The Morning Wire / South Dakota / Fri Oct 30, 2026

South Dakota cattle market

The trading day in one page — Fri, Oct 30

● 3 barns reportedEvery figure as filedNational wire →

← Oct 29Oct 30Oct 31 →

The market in a line

Fri, Oct 30

Choice cutout closed $2.62 lower at $364.66. 3 South Dakota barns reported 103 priced lots.

Feeder steers

South Dakota, week of Oct 26 USDA

Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a state figure. Watch the barn count: a weight class carried by one or two barns is a thin figure, not a market.

Weight	Price	vs prior week	Head	Barns
300-399 lb	585.90/cwt	$19.40 lower	664	7
400-499 lb	516.15/cwt	$3.58 lower	4,753	7
500-599 lb	457.40/cwt	$7.02 lower	10,113	7
600-699 lb	418.10/cwt	$12.67 lower	4,281	7
700-799 lb	373.36/cwt	$4.75 higher	617	6
800-899 lb	350.73/cwt	$3.40 higher	760	6

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA

Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Fri, Oct 30, weighted by head. Spread of $17.27 between the top and bottom of 3 barns. An average moves with the cattle that showed up as much as with the buyers in the seats — a yard with better grade will average higher on the same demand. This is where the money landed, not a verdict on the barn.

Barn	State	Average	Head
Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction	SD	454.46/cwt	2,497
Herreid Livestock Market	SD	443.74/cwt	510
St. Onge Livestock	SD	437.19/cwt	1,162

Boxed beef

National · PM close · Oct 30 USDA

Choice $364.66, $2.62 lower. Select $351.98, $0.35 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $12.68. 126 loads traded.

Fed cattle

National · Negotiated cash, week to date USDA

20,615 head traded Oct 24–Oct 30.

Region	Basis	Price	Head
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed Delivered	354.75	2,433
Iowa-Minnesota	Dressed FOB	355.00	256
Iowa-Minnesota	Live Delivered	224.25	42
Iowa-Minnesota	Live FOB	223.10	7,537
Nebraska	Dressed Delivered	350.34	5,800
Nebraska	Dressed FOB	352.57	1,130

At the South Dakota barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA

Compared to last week: Not enough yearling to make a price comparison, steer calves from 400 lbs to 449 lbs and steer calves from 550 lbs to 649 lbs were 10.00 to 15.00 lower, steer calves from 450 lbs to 549 lbs were 6.00 to 8.00 lower, heifer calves from 400 lbs to 449 lbs were 10.00 to 15.00 lowe…
Ft. Pierre Livestock Auction · South Dakota

Compared to last week: best test on yearling steers 1000 to 1049 lbs steady, other weight classes of yearling steers and heifers not well compared. Too few calves last week to develop an accurate price trend. Good demand for yearlings with best demand for yearlings off grass.
Herreid Livestock Market · South Dakota

Compared to last week: Steer Calves were sharply lower, with the exception of 550-600lbs, 20.00 lower, and 650-700lbs, mostly steady. Heifer Calves 400-600 lbs, were 7.00-10.00 higher. Nice offering of home raised calves, with mixed vaccinations sheets, sold on good demand.
St. Onge Livestock · South Dakota

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA

Class	Price	Direction	Head
Breaker (75% lean)	247.82/cwt	$4.04 lower	707
Boner (85% lean)	246.30/cwt	$0.59 lower	1,856
Cutter (90% lean)	252.74/cwt	$1.95 higher	3,607
Premium White	260.74/cwt	$2.10 lower	1,166
Bull (92% lean)	307.56/cwt	$2.65 higher	472

What published

See every report →

Every USDA report carried this date is listed in the archive.

Source: USDA AMS. Feeder prices and barn comment are South Dakota only; boxed beef, fed cattle and the cow market are national, because those markets are. Every figure is USDA's as filed, and the direction words — higher, lower, steady— follow the arithmetic rather than an opinion. Quoted comment is the work of USDA market reporters, credited to the sale it came from. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of USDA data, not a copy of USDA's document and not endorsed by USDA.