Cattle Market Pulse

Colorado Weekly Cattle Auction Summary

Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Monday, December 20, 2021

3,749 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $162.56/cwt -4.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,105/hd at 680 lb · 143 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $166.85/cwt +2.46 vs last sale · ≈ $1,044/hd at 626 lb · 139 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $161.55/cwt +5.10 vs last sale · ≈ $851/hd at 527 lb · 116 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,749 16,193 10,536
Feeder cattle 2,855 9,241 6,881
Slaughter cattle 870 2,237 1,066
Replacement cattle 24 4,715 2,589

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Combined weighted average report for 3 Colorado auction markets included: Winter Livestock, La Junta Livestock, and Sterling Livestock. Trade activity and demand moderate to good. All classes of cattle lightly tested compared to last week. Feeder steers under 550 lbs sold mostly 10.00 to 12.00 higher, 550-650 lbs 4.00 higher, and over 550 lbs mostly 3.00 to 8.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs sold 6.00 lower to sharply lower, 500-650 lbs 1.00 to 3.00 higher, and over 650 lbs mostly 5.00 lower. Average dressing slaughter cows sold steady to 2.00 lower, bulls 9.00 lower. The next available report will be Monday, January 3, 2022.

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
248 248 10 224.00 $224.00 $556 —
355–370 362 19 207.50–222.00 $214.98 $778 +10.09
390 unweaned 390 14 209.00 $209.00 $815 —
407–445 428 28 191.00–209.00 $198.11 $848 -0.97
457–470 465 29 189.00–207.00 $202.24 $940 +10.90
509–538 536 57 173.00–189.50 $188.00 $1,008 +11.30
566 fancy 566 8 177.00 $177.00 $1,002 —
568–589 581 82 170.00–179.50 $174.46 $1,014 +3.64
602 value added 602 5 185.00 $185.00 $1,114 —
608–636 623 102 163.00–181.00 $170.30 $1,061 +3.50
638 unweaned 638 32 153.00 $153.00 $976 -5.27
678 unweaned 678 6 143.00 $143.00 $970 -13.36
653–696 680 137 158.00–167.00 $163.42 $1,111 -1.64
713–727 722 21 150.00–151.00 $150.38 $1,086 -12.21
761–783 763 75 142.00–157.75 $156.26 $1,192 -2.81
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485–488 487 8 178.00–185.00 $179.74 $875 +10.74
510–530 516 18 168.00–175.00 $173.00 $893 +12.29
580–585 581 4 163.00–172.00 $165.26 $960 +3.83
601–644 619 44 156.00–171.50 $165.64 $1,025 +14.47
655–690 685 32 151.00–160.00 $153.81 $1,054 +1.81
721–745 731 29 136.00–148.00 $143.07 $1,046 —
755–793 783 18 140.00–141.00 $140.66 $1,101 —
860 860 4 137.50 $137.50 $1,182 —
927 927 14 136.00 $136.00 $1,261 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
524–544 535 35 166.00–167.00 $166.55 $891 -4.66
598 598 30 162.00 $162.00 $969 -1.24
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657–687 unweaned 675 60 145.00–146.00 $145.61 $983 -0.55

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
289 fancy 289 21 201.00 $201.00 $581 —
310 fancy 310 25 203.00 $203.00 $629 —
353 353 4 192.00 $192.00 $678 +4.03
403–448 427 54 152.00–173.00 $158.39 $676 -16.92
456 value added 456 21 177.00 $177.00 $807 —
455–498 479 19 153.00–170.00 $161.08 $772 -6.40
510 fancy 510 31 166.00 $166.00 $847 —
510–549 533 85 154.00–170.00 $159.93 $852 +3.48
554–584 568 56 150.00–158.00 $153.26 $871 +1.48
573 fancy 573 33 161.00 $161.00 $923 -12.00
600–646 629 79 145.00–158.00 $153.87 $968 +1.21
650–699 673 40 140.00–147.50 $144.95 $976 -5.03
713 unweaned 713 10 134.50 $134.50 $959 -1.41
706–745 714 10 139.00–140.50 $140.19 $1,001 -9.87
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 348 6 187.00 $187.00 $651 +16.00
354–371 357 21 160.00–162.50 $162.01 $578 —
518–535 531 9 150.00–160.00 $157.83 $838 +11.83
585–599 594 27 146.00–149.00 $147.03 $873 +6.03
620–640 633 3 136.00–147.00 $143.41 $908 —
650–686 676 44 133.00–145.00 $141.38 $956 —
720–745 733 2 125.00–126.00 $125.49 $920 -8.51
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517 517 16 150.00 $150.00 $776 —
557–573 569 50 150.00–152.00 $150.55 $857 +3.01
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
772 772 32 134.00 $134.00 $1,034 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–545 533 2 145.00 $145.00 $773 —
553–595 583 14 137.00–144.50 $142.47 $831 —
773 773 3 125.00 $125.00 $966 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 11 150.00 $150.00 $495 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
925–1255 1125 80-85% 93 51.00–58.00 $55.47 $624 —
910–1455 1208 80-85% 139 41.00–60.00 $55.80 $674 —
1090–1520 1257 80-85% 59 49.00–69.00 $60.92 $766 +6.91
891–1557 1270 80-85% 93 49.00–68.50 $61.35 $779 +7.34
1215–1574 1451 80-85% 12 67.00–72.00 $70.50 $1,023 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
850–1155 998 85-90% 9 31.00–43.00 $38.53 $385 —
750–1210 1013 85-90% 32 40.00–50.00 $45.58 $462 -22.42
791–1270 1018 85-90% 79 51.00–59.00 $54.03 $550 -13.97
1028–1130 1041 85-90% 8 54.00–56.00 $54.27 $565 -13.73
910–1234 1087 85-90% 14 47.00–54.00 $50.15 $545 +5.94
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1550 1416 75-80% 12 51.00–61.00 $55.59 $787 -8.20
1110–1863 1492 75-80% 21 59.00–71.50 $65.23 $973 —
1350–1850 1566 75-80% 16 56.00–71.50 $65.57 $1,027 —
1573–1930 1730 75-80% 10 73.00–77.50 $75.42 $1,305 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–2055 1609 8 57.00–86.00 $77.59 $1,248 —
1343–2305 1764 35 70.00–95.00 $83.89 $1,480 —
980–2385 1907 11 85.00–103.00 $96.29 $1,836 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1163–1250 1214 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 19 660.00–710.00 $692.35
1371 1371 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 935.00 $935.00

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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.