Cattle Market Pulse

St. Onge Livestock Auction Market Report

St. Onge, South Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Friday, October 23, 2026

7,030 head sold ·Official USDA report

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $428.44/cwt +1.05 vs last sale · ≈ $2,258/hd at 527 lb · 823 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $444.28/cwt +8.22 vs last sale · ≈ $2,559/hd at 576 lb · 610 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $488.69/cwt +5.25 vs last sale · ≈ $2,089/hd at 427 lb · 588 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,030 5,323 6,320
Feeder cattle 7,030 5,323 6,320

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers 350-400, sharply higher on a light test; 350-400, 10.00 lower on a light test from last week's numbers; 400-550, 15.00-20.00 higher; 550-600, steady to 2.00 higher; 600-650, 20.00 higher. Heifers 350-600, sharply higher; 400-450, 7.00 higher; 450-550, unevenly steady; 550-600, 11.00 lower; 600-650, 20.00 lower. Good demand for lots of nice, open haired, fully vaccinated calves. Load lots and larger packages of black hided, fully vaccinated topped most weights. Most of the offering was home raised and right off the cow, however, there were a few fully weaned lots and packages showing a little tagg from the feed lots. The market was active for most of the day, but turned more moderate towards the end of the sale, creating some larger spreads. The next sale is the last Wednesday special, October 28, starting at noon, with the regular Friday sale, October 30, starting at 8.

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
290 290 6 710.00 $710.00 $2,059 +20.00
305–329 313 40 687.50–715.00 $704.90 $2,206 +38.58
364–387 379 135 625.00–665.00 $640.64 $2,428 -23.48
400–434 414 210 559.00–609.00 $587.41 $2,432 +23.67
432 432 18 543.00 $543.00 $2,346 -20.74
450–499 472 355 497.50–550.00 $524.76 $2,477 +22.64
500–535 516 518 466.00–512.00 $486.08 $2,508 +17.27
550–598 576 610 421.00–460.00 $444.28 $2,559 +8.22
600–638 614 293 417.00–455.50 $435.13 $2,672 +21.92
653–666 657 116 389.00–410.00 $404.43 $2,657 +13.37
705–722 712 22 362.50–370.00 $366.79 $2,612 —
851–867 863 59 328.00–348.00 $342.08 $2,952 —
958–976 972 20 314.00–320.00 $318.52 $3,096 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 333 7 420.00 $420.00 $1,399 -198.68
352–387 375 25 590.00–615.00 $597.70 $2,241 -2.47
410–445 438 63 492.50–542.50 $527.63 $2,311 +3.15
455–490 472 39 455.00–480.00 $462.89 $2,185 -5.43
517–549 535 249 430.00–455.00 $442.54 $2,368 +7.54
566–596 586 41 386.00–414.00 $408.80 $2,396 +3.07
632 632 28 401.00 $401.00 $2,534 —
696–698 697 11 350.00–387.50 $367.07 $2,558 —
730 730 5 337.00 $337.00 $2,460 —
844 844 11 347.50 $347.50 $2,933 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378 378 5 400.00 $400.00 $1,512 —
471–484 482 39 370.00 $370.00 $1,783 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
324–345 339 37 530.00–575.00 $549.52 $1,863 +8.70
358–398 382 218 527.00–575.00 $543.48 $2,076 +34.76
417 fancy 417 31 535.00 $535.00 $2,231 —
407–446 428 557 467.50–510.00 $486.11 $2,081 +2.67
460–497 481 289 422.50–467.50 $446.79 $2,149 +6.24
500–546 527 823 397.50–441.00 $428.44 $2,258 +1.05
551–590 575 173 405.00–432.50 $412.39 $2,371 -8.75
589 589 23 350.00 $350.00 $2,062 -71.14
601–634 608 152 375.00–417.50 $405.09 $2,463 +28.53
756 756 8 342.50 $342.50 $2,589 +2.50
873–895 876 75 314.00–346.00 $341.64 $2,993 +13.54
934–947 946 44 304.00–308.00 $307.55 $2,909 -11.45
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 297 9 480.00 $480.00 $1,426 —
345–349 348 34 500.00–520.00 $503.50 $1,752 +39.88
375 375 15 350.00 $350.00 $1,312 -130.00
404–442 427 93 427.50–460.00 $444.19 $1,897 -3.31
466–496 478 28 392.50–420.00 $413.42 $1,976 -8.63
502–547 522 11 355.00–377.50 $365.71 $1,909 -22.28
565–592 585 95 362.50–387.50 $376.99 $2,205 -7.18
782–798 794 28 337.00–338.00 $337.25 $2,678 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003–1048 1037 32 289.00–292.00 $291.27 $3,020 -6.73
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
421 421 12 475.00 $475.00 $2,000 —

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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.