Cattle Market Pulse

Stockmen's Livestock Exchange Market Report

Dickinson, North Dakota · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 23, 2024

3,017 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 $289.85/cwt +17.26 vs last sale · ≈ $1,788/hd at 617 lb · 640 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $312.88/cwt +25.60 vs last sale · ≈ $2,079/hd at 664 lb · 369 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $273.34/cwt -0.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,875/hd at 686 lb · 240 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,017 1,443 1,502
Feeder cattle 3,017 1,443 1,502

Market comments — USDA reporter

First reported sale in more than a month, no recent price comparison available, higher undertones evident. Very good demand for this large offering of steers and heifers, many long strings including one consignment of 1,100 head, many full loads and multiple load lots. The flesh condition was attractive this week and the market was extremely active, as there were ample cattle that could work for grass programs or could go right into a yard. Pastures are ready for turn out, and those producers who still needed to buy some grass cattle weren't going to waste this opportunity today. Quality ran the gambit, from fancy to plain and blemished. It did not matter what the cattle were, there were plenty of buyers willing to chase the market to get all types of cattle bought. Cash fed cattle were higher again this week, up to 192.00, keeping a very strong positive basis over the CME Live Cattle futures, which is really adding optimism to the marketplace as cattle feeders are hopeful the coming months could be better than what the futures contracts are currently at. There were a lot of buyers on the seats today as feeder cattle offerings are getting sporadic across the northern plains, as the marketing season winds down. This report will be released again when the late summer/early fall marketing season begins, watch local listings for sale schedules.

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
458 unweaned 458 5 347.50 $347.50 $1,592 —
471 471 19 398.50 $398.50 $1,877 +41.73
500–546 531 37 346.00–367.00 $353.06 $1,875 -4.44
560 thin fleshed 560 23 359.00 $359.00 $2,010 +5.00
552–574 564 64 333.00–347.50 $342.69 $1,933 +8.84
604 unweaned 604 12 311.00 $311.00 $1,878 —
612 612 6 312.00 $312.00 $1,909 -2.46
607–640 628 181 326.85–333.00 $328.97 $2,066 +14.51
654 thin fleshed 654 82 329.50 $329.50 $2,155 —
651–673 665 255 305.50–315.50 $310.41 $2,064 +19.41
686 unweaned 686 32 290.00 $290.00 $1,989 —
722–749 743 116 284.25–292.50 $284.72 $2,115 +23.22
847 847 5 256.00 $256.00 $2,168 +21.00
902–941 917 58 237.00–240.00 $238.34 $2,186 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
299 299 7 385.00 $385.00 $1,151 —
349 thin fleshed 349 8 400.00 $400.00 $1,396 —
384–386 385 19 373.00–375.00 $373.52 $1,438 +28.52
399 thin fleshed 399 17 390.00 $390.00 $1,556 —
411–442 427 10 342.50–361.00 $351.41 $1,501 —
464 464 10 375.00 $375.00 $1,740 +48.00
508 thin fleshed 508 16 366.00 $366.00 $1,859 —
519–542 532 20 334.00–356.00 $339.67 $1,807 —
600–643 623 44 314.50–324.00 $320.01 $1,994 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1021 1021 66 226.25 $226.25 $2,310 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
578 578 8 307.50 $307.50 $1,777 —
733 733 17 259.00 $259.00 $1,898 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 thin fleshed 420 13 364.00 $364.00 $1,529 —
430 430 6 333.00 $333.00 $1,432 —
444 unweaned 444 5 318.00 $318.00 $1,412 —
466–498 484 71 322.50–339.00 $328.79 $1,591 +29.79
513–536 524 81 314.00–321.50 $317.97 $1,666 +23.98
556 unweaned 556 5 285.00 $285.00 $1,585 —
553–598 576 131 280.00–307.00 $294.66 $1,697 +6.30
606–634 616 602 283.00–296.50 $290.62 $1,790 +18.03
631 unweaned 631 24 281.00 $281.00 $1,773 —
634 634 14 272.00 $272.00 $1,724 -0.59
650–696 686 240 270.25–284.00 $273.34 $1,875 -0.13
717–745 726 38 253.00–268.00 $262.40 $1,905 +5.78
766 766 14 264.50 $264.50 $2,026 +20.50
764–772 768 30 252.00–257.00 $254.65 $1,956 +10.65
831–849 841 13 235.00–240.00 $237.72 $1,999 —
916 916 49 253.00 $253.00 $2,317 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 6 380.00 $380.00 $1,064 —
310 thin fleshed 310 13 390.00 $390.00 $1,209 —
363–365 364 35 347.50–377.50 $367.18 $1,337 —
402 thin fleshed 402 9 343.00 $343.00 $1,379 —
519 thin fleshed 519 17 312.50 $312.50 $1,622 —
536–548 543 25 291.00–306.00 $296.57 $1,610 —
574 thin fleshed 574 10 297.00 $297.00 $1,705 —
624 624 7 277.50 $277.50 $1,732 +36.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
582 582 7 278.00 $278.00 $1,618 —
712 712 21 239.50 $239.50 $1,705 —

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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.