Cattle Market Pulse

Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, November 30, 2020

12,918 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $140.16/cwt +5.33 vs last sale · ≈ $725/hd at 518 lb · 755 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $158.93/cwt +11.36 vs last sale · ≈ $907/hd at 571 lb · 642 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $149.33/cwt +10.11 vs last sale · ≈ $928/hd at 621 lb · 636 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 12,918 8,675 11,161
Feeder cattle 9,428 3,355 9,652
Slaughter cattle 1,409 219 579
Replacement cattle 2,081 5,101 930

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Combined weighted average report for 5 Colorado auction markets included: Winter Livestock, La Junta Livestock, Sterling Livestock, Livestock Exchange, and Centennial Livestock. Trade activity and demand moderate to good. Feeder steers under 400 lbs steady to 4.00 higher on a light test, 400-600 lbs 2.00 to 10.00 higher, and over 600 lbs 6.00 higher to 14.00 higher on a light test. Feeder heifers under 400 lbs 7.00 higher to sharply higher on a light test, 400-650 lbs 4.00 to 9.00 higher, and over 650 lbs 2.00 to 4.00 lower on a light test. In the slaughter cows and bulls supply, average dressing Breakers 3.00 higher, average dressing Boners 2.00 higher, average dressing Leans steady, and average dressing Bulls 1.00 higher. Middle Aged stock cows 3.00 higher. Replacement cattle offerings continue to increase. The next available report will be Friday, December 11, 2020.

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
276 276 6 215.00 $215.00 $593 —
304–341 323 37 189.00–215.00 $201.20 $650 -0.64
351–376 366 53 189.00–210.00 $199.21 $729 +3.54
402 fancy 402 17 197.00 $197.00 $792 —
411 thin fleshed 411 7 194.00 $194.00 $797 +8.00
408–448 430 165 169.00–188.00 $178.42 $767 +2.40
452–455 value added 453 39 180.00–186.50 $184.66 $837 —
453–497 476 405 164.00–181.00 $172.37 $820 +8.38
470–481 thin fleshed 479 72 180.00–182.00 $180.27 $863 —
500–549 533 290 155.00–170.00 $161.85 $863 +3.18
552 value added 552 72 170.00 $170.00 $938 —
552–598 573 570 150.00–169.00 $157.53 $903 +9.96
600–646 620 577 142.50–160.00 $150.41 $933 +5.88
626–641 unweaned 635 59 136.00–140.00 $138.72 $881 +4.68
650–695 662 368 136.00–154.00 $146.51 $970 +12.06
671–695 unweaned 684 56 132.00–135.00 $133.20 $911 +8.20
700–747 718 186 139.00–154.50 $147.26 $1,057 +11.17
700–742 unweaned 722 56 129.00–135.00 $131.81 $952 +4.91
750–781 765 166 125.00–153.00 $137.64 $1,053 —
801–840 826 98 126.00–147.50 $137.68 $1,137 +14.68
853 853 4 141.00 $141.00 $1,203 +11.00
904–930 916 23 127.00–137.50 $133.90 $1,227 +7.90
921 fancy 921 51 139.00 $139.00 $1,280 —
971 971 36 131.35 $131.35 $1,275 —
1109 1109 23 110.50 $110.50 $1,225 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 297 6 183.00 $183.00 $544 —
354–391 372 28 170.00–180.00 $175.30 $652 +2.30
454–482 473 42 167.00–170.00 $168.24 $796 +14.24
510–546 527 61 150.00–166.00 $159.58 $841 +6.58
553–596 567 136 139.50–159.50 $156.78 $889 +12.81
600–645 629 61 135.00–148.00 $141.89 $892 +1.44
651–679 664 32 140.50–147.00 $143.53 $953 +10.20
750–763 759 15 136.00–137.50 $137.01 $1,040 +6.51
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 19 155.00 $155.00 $698 —
543 543 40 151.50 $151.50 $823 —
569 569 34 131.00 $131.00 $745 —
629 629 30 131.00 $131.00 $824 —
662 662 25 127.00 $127.00 $841 —
896 896 9 116.00 $116.00 $1,039 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 348 16 171.00 $171.00 $595 +12.00
386 386 8 160.00 $160.00 $618 ±0.00
407–408 408 22 166.00 $166.00 $677 —
462–490 479 19 162.00–164.00 $162.43 $778 —
570–588 574 14 143.00–149.50 $144.43 $829 +12.43
628 628 4 124.00 $124.00 $779 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 26 157.00 $157.00 $727 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
298 298 22 585.00 $585.00 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 10 154.50 $154.50 $757 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
772 772 5 104.00 $104.00 $803 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
256 256 5 167.00 $167.00 $428 +18.01
312–339 328 12 161.00–185.00 $170.52 $559 +18.75
367–398 379 61 150.00–167.50 $158.69 $601 +7.65
411 fancy 411 20 149.00 $149.00 $612 —
400–442 418 189 136.00–163.00 $148.06 $619 +5.82
467 fancy 467 100 154.00 $154.00 $719 —
450–498 472 261 130.00–156.50 $143.56 $678 +4.19
504 value added 504 72 159.50 $159.50 $804 —
500–545 519 683 121.00–152.50 $138.12 $717 +3.29
550–597 579 300 125.50–144.75 $137.11 $794 +6.11
588 fancy 588 32 136.00 $136.00 $800 —
610–637 fancy 619 51 141.00–144.00 $142.03 $879 —
600–646 627 410 125.00–139.00 $131.95 $827 +9.24
617–646 unweaned 636 56 123.00–129.00 $128.03 $814 +8.67
671–682 unweaned 675 43 119.00–121.00 $120.02 $810 —
651–696 677 104 126.00–136.00 $129.37 $876 -0.86
703–744 unweaned 717 58 118.50–123.00 $119.95 $860 —
715–726 723 11 128.00–129.00 $128.27 $927 —
755 755 13 125.00 $125.00 $944 —
786 unweaned 786 12 115.00 $115.00 $904 —
803–805 805 20 119.00–124.00 $120.25 $968 -4.25
825 825 4 104.00 $104.00 $858 -20.50
839 fancy 839 55 131.00 $131.00 $1,099 —
852–883 868 22 119.00–130.00 $125.17 $1,086 —
980 980 5 110.00 $110.00 $1,078 —
1013–1049 1028 26 110.00–126.50 $118.75 $1,221 —
1059–1077 1064 11 122.00–126.00 $124.90 $1,329 —
1158 1158 5 117.50 $117.50 $1,361 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 323 13 147.50 $147.50 $476 +2.07
350–385 369 27 140.00–156.00 $146.57 $541 -2.40
435–443 437 35 146.00–151.00 $148.91 $651 +12.91
459–497 476 42 122.50–146.00 $134.71 $641 -0.91
503–548 536 52 125.50–144.50 $134.59 $721 +0.02
550–598 579 123 120.50–139.50 $132.32 $766 +5.48
609–641 628 14 129.00–131.50 $130.97 $822 +3.62
674–693 685 32 122.00–128.50 $124.55 $853 +6.80
861 861 14 124.00 $124.00 $1,068 —
920 920 6 109.00 $109.00 $1,003 —
1121 1121 15 105.50 $105.50 $1,183 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411 411 5 141.00 $141.00 $580 +2.00
544 544 26 133.00 $133.00 $724 —
571–586 584 42 131.00–133.00 $132.05 $771 —
675 675 6 106.00 $106.00 $716 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
494 494 9 131.00 $131.00 $647 —
518–527 520 29 124.00–130.50 $125.36 $652 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
533 533 13 130.00 $130.00 $693 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 297 6 135.00 $135.00 $401 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428 428 5 122.50 $122.50 $524 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
460–478 470 13 147.00–156.00 $153.97 $724 —
513 513 8 143.00 $143.00 $734 —
605 605 8 124.00 $124.00 $750 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1071–1773 1408 80-85% 132 53.00–62.50 $57.72 $813 —
1085–1715 1409 80-85% 132 39.00–54.00 $47.03 $663 —
1225–1670 1478 80-85% 3 30.00–38.00 $33.29 $492 —
1430–1565 1496 80-85% 8 64.00–69.00 $65.98 $987 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
965–1155 1090 85-90% 3 55.00–61.00 $59.05 $644 +12.57
780–1495 1111 85-90% 37 17.50–41.00 $29.98 $333 —
836–1445 1119 85-90% 91 32.00–50.00 $39.74 $445 —
870–1495 1171 85-90% 101 42.00–53.00 $45.99 $539 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1820 1540 75-80% 70 54.00–64.00 $58.80 $906 —
1010–1876 1604 75-80% 48 44.00–54.50 $50.07 $803 —
1505–1864 1727 75-80% 24 65.00–70.50 $67.88 $1,172 —
1855 1855 75-80% 1 31.00 $31.00 $575 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1230 1203 2 71.00–73.00 $72.02 $866 —
1120–2325 1645 29 57.50–77.00 $71.93 $1,183 —
1515–2485 1883 43 77.00–85.00 $80.59 $1,518 +1.34
1935–2065 2022 3 85.00 $85.00 $1,719 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
882–1710 1231 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 386 45.00–59.00 $54.30 $668
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
845–1335 1099 (<2 yrs)Open 9 82.00–98.00 $89.48 $983
873–1575 1106 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 94 62.00–77.00 $66.31 $733
1111–1410 1240 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 27 44.00–50.00 $47.37 $587
1027–1554 1357 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 143 51.00–61.50 $57.00 $773
Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
733–1283 1045 (<2 yrs)Open 95 80.00–83.00 $81.94 $856
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
791–1409 1191 (<2 yrs)Open 33 71.00–79.50 $75.90 $904
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775–1278 982 (<2 yrs)Open 5 60.00–68.00 $64.61 $634

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1152–1540 1293 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 30 900.00–1,010.00 $919.61
1165–1535 1323 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 17 610.00–785.00 $718.85
1370 1370 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,125.01 $1,125.01
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1060–1390 1143 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 13 600.00–750.00 $689.20
1251–1345 1290 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 800.00–910.00 $849.93
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1153–1585 1303 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 760.00–950.00 $815.81

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1695–1970 1833 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,200.00–1,260.00 $1,232.25 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1365 1365 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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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.