/cwt +20.25 vs last sale · ≈ $2,284/hd at 863 lb · 1,108 head

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $244.25/cwt -3.01 vs last sale · ≈ $1,901/hd at 778 lb · 759 head

light 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $260.33/cwt +4.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,886/hd at 725 lb · 545 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	8,254	21,107	22,163
Feeder cattle	8,049	19,704	20,361
Slaughter cattle	205	1,403	1,802

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Much lighter feeder cattle offerings this week due to winter weather at the start of the week and some locations did not host a Friday sale due to Good Friday and Easter weekend. Feeder steers and heifers sold with steady to higher undertones. Very good demand for all weights of steers and heifers, in spite of a lack luster Live and Feeder Cattle futures. The cash fed cattle market continues to support the feeder market as cattle producers aren't paying much attention to the April Live Cattle contract at 184.00 while the cash fat market topped at 191.00. There remains great optimism amongst feeder cattle producers as they know how tight feeder cattle supplies are. Cattle feeders are a little more cautious than the backgrounders as they have seen this happen before, where the market can quickly change and they are left reeling with huge losses. Slaughter cows 7.00 to 10.00 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
372–381	376	21	380.00–385.00	$382.41	$1,438	-17.26
408–412	410	13	352.50–362.50	$356.37	$1,461	-22.32
479–495	488	130	355.00–364.00	$358.07	$1,747	-18.48
512–549	533	202	322.50–353.00	$342.59	$1,826	-11.65
559–598	580	168	321.00–345.00	$340.24	$1,973	+45.60
604–631	611	236	303.00–330.00	$320.02	$1,955	+5.29
651–690	677	208	286.00–307.50	$301.76	$2,043	+0.33
705–746	729	343	270.00–300.50	$283.25	$2,065	-1.01
746	746	10	275.00	$275.00	$2,052	+15.29
753–796	779	492	264.00–284.50	$273.82	$2,133	+5.06
794–798	795	22	234.50–244.00	$237.97	$1,892	-18.48
808–818	814	14	230.00–235.00	$232.13	$1,890	-11.44
802–831	818	275	242.50–268.00	$265.97	$2,176	+22.40
833	833	11	242.00	$242.00	$2,016	-12.96
850–895	863	1,100	249.00–268.00	$264.97	$2,287	+20.17
883	883	8	217.50	$217.50	$1,921	-17.92
906–937	918	189	235.85–254.25	$241.89	$2,221	-0.13
958–981	963	75	222.00–227.00	$225.98	$2,176	-7.51
965–969	967	136	226.75–227.75	$227.25	$2,198	-6.24

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
378	378	3	352.00	$352.00	$1,331	—
408–410	409	11	335.00–337.50	$336.14	$1,375	+1.26
468	468	5	337.50	$337.50	$1,580	+12.50
564	564	18	309.00	$309.00	$1,743	+11.89
632	632	38	283.50–297.00	$292.03	$1,846	-7.22
670	670	8	287.00	$287.00	$1,923	+16.44
748	748	33	258.00	$258.00	$1,930	-6.50

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1408–1441	1423	15	184.50–185.00	$184.74	$2,629	-1.49
1524	1524	8	184.00	$184.00	$2,804	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
274	274	7	345.00	$345.00	$945	—
355–389	376	16	345.00–350.00	$346.77	$1,304	-3.97
424–449	441	16	320.00–325.00	$323.50	$1,427	-15.52
453–494	483	164	319.00–331.00	$325.45	$1,572	+4.73
500–539	517	145	298.00–329.00	$322.29	$1,666	+14.67
550 thin fleshed	550	66	303.50	$303.50	$1,669	—
555–597	573	200	274.00–300.00	$287.47	$1,647	-7.04
600–637	617	454	273.50–300.50	$292.87	$1,807	+9.63
657–699	681	276	250.25–284.00	$265.44	$1,808	-3.61
700–732	714	142	277.00–279.00	$277.91	$1,984	+23.27
703–749	728	396	246.50–261.00	$254.38	$1,852	-0.26
744	744	7	240.00	$240.00	$1,786	-14.64
771–774	772	74	220.00–236.00	$230.58	$1,780	-17.24
754–797	779	685	223.00–253.60	$245.73	$1,914	+7.26
802–827	813	517	222.00–262.00	$243.35	$1,978	+11.10
854–896	880	168	219.10–221.10	$219.86	$1,935	-7.74
900	900	39	218.75	$218.75	$1,969	-0.26
955	955	21	208.25	$208.25	$1,989	-5.50

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
377–379	378	17	340.00–341.00	$340.41	$1,287	+10.41
453–494	483	59	279.00–299.00	$290.50	$1,403	+8.32
529	529	7	282.00	$282.00	$1,492	+19.71
588	588	6	273.00	$273.00	$1,605	+3.00
639	639	4	260.00	$260.00	$1,661	+32.94
659	659	4	245.00	$245.00	$1,615	-7.19
702	702	4	239.50	$239.50	$1,681	—
836	836	27	219.50	$219.50	$1,835	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1124	1124	7	187.50	$187.50	$2,108	—
1330	1330	10	197.50	$197.50	$2,627	+12.50
1360	1360	4	189.50	$189.50	$2,577	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
349	349	5	370.00	$370.00	$1,291	—
558	558	48	322.50	$322.50	$1,800	—

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1388–1675	1489	75-80%	7	141.00–154.00	$147.61	$2,198	—
1000–1860	1490	75-80%	50	127.50–139.00	$134.42	$2,003	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
801–875	819	85-90%	10	82.50–90.00	$86.06	$705	—
910–920	915	85-90%	2	60.00–75.00	$67.46	$617	—
1110–1543	1330	85-90%	13	99.00–113.00	$108.19	$1,439	—

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
870–2100	1416	80-85%	25	115.00–126.00	$121.23	$1,717	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1990–2275	2172	3	145.00–151.00	$148.29	$3,221	—
2180	2180	1	134.00	$134.00	$2,921	—
1765–2523	2270	3	156.00–169.00	$159.37	$3,618	—

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1469	1469	7	160.50	$160.50	$2,358	+0.68

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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.