Cattle Market Pulse

South Dakota Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 17, 2026

6,462 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 heifers $299.01/cwt -14.63 vs last sale · ≈ $2,743/hd at 917 lb · 658 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $305.51/cwt -37.37 vs last sale · ≈ $2,552/hd at 835 lb · 528 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $295.61/cwt -31.68 vs last sale · ≈ $2,625/hd at 888 lb · 458 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 6,462 6,066 7,889
Feeder cattle 5,663 4,481 6,752
Slaughter cattle 799 1,585 1,137

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers 6.00 to 15.00 lower. Moderate demand for yearlings this week as the cash fat cattle market and cattle futures complex continue to weaken. Cash fat cattle on Friday as low as 222.00. Cattle feeders are struggling to get cattle bought that have break even prices low enough to match where the Live Cattle futures contracts are at for the coming months. Packers have cut their kills in order to support the boxed beef market, but that wasn't enough to keep it from declining. Yearlings are coming off grass, but with recent rains and the downturn in the market, yearling operators haven't been in as big of a push to get cattle sold which resulted in few feeder cattle in town at the auctions this week.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1008–1039 1029 261 296.50–308.50 $302.56 $3,113 -15.59
1031 1031 121 291.50 $291.50 $3,005 -26.65
1064 1064 9 258.00 $258.00 $2,745 -55.00
1051–1099 1077 739 289.00–307.00 $294.85 $3,176 -18.15
1115–1144 1127 40 265.00–287.00 $281.44 $3,172 -20.64
1165–1166 1166 71 270.00–281.50 $277.78 $3,239 -24.47
1235 1235 29 248.00 $248.00 $3,063 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
386 386 4 515.00 $515.00 $1,988 —
519 519 13 457.50 $457.50 $2,374 —
610 610 3 410.00 $410.00 $2,501 —
703–736 724 20 353.00–369.00 $358.43 $2,595 -34.32
772 772 21 357.00 $357.00 $2,756 -29.80
789 789 26 342.50 $342.50 $2,702 -44.30
808–833 815 104 332.00–350.00 $347.08 $2,829 +2.33
833 833 6 290.00 $290.00 $2,416 -54.75
856–899 877 237 305.00–332.00 $326.20 $2,861 -8.91
904–945 923 280 315.00–336.75 $325.70 $3,006 -7.06
942 942 5 293.00 $293.00 $2,760 -39.76
953–966 963 36 286.00–292.00 $290.52 $2,798 -34.28
951–996 966 281 296.00–318.00 $315.44 $3,047 -9.36
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435–1476 1457 40 223.00–228.00 $224.91 $3,277 -12.48
1434–1494 1479 24 237.00–238.00 $237.76 $3,516 +0.37
1518–1601 1548 127 225.75–227.50 $226.64 $3,508 —
1613–1678 1662 79 225.00–228.50 $226.60 $3,766 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
501 501 6 429.00 $429.00 $2,149 —
566 566 4 450.00 $450.00 $2,547 —
581 thin fleshed 581 4 460.00 $460.00 $2,673 —
647 647 6 390.00 $390.00 $2,523 —
660–680 669 27 340.00–375.00 $362.70 $2,426 —
737 737 12 310.00 $310.00 $2,285 —
838–845 840 15 315.00–328.00 $324.51 $2,726 —
866 866 7 323.00 $323.00 $2,797 —
930 930 13 297.00 $297.00 $2,762 —
975–995 982 21 291.00–295.00 $293.65 $2,884 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1163 1163 13 266.00 $266.00 $3,094 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 11 485.00 $485.00 $1,819 —
421 421 4 430.00 $430.00 $1,810 —
544 544 7 380.00 $380.00 $2,067 -20.00
564–578 567 43 393.00–410.00 $395.95 $2,245 —
602–618 616 38 385.00–400.00 $386.93 $2,383 —
616 thin fleshed 616 10 418.00 $418.00 $2,575 —
642 642 127 364.00 $364.00 $2,337 —
652–696 675 21 342.00–380.00 $369.41 $2,494 —
705 705 37 347.00 $347.00 $2,446 -30.50
754–788 775 18 290.00–300.00 $293.78 $2,277 -29.22
768–787 782 146 302.00–341.00 $321.01 $2,510 -1.99
811–823 819 17 298.00–301.00 $298.87 $2,448 -44.01
807–848 836 511 294.00–310.00 $305.73 $2,556 -37.15
862–896 888 458 287.75–310.50 $295.61 $2,625 -31.68
900–943 915 552 280.00–310.00 $303.40 $2,776 -10.24
901–931 929 106 276.00–279.00 $276.16 $2,566 -37.48
965–975 970 239 270.00–286.50 $277.67 $2,693 -29.79
973 973 43 312.00 $312.00 $3,036 +4.54
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003–1049 1016 19 284.50–298.00 $293.81 $2,985 -1.12
1016 1016 162 266.50 $266.50 $2,708 -28.43
1075 1075 10 292.00 $292.00 $3,139 +0.78
1150 1150 17 263.00 $263.00 $3,024 —
1167 1167 14 238.50 $238.50 $2,783 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
327 327 3 535.00 $535.00 $1,749 —
383 thin fleshed 383 6 475.00 $475.00 $1,819 —
549 549 7 405.00 $405.00 $2,223 —
575 575 4 395.00 $395.00 $2,271 —
664 thin fleshed 664 11 404.00 $404.00 $2,683 —
674–682 678 13 330.00–347.50 $338.03 $2,292 —
804 804 28 305.00 $305.00 $2,452 —
938 938 11 283.00 $283.00 $2,655 —
982 982 10 284.00 $284.00 $2,789 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1229 1229 18 237.00 $237.00 $2,913 -3.79
1284–1481 1407 38 223.00–229.00 $224.44 $3,158 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1029 1029 8 266.00 $266.00 $2,737 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
992 992 6 262.00 $262.00 $2,599 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
524 524 7 355.00 $355.00 $1,860 —

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
952 952 5 269.00 $269.00 $2,561 —

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Beef Dairy Steers

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
748 748 6 332.50 $332.50 $2,487 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1097 1097 9 199.00 $199.00 $2,183 —

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Dairy Steers

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1566 1566 6 220.00 $220.00 $3,445 —

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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.