South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, May 11, 2026

16,526 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 9-weight M&L 1 steers $347.59/cwt +2.23 vs last sale · ≈ $3,386/hd at 974 lb · 1,531 head

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $352.61/cwt -3.46 vs last sale · ≈ $3,283/hd at 931 lb · 1,147 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $334.10/cwt -5.66 vs last sale · ≈ $2,930/hd at 877 lb · 978 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	16,526	16,821	17,929
Feeder cattle	15,728	15,897	17,280
Slaughter cattle	798	924	649

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers unevenly steady, heifers 2.00 to 7.00 higher. Very good demand this week for steers and heifers, as cash fed cattle soared to 265.00 by midweek, yet volatility in the futures contracts made for concern. Turnout time has arrived and many auction markets on their summer schedules, outside of special feeder cattle sales, weekly offerings are declining rapidly. Cattle feeders that need to buy cattle are facing much competition as the strength of the current fat market is creating very active markets at the auction, but the back months of the Live Cattle futures aren't at profitable levels. Great demand for heifers that are big enough to make replacement heifers, drought in the southern half of the state is causing some producers to make changes already though. Widespread rain over the weekend brought some relief.

→ Feeder cattle: outside of special feeder cattle sales
▲ Feeder heifers: heifers 2.00 to 7.00 higher
→ Feeder steers: Feeder steers unevenly 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
370	370	2	715.00	$715.00	$2,646	+75.00
413–427	422	32	602.50–670.00	$620.42	$2,618	—
477 unweaned	477	16	545.00	$545.00	$2,600	—
453–490	485	76	540.00–579.00	$564.59	$2,738	+49.59
500–545	523	124	495.00–555.00	$535.27	$2,799	+19.64
550–592	569	128	472.50–502.50	$487.98	$2,777	-21.44
569 fancy	569	44	525.00	$525.00	$2,987	—
600–649	617	256	435.00–494.00	$475.61	$2,935	+15.51
619 unweaned	619	64	460.00	$460.00	$2,847	—
652–696	679	267	408.00–450.00	$436.56	$2,964	-3.01
701–740	713	297	390.00–439.00	$423.83	$3,022	-2.22
741 unweaned	741	16	399.00	$399.00	$2,957	—
752–799	777	171	385.00–416.00	$399.21	$3,102	+0.79
791	791	43	383.50	$383.50	$3,033	+16.41
803–847	828	380	374.00–383.50	$377.73	$3,128	-2.75
850–898	880	708	353.50–377.75	$365.25	$3,214	+2.81
905–949	931	1,147	339.00–361.50	$352.61	$3,283	-5.49
951–995	974	1,485	332.00–359.25	$348.20	$3,391	+2.84
969–984	979	46	324.00–336.50	$327.76	$3,209	-17.60

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1008–1038	1020	1,769	329.00–344.50	$340.02	$3,468	+6.71
1063	1063	16	312.00	$312.00	$3,317	-7.19
1070–1088	1077	337	318.00–328.00	$320.07	$3,447	+0.88
1102–1127	1115	134	312.50–314.00	$313.74	$3,498	+5.24

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
519–524	522	21	465.00–490.00	$479.34	$2,502	-20.91
560	560	17	465.00	$465.00	$2,604	-11.39
612–647	628	90	422.00–445.00	$426.69	$2,680	—
680–699	686	52	385.00–424.00	$405.94	$2,785	-12.06
701–747	723	102	373.00–405.00	$382.27	$2,764	-11.04
785–795	791	116	377.00–380.00	$378.05	$2,990	+9.87
800–848	829	112	344.00–365.00	$355.05	$2,943	-0.87
882–891	889	24	339.00–357.00	$353.28	$3,141	+0.28
919	919	6	328.00	$328.00	$3,014	-8.00
986	986	10	330.00	$330.00	$3,254	+5.00

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1530–1581	1566	56	260.00–261.00	$260.29	$4,076	+3.29
1618–1691	1636	71	254.00–263.00	$259.95	$4,253	+1.95
1793–1814	1802	16	251.00–252.00	$251.44	$4,531	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
367	367	7	540.00	$540.00	$1,982	-12.63
406–431	413	24	540.00–554.00	$544.26	$2,248	+17.74
458–499	480	110	480.00–535.00	$509.29	$2,445	+8.81
480 unweaned	480	15	505.00	$505.00	$2,424	—
506–542	518	107	440.00–507.50	$495.61	$2,567	+15.22
553–593	570	210	425.00–477.50	$452.53	$2,579	+0.17
588 unweaned	588	76	451.00	$451.00	$2,652	—
590	590	92	443.00	$443.00	$2,614	-9.36
600–649	616	336	390.00–455.00	$432.87	$2,666	+1.54
647–649	648	74	404.00–414.00	$410.92	$2,663	+33.92
651–698	678	389	371.00–419.50	$398.74	$2,703	+8.89
703–742	725	594	349.00–398.50	$378.79	$2,746	+1.60
707–738	730	37	343.00–361.00	$347.24	$2,535	-29.95
735 unweaned	735	20	367.00	$367.00	$2,697	—
751–799	776	500	346.00–378.50	$365.29	$2,835	-12.39
775–795	790	99	333.00–346.00	$343.33	$2,712	-11.67
800–843	813	761	332.50–359.50	$346.17	$2,814	-7.87
813–843	830	48	314.00–333.00	$323.32	$2,684	-46.43
831–844	838	151	381.00–385.50	$382.95	$3,209	+13.20
850–896	876	849	319.00–344.50	$336.15	$2,945	-33.85
882–885	883	129	316.00–324.00	$320.59	$2,831	-5.13
907–946	926	706	319.00–340.25	$326.19	$3,021	+5.68
941–946	945	247	310.00–314.00	$310.79	$2,937	-2.21
952–971	958	77	300.00–315.00	$302.60	$2,899	+2.17
953–994	970	423	325.75–331.50	$329.55	$3,197	+5.05

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1003–1020	1014	260	299.00–329.85	$318.10	$3,226	—
1072	1072	10	282.00	$282.00	$3,023	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
544	544	8	442.50	$442.50	$2,407	+15.23
580–596	586	33	406.00–420.00	$416.32	$2,440	+10.53
689 thin fleshed	689	26	410.00	$410.00	$2,825	—
692–697	696	22	347.50–370.00	$364.91	$2,540	+0.13
759–785	770	108	340.00–345.00	$341.82	$2,632	—
807–834	816	38	328.00–338.50	$335.11	$2,734	—
868	868	29	321.00	$321.00	$2,786	-4.00

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1335	1335	6	265.00	$265.00	$3,538	—
1279–1585	1447	128	256.00–264.00	$260.94	$3,776	+2.04
1479–1593	1539	21	261.00–265.00	$263.17	$4,050	—

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Beef Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1664	1664	10	258.00	$258.00	$4,293	—

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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.