Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 17, 2021

811 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest La Junta Livestock Commision report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $145.00/cwt -6.77 vs last sale · ≈ $764/hd at 527 lb · 66 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $149.77/cwt ≈ $631/hd at 421 lb · 51 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $175.00/cwt +2.00 vs last sale · ≈ $947/hd at 541 lb · 38 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 811 1,208 0
Feeder cattle 747 992 0
Slaughter cattle 50 141 0
Replacement cattle 14 75 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Wednesday: All weights feeder steers and heifers in a light test mostly steady on the kind offered. Slaughter cows 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls steady. Demand moderate.

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 —
352–357 353 35 191.00 $191.00 $674 —
410–419 413 12 181.00 $181.00 $748 —
541 541 38 175.00 $175.00 $947 +2.00
711 711 4 134.00 $134.00 $953 -1.00
818 818 4 127.00 $127.00 $1,039 +1.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 6 181.00 $181.00 $708 -8.48
476–494 486 11 170.00–171.00 $170.55 $829 -0.45
510 510 19 158.50 $158.50 $808 +0.18
590 590 10 153.00 $153.00 $903 ±0.00

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 5 153.00 $153.00 $711 -2.87
500–547 527 66 141.00–151.00 $145.00 $764 -6.77
559–585 568 15 137.00–143.00 $140.94 $801 +2.37
606–627 620 15 136.00–140.50 $139.03 $862 +6.50
664 664 10 132.00 $132.00 $876 -1.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 14 155.00 $155.00 $527 —
405–427 421 51 147.00–153.00 $149.77 $631 —
478–492 486 18 146.00 $146.00 $710 —

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Feeder Bulls

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 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1080–1235 1136 80-85% 13 64.00–67.00 $66.19 $752 +9.18
1020–1270 1151 80-85% 7 61.00–63.50 $61.85 $712 +0.37
1235 1235 80-85% 1 71.00 $71.00 $877 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1419 1385 75-80% 13 65.50–68.00 $67.51 $935 —
1405–1525 1473 75-80% 3 69.00–70.00 $69.66 $1,026 —
1630 1630 75-80% 1 63.00 $63.00 $1,027 —
Lean ($/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 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1465–1645 1582 5 73.00–79.00 $75.17 $1,189 +4.41
1610–2005 1697 5 81.00–83.50 $81.95 $1,391 —

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Stock Cows

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

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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.