Steer and heifer calves sold steady to $3 higher last week. Though a light test, yearlings brought steady money to $2 more than the previous week. Fed cattle traded mostly steady, meaning they maintained the $6-$7 gained over the past month.

“Feeder prices have finally stabilized in general, and stocker prices in particular have shown a bit of strength the past two weeks,” Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, said last Friday. “We’re in the middle of the fall run of calves and available stocker numbers will decrease as we move into December.

“Delayed stocker cattle demand should help hold lightweight cattle prices through the end of the year and could provide more strength if demand picks up after the big fall run of calves is past. Despite the fact that much of the early promise of wheat pasture has fizzled (see “Winter Wheat Pasture Challenged By Weather”), it still appears we’ll have a large amount of wheat pasture and bigger numbers of cattle on wheat than the past two years.”

In fact, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) analysts explained Friday, “Winter wheat pasture in the Southern Plains popped this week and backgrounders increased their orders for lightweight stockers. Calf buying continues to become more active as a larger percentage of the calves on offer have been weaned for a longer period of time and more of the larger reputation strings are making their way to town.”

AMS analysts also say the opening of the northern-most CME live-cattle delivery point at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock (Worthing, SD) is adding some lift for Northern Plains feeders.

“Finished cattle markets in this area have consistently traded at a discount to the mainstream five-area market, since the downfall of the traditional river market terminal stockyard,” say AMS analysts. They add that for October, 747 live and 365 carcass contract deliveries flowed through the new delivery point.

“The realization of the delivery process guarantees the futures contract will match the value of the cash product, or in this case the fear of delivery resulted in a positive basis for the hedged cattle feeders’ pocket,” the analysts say.

The summary below reflects the week ended Nov. 6 for Medium and Large 1 – 500- to 550-lb., 600- to 650-lb. (calves), and 700- to 750-lb. feeder heifers and steers (unless otherwise noted). The list is arranged in descending order by auction volume and represents sales reported in the weekly USDA National Feeder and Stocker Cattle Summary: