Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 7, 2021

980 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 3 steers $63.00/cwt ≈ $445/hd at 706 lb · 42 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $185.00/cwt -5.50 vs last sale · ≈ $857/hd at 463 lb · 27 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $151.78/cwt -9.36 vs last sale · ≈ $662/hd at 436 lb · 18 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 980 5,062 1,279
Feeder cattle 761 5,009 1,034
Slaughter cattle 118 53 18
Replacement cattle 101 — 227

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Wednesday: Feeder steers and heifers lightly tested. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter bulls steady. Trade activity and demand moderate.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
337 337 3 195.00 $195.00 $657 —
381–396 391 11 186.00–191.00 $187.77 $734 —
462–464 463 27 185.00 $185.00 $857 -5.50
518–536 533 7 171.00 $171.00 $911 -14.74
Medium and Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
706 706 42 63.00 $63.00 $445 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 3 201.00 $201.00 $724 -14.08
537 537 12 187.00 $187.00 $1,004 -8.83
704 704 7 147.49 $147.49 $1,038 -0.13
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
587 587 9 171.00 $171.00 $1,004 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
356–360 357 8 169.00–170.00 $169.25 $604 —
435–441 436 18 151.00–152.00 $151.78 $662 -9.36
552–556 555 12 143.00–144.00 $143.75 $798 -2.34
684 684 4 134.00 $134.00 $917 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
90 90 1 210.00 $210.00 —
130 130 1 385.00 $385.00 —
175–190 185 3 410.00–435.00 $417.88 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
105–125 115 2 325.00–385.00 $352.39 —
155–180 165 3 325.00–500.00 $396.72 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1305 1102 80-85% 12 60.00–64.50 $63.64 $701 —
1098–1285 1186 80-85% 20 66.50–70.50 $67.88 $805 —
968–1850 1219 80-85% 7 72.00–77.00 $74.18 $904 +11.18
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
740–1025 925 85-90% 5 46.00–51.00 $49.01 $453 —
875–1240 1025 85-90% 5 63.00–66.00 $64.32 $659 +2.21
920–1395 1074 85-90% 14 53.00–59.00 $56.39 $606 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1310–1555 1399 75-80% 11 67.00–69.00 $68.15 $953 —
1425–1480 1443 75-80% 6 73.00–75.00 $73.83 $1,065 —
1285–1770 1588 75-80% 7 62.00–65.00 $63.38 $1,006 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1560–2020 1744 10 84.50–89.00 $86.63 $1,511 —
1605–1850 1755 4 78.00–81.50 $79.42 $1,394 —
1745–2205 1911 7 90.50–96.00 $92.68 $1,771 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–1360 1056 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 4 62.00–71.00 $65.75 $694

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 2-3 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
750–774 767 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 26 650.00–675.00 $657.53 —
700–880 770 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 27 560.00–625.00 $579.13 —
800–950 834 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 43 610.00–635.00 $627.17 —

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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.