Cattle Market Pulse

Stockmen's Livestock Exchange Market Report

Dickinson, North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, October 12, 2023

1,714 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Stockmen's Livestock Exchange report →

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $241.28/cwt -3.32 vs last sale · ≈ $1,868/hd at 774 lb · 128 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $230.58/cwt +2.89 vs last sale · ≈ $1,990/hd at 863 lb · 106 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $325.76/cwt +21.58 vs last sale · ≈ $1,593/hd at 489 lb · 80 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,714 1,446 2,361
Feeder cattle 1,714 1,446 2,361

Compared to last week: Steers this week are still unevenly steady. The feeder heifers under 500lbs are steady, and over 500lbs is unevenly steady. The cattle are still coming straight off grass with great flesh. New crop calves coming straight off grass have good flesh as well and numbers of feeder coming in are getting bigger. The market was very active today. Next sale is October 19th.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333–340 338 20 389.00–400.50 $392.40 $1,326
351–372 362 63 390.00–399.00 $396.13 $1,434 +51.13
405–419 410 62 347.50–360.00 $354.82 $1,455 +4.82
478–494 489 80 309.50–334.00 $325.76 $1,593 -13.24
532–543 539 33 285.50–292.50 $287.81 $1,551 -25.19
560–581 579 55 291.00–293.75 $293.51 $1,699 +8.07
609–646 630 48 268.00–273.50 $270.17 $1,702 -4.83
650–697 681 30 246.00–252.00 $250.50 $1,706 +7.50
705–738 711 34 238.00–249.00 $245.42 $1,745 -14.58
772 772 26 245.50 $245.50 $1,895 -4.75
821 821 4 252.00 $252.00 $2,069
863 863 3 231.00 $231.00 $1,994 -7.45
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
309 309 21 285.00 $285.00 $881
383–399 393 25 310.00–340.00 $328.29 $1,290
415–437 431 25 252.50–310.00 $278.15 $1,199
458–479 467 24 272.00–317.50 $306.33 $1,431
505 505 28 248.00 $248.00 $1,252
573 573 6 278.00 $278.00 $1,593
607 607 10 241.00 $241.00 $1,463
848 848 5 216.00 $216.00 $1,832
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
256 256 20 850.00 $850.00

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
287 287 5 330.00 $330.00 $947
318–349 334 55 312.50–362.00 $327.27 $1,093
382–388 383 74 307.50–315.50 $314.08 $1,203 -45.92
402 thin fleshed 402 12 290.00 $290.00 $1,166
406–440 420 35 272.00–282.00 $278.22 $1,169 -4.78
468–497 481 54 261.00–278.00 $270.98 $1,303 -2.87
519 thin fleshed 519 9 265.00 $265.00 $1,375
503–537 522 14 243.00–245.00 $243.83 $1,273 -14.07
554–584 571 9 221.00–235.00 $227.04 $1,296 -37.96
614–626 624 60 239.00–255.00 $252.11 $1,573 -6.89
666 thin fleshed 666 20 259.50 $259.50 $1,728
666 666 5 225.00 $225.00 $1,498 -30.66
705–746 725 60 243.00–249.00 $245.98 $1,783 -7.01
763–786 774 128 224.00–244.25 $241.28 $1,868 -3.32
813–846 824 52 233.25–234.00 $233.44 $1,924 -5.06
857–880 863 106 223.00–234.00 $230.58 $1,990 +2.89
904–945 920 35 194.00–223.75 $215.00 $1,978 -10.99
959–970 967 23 206.00–210.00 $207.91 $2,010 -8.59
1014–1029 1017 34 203.00–209.00 $204.59 $2,081
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–396 383 33 205.00 $205.00 $785
446 446 31 220.00 $220.00 $981
493 493 21 197.50 $197.50 $974
678 678 30 244.00 $244.00 $1,654
831 831 16 224.00 $224.00 $1,861
860–893 878 13 215.00–222.00 $218.17 $1,916

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 4 307.50 $307.50 $1,172 -27.50
488 488 12 288.00 $288.00 $1,405 -37.00
660 660 4 202.50 $202.50 $1,336

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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.