Cattle Market Pulse

Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 7, 2020

21,123 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $157.09/cwt -1.84 vs last sale · ≈ $908/hd at 578 lb · 1,053 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $139.02/cwt +2.02 vs last sale · ≈ $795/hd at 572 lb · 947 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $135.69/cwt +3.17 vs last sale · ≈ $843/hd at 621 lb · 809 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 21,123 12,918 14,145
Feeder cattle 17,735 9,428 12,347
Slaughter cattle 1,291 1,409 605
Replacement cattle 2,097 2,081 1,193

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Combined weighted average report for 5 Colorado auction markets included: Livestock Exchange, Centennial Livestock, Winter Livestock, La Junta Livestock, and Sterling Livestock. Trade activity and demand moderate to good. Feeder steers under 350 lbs traded sharply higher on a light test, 350-550 lbs steady to 7.00 higher, and over 550 lbs mostly 1.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 550 lbs mostly 6.00 to 9.00 higher, and over 550 lbs mostly 1.00 to 4.00 higher with few instances of 7.00 to 8.00 higher. In the slaughter cows and bulls supply, average dressing Breakers traded 2.00 higher, average dressing Boners steady, average dressing Leans 1.00 lower, and average dressing Bulls 1.00 higher. Middle Aged stock cows returning to feed 1.00 higher. No comparable trades on bred cows and cow calf pairs to trend. The next available report will be Friday, December 18, 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
297 297 11 225.00 $225.00 $668 +10.00
300–316 307 24 207.00–221.00 $213.60 $656 +12.40
359–397 376 198 194.00–207.00 $199.47 $750 +0.26
400–417 thin fleshed 411 44 193.00–197.00 $194.89 $801 +0.89
400–445 429 245 176.00–190.00 $184.99 $794 +6.57
450–496 473 336 167.00–186.00 $177.44 $839 +5.07
500–547 518 513 160.00–180.00 $168.82 $874 +6.97
513–532 thin fleshed 523 61 172.00–174.00 $172.93 $904 —
576 fancy 576 21 170.50 $170.50 $982 —
557–596 577 883 141.50–169.00 $155.36 $896 -2.17
553–588 thin fleshed 585 149 165.25–168.00 $165.46 $968 —
600 thin fleshed 600 31 160.00 $160.00 $960 —
610 value added 610 42 159.50 $159.50 $973 —
600–644 621 620 140.00–159.00 $151.92 $943 +1.51
600–642 unweaned 626 82 130.50–149.00 $141.60 $886 +2.88
630 fancy 630 5 174.00 $174.00 $1,096 —
665 thin fleshed 665 122 154.50 $154.50 $1,027 —
650–696 668 451 138.00–150.50 $145.51 $972 -1.00
658–693 unweaned 671 86 129.50–139.00 $132.75 $891 -0.45
708–713 unweaned 709 122 133.00–137.00 $136.12 $965 +4.31
700–744 718 561 135.50–145.25 $141.40 $1,015 -5.86
727 fancy 727 17 143.00 $143.00 $1,040 —
750–796 786 386 134.00–141.00 $136.11 $1,070 -1.53
805 value added 805 25 142.00 $142.00 $1,143 —
800–847 818 243 124.00–138.00 $134.51 $1,100 -3.17
870 value added 870 21 136.75 $136.75 $1,190 —
850–894 877 251 132.25–134.75 $133.74 $1,173 -7.26
904–940 924 252 129.00–135.00 $132.59 $1,225 -1.31
972 972 54 127.00 $127.00 $1,234 -4.35
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–392 377 18 178.00–189.00 $182.26 $687 +6.96
406–445 430 42 163.00–177.00 $173.63 $747 —
453–498 484 147 156.00–174.00 $167.04 $808 -1.20
509–548 530 103 145.00–167.00 $153.99 $816 -5.59
557–597 581 143 140.00–158.00 $150.03 $872 -6.75
602 unweaned 602 9 136.00 $136.00 $819 —
609–639 628 78 141.00–147.00 $142.88 $897 +0.99
669–676 unweaned 673 22 136.00–137.00 $136.59 $919 —
650–686 675 189 140.00–146.00 $143.54 $969 +0.01
712 unweaned 712 8 132.00 $132.00 $940 —
700–730 715 36 134.00–143.00 $140.24 $1,003 —
751–792 785 118 135.00–139.00 $138.79 $1,090 +1.78
800–806 803 25 128.00–135.00 $131.56 $1,056 —
858–885 874 90 122.00–134.00 $132.84 $1,161 —
1107 1107 3 96.00 $96.00 $1,063 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568–585 576 100 143.00 $143.00 $824 +12.00
694 694 21 134.00 $134.00 $930 +7.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482–487 484 42 161.00–162.00 $161.52 $782 —
600 600 34 149.50 $149.50 $897 —
677 677 24 139.50 $139.50 $944 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
462 462 6 142.00 $142.00 $656 —
534 534 7 117.50 $117.50 $627 —
572 572 7 137.00 $137.00 $784 —
662–694 684 10 119.00–120.00 $119.29 $816 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356 356 6 172.50 $172.50 $614 +12.50
550–587 580 12 142.00–149.00 $147.51 $856 +3.08
724 724 4 118.00 $118.00 $854 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464 464 4 117.50 $117.50 $545 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 11 158.00 $158.00 $506 -12.52
350–394 375 75 158.00–170.00 $164.81 $618 +6.12
400–443 426 151 147.00–165.00 $154.15 $657 +6.09
450–499 476 579 141.00–161.00 $152.65 $727 +9.09
501–546 522 476 135.00–156.00 $145.74 $761 +7.62
536 fancy 536 42 159.50 $159.50 $855 —
550–596 572 947 126.00–148.00 $139.02 $795 +1.91
601–648 621 592 125.50–146.00 $138.13 $858 +6.18
604–644 unweaned 622 217 123.00–134.00 $129.02 $803 +0.99
650–695 663 440 123.00–137.00 $130.69 $866 +1.32
669–691 unweaned 684 99 120.50–133.00 $124.55 $852 +4.53
713–748 723 349 126.00–134.25 $130.39 $943 +2.12
752–763 761 232 124.50–130.00 $129.45 $985 +4.45
816 fancy 816 25 136.00 $136.00 $1,110 +5.00
803–848 830 278 124.00–129.75 $128.35 $1,065 +24.35
858 858 121 128.00 $128.00 $1,098 +2.83
860 860 3 118.00 $118.00 $1,015 -7.17
959 thin fleshed 959 21 119.50 $119.50 $1,146 —
1000 1000 6 110.00 $110.00 $1,100 -8.75
1063 1063 14 114.00 $114.00 $1,212 -10.90
1118–1140 1122 10 114.00–118.50 $117.59 $1,319 —
1219 1219 7 96.00 $96.00 $1,170 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–383 368 52 150.00–161.00 $156.30 $575 +9.73
400–449 418 153 141.00–154.00 $149.88 $626 +0.97
451–498 478 139 130.00–148.00 $140.23 $670 +5.52
503–548 528 194 130.00–144.50 $138.14 $729 +3.55
552–592 572 68 131.00–139.50 $133.60 $764 +1.28
614–646 625 44 126.00–133.50 $130.61 $816 -0.36
653–691 675 44 125.00–130.00 $127.50 $861 +2.95
726 726 9 122.00 $122.00 $886 —
799 799 6 122.00 $122.00 $975 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 31 151.00 $151.00 $556 —
518 518 24 134.00 $134.00 $694 +8.64
555 555 30 133.00 $133.00 $738 —
726 726 8 110.00 $110.00 $799 —
778 778 17 124.00 $124.00 $965 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523–529 525 44 137.50–139.00 $138.62 $728 +8.62
628–631 630 35 126.00–126.50 $126.19 $795 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
434 434 4 138.00 $138.00 $599 -3.00
462–498 479 23 125.00–131.00 $129.16 $619 —
543 543 6 130.00 $130.00 $706 -3.00
594 594 9 126.00 $126.00 $748 -6.05
605–639 629 18 116.00–124.00 $121.75 $766 —
Small 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 424 4 117.50 $117.50 $498 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 14 151.00 $151.00 $649 —
579 579 25 121.00 $121.00 $701 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
537 537 5 135.00 $135.00 $725 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1518 1143 85-90% 156 32.00–48.00 $39.18 $448 -0.56
930–1415 1152 85-90% 136 43.00–52.00 $46.62 $537 +0.63
820–1515 1175 85-90% 44 16.00–41.00 $27.96 $329 -18.03
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1710 1347 80-85% 57 54.00–64.50 $57.88 $780 —
870–1694 1480 80-85% 152 40.00–54.00 $45.57 $674 +12.28
1558–1625 1580 80-85% 9 35.50–39.50 $36.87 $583 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1820 1559 75-80% 55 55.00–65.50 $60.13 $937 —
1600–1740 1701 75-80% 13 69.00–70.50 $70.27 $1,195 +2.39
1394–2000 1720 75-80% 60 42.50–54.00 $47.78 $822 -20.10

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1250–1270 1255 4 75.00–77.00 $75.51 $948 —
1240–2175 1691 30 66.50–80.00 $74.24 $1,255 —
1380–2290 1852 43 76.00–87.00 $81.09 $1,502 +0.50
1975–2280 2128 4 87.00–90.00 $88.82 $1,890 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1000–1652 1205 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 379 47.00–61.00 $55.67 $671
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
855–1063 1000 (<2 yrs)Open 7 107.00–112.00 $108.77 $1,088
815–1414 1178 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 55 63.00–79.00 $69.04 $813
1022–1470 1231 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 49 44.50–51.00 $48.75 $600
1082–1650 1357 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 136 52.00–62.50 $58.72 $797
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
795–1336 1102 (<2 yrs)Open 32 71.00–79.50 $77.94 $859
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
856–1063 918 (<2 yrs)Open 10 90.00–97.00 $92.43 $849

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1065–1255 1192 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 825.00–950.00 $862.24
1100–1344 1233 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 35 1,375.00–1,550.00 $1,448.88
1133–1398 1281 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 23 625.00–750.00 $705.16
1103–1400 1309 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 13 785.00–975.00 $878.31
1127–1543 1309 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 81 1,200.00–1,475.00 $1,342.75
800–1698 1340 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 238 560.00–1,035.00 $887.67
1416–1593 1469 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 10 1,650.00 $1,650.00
1703 1703 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,060.00 $1,060.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1035–1405 1153 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 1,085.00–1,250.00 $1,159.64
1048–1455 1209 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 52 550.00–785.00 $730.46
1035–1593 1297 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 79 925.00–1,150.00 $1,034.97
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1211 1211 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 10 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1230–1331 1294 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 16 800.00–810.00 $802.38
1339 1339 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 38 785.00 $785.00
1323–1527 1393 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 29 885.00–900.00 $890.67

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1026–1123 1067 (<2 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 47 1,375.00–1,500.00 $1,454.28

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1360–1743 1537 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 5 1,175.00–1,375.00 $1,270.52 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317–324 318 29 60.00–65.00 $64.30 $204 —
384–394 392 43 53.00–67.00 $65.21 $256 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–285 281 14 139.00–140.00 $139.29 $391 —
327 327 23 145.50 $145.50 $476 —
357 357 8 136.00 $136.00 $486 —
458–461 460 18 120.00–123.00 $120.83 $556 —
587 587 3 115.00 $115.00 $675 —
652 652 3 100.00 $100.00 $652 —
Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
434 434 9 115.00 $115.00 $499 —
458–467 466 30 99.00–110.00 $100.44 $468 —
1189 1189 22 82.50 $82.50 $981 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 4 95.00 $95.00 $233 —
645 645 22 75.00 $75.00 $484 —
668 668 9 70.50 $70.50 $471 —
803 803 10 65.00 $65.00 $522 —
855 855 3 72.50 $72.50 $620 —
932 932 9 73.50 $73.50 $685 —
981 981 4 71.00 $71.00 $697 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
532 532 6 67.00 $67.00 $356 —
598 598 5 71.00 $71.00 $425 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
316–317 317 82 127.00 $127.00 $403 —
351–373 358 308 111.00–119.00 $112.89 $404 —
501–548 525 51 93.00–105.50 $95.93 $504 —
572 572 21 91.00 $91.00 $521 —
624 624 18 84.00 $84.00 $524 —
705 705 26 75.50 $75.50 $532 —
764 764 15 74.00 $74.00 $565 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–289 283 13 104.00–113.00 $108.02 $306 —
351–391 375 64 104.00–110.00 $107.65 $404 —
400–448 427 161 93.00–98.00 $96.32 $411 —
501–542 516 22 82.00–90.00 $86.94 $449 —
561–598 577 50 79.00–85.00 $81.53 $470 —
580 580 4 70.00 $70.00 $406 —
613–624 619 9 75.50–77.00 $76.16 $471 —
661–695 689 21 71.50–72.00 $71.91 $495 —
719 719 12 65.00 $65.00 $467 —
895 895 4 70.00 $70.00 $626 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
286 286 13 161.00 $161.00 $460 —
302–336 330 39 156.00–157.50 $157.25 $519 —
359 359 14 153.50 $153.50 $551 —
468–472 470 45 150.50–156.50 $153.04 $719 —
933 933 6 107.50 $107.50 $1,003 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
254–284 263 64 93.00–100.00 $96.69 $254 —
342–349 346 13 90.00–100.00 $94.57 $327 —
410 410 11 78.00 $78.00 $320 —
488 488 3 74.00 $74.00 $361 —
519 519 6 80.00 $80.00 $415 —
Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–346 334 15 140.00–147.00 $145.32 $485 —
370–380 376 21 124.00–131.00 $129.08 $485 —
448 448 2 131.00 $131.00 $587 —
451 451 19 125.50 $125.50 $566 —
508 508 3 122.00 $122.00 $620 —
Small 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
346 346 13 36.00 $36.00 $125 —
357 357 11 31.00 $31.00 $111 —
518 518 3 31.00 $31.00 $161 —
Small 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
384 384 4 52.50 $52.50 $202 —
894 894 7 37.50 $37.50 $335 —
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
954 954 4 62.50 $62.50 $596 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
765 765 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,071 —

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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.