Cattle Market Pulse

Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, August 9, 2021

1,540 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $159.93/cwt ≈ $1,499/hd at 937 lb · 181 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 heifers $131.20/cwt ≈ $1,231/hd at 938 lb · 94 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.50/cwt ≈ $1,134/hd at 796 lb · 91 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,540 2,560 2,287
Feeder cattle 1,079 1,976 1,754
Slaughter cattle 461 584 533

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Combined weighted average report for 2 Colorado auction markets included: Sterling Livestock and Livestock Exchange. Slaughter cows traded 5.50 to 8.50 lower. Feeding cows traded 3.00 to 7.00 lower. Slaughter bulls traded 1.50 higher. Dairy heifers traded mostly steady. The feeder cattle supply comprised mostly of yearlings coming off grass with firm undertones. The next available report will be Monday, August 23, 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
651–698 667 6 163.00–169.00 $166.91 $1,113 —
798 798 13 154.50 $154.50 $1,233 —
800 800 40 153.50 $153.50 $1,228 —
869–877 875 50 151.50–155.00 $152.19 $1,332 —
937–949 937 181 152.00–160.25 $159.93 $1,499 —
1016 1016 204 157.25 $157.25 $1,598 —
1065 1065 24 149.00 $149.00 $1,587 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
538 538 3 163.00 $163.00 $877 —
705–732 726 18 146.00–153.00 $151.91 $1,103 —
845 845 4 145.00 $145.00 $1,225 —
853–878 865 21 137.00–146.00 $144.45 $1,249 +8.45
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
776 776 6 144.50 $144.50 $1,121 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
596 596 9 157.50 $157.50 $939 —
656–679 667 30 158.00–160.50 $159.31 $1,063 —
703–725 722 32 152.75–157.00 $153.27 $1,107 —
752–761 753 62 146.00–153.50 $152.77 $1,150 —
931–944 938 94 130.00–132.25 $131.20 $1,231 —
950–988 971 7 139.00–142.00 $140.29 $1,362 —
1010 1010 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,374 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 2 167.50 $167.50 $628 —
608–613 610 6 138.00–141.00 $139.99 $854 —
693 693 2 138.00 $138.00 $956 —
796 796 91 142.50 $142.50 $1,134 —
1001 1001 4 115.00 $115.00 $1,151 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
792 792 5 124.00 $124.00 $982 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1194–1560 1340 80-85% 25 69.00–75.00 $71.47 $958 —
1150–1680 1435 80-85% 75 66.00–75.00 $68.86 $988 -9.89
1240–1785 1517 80-85% 138 51.00–65.50 $60.21 $913 —
1430–1730 1601 80-85% 4 35.00–48.50 $42.66 $683 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1460 1154 85-90% 55 46.00–59.50 $55.97 $646 —
965–1365 1181 85-90% 12 32.50–43.00 $37.94 $448 —
1053–1290 1203 85-90% 15 67.00–73.00 $69.37 $835 -5.22
1020–1441 1237 85-90% 59 60.00–69.00 $62.06 $768 -5.89
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1640–1980 1775 75-80% 34 57.50–72.00 $65.13 $1,156 —
1545–2040 1793 75-80% 16 73.50–79.00 $75.31 $1,350 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 1 80.00 $80.00 $916 —
1500–2015 1725 7 85.00–92.00 $88.98 $1,535 +2.55
1715–2195 1934 10 94.00–100.00 $97.48 $1,885 -9.99
2075 2075 1 105.00 $105.00 $2,179 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
905 905 1 95.50 $95.50 $864 ±0.00
955 955 2 93.50 $93.50 $893 -0.97
1000–1043 1035 8 95.00–96.00 $95.69 $990 +0.22
1055–1090 1078 3 93.50–95.00 $93.99 $1,013 -1.84
1113–1147 1133 13 92.50–96.00 $95.27 $1,079 -1.25
1150–1173 1167 4 95.50 $95.50 $1,114 -1.77
1211 1211 4 94.50 $94.50 $1,144 -1.43
1347 1347 3 90.00 $90.00 $1,212 —
1360 1360 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,210 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402 402 10 77.50 $77.50 $312 —
588 588 2 76.00 $76.00 $447 +18.49
685 685 4 73.00 $73.00 $500 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–878 869 9 84.00–85.00 $84.33 $733 —
1183 1183 2 84.00 $84.00 $994 -7.55
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
778 778 10 80.00 $80.00 $622 +8.00

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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.