Cattle Market Pulse

Stockmen's Livestock Exchange Market Report

Dickinson, North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, February 15, 2024

4,237 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $266.85/cwt +5.38 vs last sale · ≈ $1,655/hd at 620 lb · 370 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $244.26/cwt ≈ $1,884/hd at 771 lb · 343 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $318.51/cwt +0.10 vs last sale · ≈ $1,804/hd at 566 lb · 308 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,237 2,200 2,710
Feeder cattle 4,237 2,200 2,710

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers mostly steady. Very good demand for this very large offering of high quality, home raised, attractive steers and heifers. Many long strings, including full loads, along with ample smaller packages allowing buyers to easily make full loads. A large offering of replacement quality heifers, these were extremely attractive and really the front end kind, and sold easily. Flesh conditions ranged from light to moderate plus, this week. The market was very active, supported by the cattle futures stopping their decline this week and posting gains of 1.00-1.50, while corn continues to slide lower. Cash fed cattle bubbling around the 180.00 mark, below breakeven cost which has put some resistance on the bigger cattle, but there is ample optimism amongst the backgrounders as they have their eyes set on the fall months of the Feeder Cattle contracts and are hoping to have another banner year.

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
358 358 8 331.00 $331.00 $1,185 —
458 458 21 328.00 $328.00 $1,502 -15.32
483 483 27 325.00 $325.00 $1,570 -18.32
507–533 520 281 323.00–341.75 $334.68 $1,740 +16.10
536 536 6 301.00 $301.00 $1,613 -17.58
552–588 565 247 313.00–328.00 $323.30 $1,827 +4.89
570 570 11 295.00 $295.00 $1,682 -23.41
573 unweaned 573 50 300.00 $300.00 $1,719 —
602–647 623 246 285.50–309.50 $300.79 $1,874 +4.17
658–699 677 125 262.75–286.50 $277.19 $1,877 +5.49
693 693 6 257.00 $257.00 $1,781 -14.70
705–734 725 116 255.00–268.00 $265.66 $1,926 +0.45
785–797 796 75 240.25–248.00 $240.96 $1,918 -15.62
813–842 828 183 230.50–235.25 $233.52 $1,934 -11.73
882 882 51 229.75 $229.75 $2,026 —
903–935 931 125 223.10–231.00 $226.72 $2,111 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378–388 384 21 322.50–341.00 $333.19 $1,279 -17.81
434 434 7 351.00 $351.00 $1,523 —
485 thin fleshed 485 60 330.00 $330.00 $1,600 —
545 545 13 307.50 $307.50 $1,676 +7.50
596 thin fleshed 596 80 321.50 $321.50 $1,916 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
328 328 4 1,150.00 $1,150.00 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413 413 5 312.50 $312.50 $1,291 +1.52
430 430 7 311.00 $311.00 $1,337 +0.02
507–546 528 183 274.00–300.50 $287.62 $1,519 -12.69
528 528 32 269.50 $269.50 $1,423 -30.81
543 543 15 271.00 $271.00 $1,472 -29.31
557–572 568 18 260.50–261.00 $260.86 $1,482 -24.97
563–598 584 78 266.00–279.00 $273.38 $1,597 -12.45
606 unweaned 606 22 257.00 $257.00 $1,557 —
612 612 20 280.00 $280.00 $1,714 +18.53
617 617 10 251.00 $251.00 $1,549 -10.47
600–644 622 318 257.00–275.00 $267.20 $1,662 +5.73
658 658 6 249.50 $249.50 $1,642 +2.87
661 661 24 265.00 $265.00 $1,752 +18.37
650–675 665 77 257.00–266.00 $259.35 $1,725 +12.72
701–747 709 219 226.00–245.25 $239.57 $1,699 -1.50
705–745 723 68 250.00–256.00 $254.08 $1,837 +13.01
756–768 763 80 229.00–234.00 $231.17 $1,764 —
751–798 774 263 222.25–259.00 $248.24 $1,921 —
815–842 835 96 218.25–218.75 $218.62 $1,825 —
835 835 46 243.50 $243.50 $2,033 —
874 874 71 231.00 $231.00 $2,019 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318–340 327 10 302.50–305.00 $303.54 $993 —
377 unweaned 377 12 294.00 $294.00 $1,108 —
377 377 6 301.00 $301.00 $1,135 —
400 thin fleshed 400 30 320.00 $320.00 $1,280 —
420–429 423 26 301.00–310.00 $306.53 $1,297 -4.70
482 unweaned 482 20 270.00 $270.00 $1,301 —
491–498 493 16 275.00–277.00 $276.37 $1,363 -4.38
504 thin fleshed 504 60 297.00 $297.00 $1,497 —
525–533 528 16 256.00–270.00 $260.42 $1,375 -11.83
555 555 13 272.00 $272.00 $1,510 —
588 588 10 246.00 $246.00 $1,446 —
626–646 631 20 250.50–255.50 $251.78 $1,589 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 438 10 323.00 $323.00 $1,415 —
575–578 578 57 302.00–306.00 $302.49 $1,748 —

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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.