Cattle Market Pulse

Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, March 15, 2021

3,304 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $125.34/cwt -2.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,119/hd at 893 lb · 94 head
light 8-weight M&L 1 steers $129.69/cwt -0.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,067/hd at 823 lb · 93 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $144.85/cwt -11.37 vs last sale · ≈ $762/hd at 526 lb · 81 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,304 9,886 9,122
Feeder cattle 2,088 8,161 8,547
Slaughter cattle 373 596 343
Replacement cattle 843 1,129 232

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Combined weighted average report for 3 Colorado auction markets included: Winter Livestock, La Junta Livestock, and Livestock Exchange. Trade activity and demand moderate. Feeder steers lightly tested across all weights with steers under 450 lbs trading sharply lower, 450-550 lbs mostly 4.00 lower, 550-700 lbs 1.00 to 6.00 higher, and over 700 lbs 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifer lightly tested across all weights with heifers under 600 lbs mostly 10.00 to 11.00 lower, and over 600 lbs mostly 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Average dressing slaughter cows traded 2.00 to 5.00 higher and slaughter bulls steady. The next available report will be Monday, March 29, 2021.

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
288 288 7 210.00 $210.00 $605 —
352–373 356 40 190.00–191.00 $190.87 $679 -25.11
410–419 413 12 181.00 $181.00 $748 -25.19
494 494 7 190.00 $190.00 $939 +1.52
501–541 529 57 175.00–187.00 $177.54 $939 -3.75
586 586 5 173.50 $173.50 $1,017 +0.91
604–628 612 21 166.50–168.50 $167.18 $1,023 +5.73
711–737 724 39 131.50–145.00 $135.15 $978 -1.18
807–829 822 84 124.50–132.25 $129.92 $1,068 -0.48
829 829 9 127.50 $127.50 $1,057 -2.90
891–894 893 94 120.00–128.50 $125.34 $1,119 -2.47
1010 1010 19 112.50 $112.50 $1,136 —
1025 1025 56 116.00 $116.00 $1,189 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
308 308 6 185.00 $185.00 $570 —
391 391 6 181.00 $181.00 $708 -8.48
409 409 9 182.00 $182.00 $744 +9.00
454–494 469 25 170.00–176.00 $172.19 $808 +1.19
502–532 522 56 158.50–166.00 $160.49 $838 +2.17
590 590 10 153.00 $153.00 $903 ±0.00
613–628 616 58 145.00–150.00 $149.26 $919 +2.98
745 745 5 130.00 $130.00 $968 —
764 764 8 129.00 $129.00 $986 —
870 870 4 121.00 $121.00 $1,053 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
456–491 475 46 146.50–165.00 $156.28 $742 -2.49
500–547 526 81 141.00–151.00 $144.85 $762 -10.85
559–585 568 15 137.00–143.00 $140.94 $801 -9.60
606–640 622 32 134.00–140.50 $138.75 $863 +1.57
664 664 10 132.00 $132.00 $876 -1.63
703–743 728 39 127.00–128.00 $127.37 $927 -1.45
739–741 740 10 155.00–156.00 $155.50 $1,151 +26.68
753–760 758 30 152.00–159.00 $154.32 $1,170 +27.77
834 834 66 118.75 $118.75 $990 -1.61
860 860 24 112.00 $112.00 $963 —
862 862 3 117.00 $117.00 $1,009 —
916 916 55 115.00 $115.00 $1,053 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
276 276 4 160.00 $160.00 $442 —
340 340 14 155.00 $155.00 $527 —
367 367 6 155.00 $155.00 $569 +0.57
405–439 423 76 147.00–158.00 $152.08 $643 —
478–492 486 18 146.00 $146.00 $710 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
120–145 133 2 250.00–300.00 $277.36 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
115–125 120 3 325.00–350.00 $333.33 —
155–195 170 3 375.00–385.00 $381.18 —
200 200 1 410.00 $410.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
668 668 6 130.00 $130.00 $868 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376 376 5 183.00 $183.00 $688 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 80-85% 1 45.00 $45.00 $405 —
985–1700 1228 80-85% 32 43.00–68.00 $57.44 $705 —
1080–1365 1231 80-85% 4 70.00–76.00 $72.64 $894 —
1000–1730 1349 80-85% 161 56.00–74.00 $62.29 $840 +4.83
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1770 1404 75-80% 12 52.50–69.00 $60.20 $845 —
1280–1525 1418 75-80% 5 69.00–77.00 $72.43 $1,027 —
1330–2055 1531 75-80% 59 59.50–73.50 $66.46 $1,018 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
810–1035 923 85-90% 2 41.00–43.50 $42.40 $391 —
680–1335 1087 85-90% 15 35.00–52.00 $44.39 $483 -0.97
760–1365 1134 85-90% 45 50.00–64.00 $56.43 $640 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003 1003 2 92.00 $92.00 $923 —
1330–2335 1655 18 73.00–84.50 $76.47 $1,266 —
1420–2240 1845 14 81.00–90.00 $84.00 $1,550 —

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Stock Cows

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
835–1378 1141 (<2 yrs)Open 92 80.00–86.50 $84.25 $961
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1020 1020 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 70.00 $70.00 $714
875–1610 1424 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 17 58.50–83.50 $62.92 $896
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
995–1215 1050 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 14 80.00–85.00 $83.06 $872
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
727–1380 982 (<2 yrs)Open 13 50.00–63.00 $59.69 $586
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1050–1285 1226 (<2 yrs)Open 4 75.00–79.00 $75.86 $930
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1010 1010 (<2 yrs)Open 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,010

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
927–1298 1134 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 33 1,225.00–1,375.00 $1,301.65
1240–1470 1310 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 47 910.00–1,025.00 $991.22
1211–1413 1363 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 38 1,050.00–1,100.00 $1,078.96
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1141–1370 1185 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 9 625.00–775.00 $669.53

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1042 fancy 1042 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,500.00 $1,500.00
1018–1189 1122 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 8 1,325.00–1,375.00 $1,357.16

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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
1125–1291 1229 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 28 1,075.00–1,085.00 $1,075.73 —
1050–1358 1263 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 86 1,000.00–1,150.00 $1,089.18 -89.93
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1000–1265 1186 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 15 1,400.00–1,510.00 $1,444.96 —
1125–1453 1400 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 67 1,300.00–1,385.00 $1,352.79 —

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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.