Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 23, 2022

665 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 3-weight M&L 1 steers $226.30/cwt +5.25 vs last sale · ≈ $833/hd at 368 lb · 31 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $159.19/cwt +1.25 vs last sale · ≈ $890/hd at 559 lb · 20 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $133.00/cwt -16.47 vs last sale · ≈ $1,049/hd at 789 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 665 1,349 431
Feeder cattle 423 1,027 378
Slaughter cattle 242 322 53

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Wednesday: No trend is available this week due to the light receipts of feeder cattle. Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady. Trade and 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
352–388 368 31 222.00–230.00 $226.30 $833 +5.25
440 440 16 211.00 $211.00 $928 -4.02
452–498 479 19 212.00–219.00 $215.34 $1,031 -4.23
505 505 8 214.00 $214.00 $1,081 +8.39
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
437 437 11 206.00 $206.00 $900 —
473–493 484 9 204.00–206.00 $205.13 $993 +5.13
545 545 15 197.00 $197.00 $1,074 —
616 616 7 164.00 $164.00 $1,010 -2.00
727 727 6 146.00 $146.00 $1,061 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 4 181.00 $181.00 $666 -5.00
428–432 429 13 171.00–177.00 $172.39 $740 -11.61
540 540 7 167.00 $167.00 $902 +2.41
550–583 559 20 154.00–162.00 $159.19 $890 +1.25
703 703 6 139.00 $139.00 $977 -7.68
789 789 19 133.00 $133.00 $1,049 -16.47
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
453 453 8 157.00 $157.00 $711 —
650 650 3 134.00 $134.00 $871 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
85–90 88 2 300.00 $300.00 —
105–125 117 6 260.00–325.00 $298.75 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
536–544 540 9 181.00–187.00 $183.64 $992 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
125–130 128 2 400.00–425.00 $412.25 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1335 1149 80-85% 22 82.00–86.00 $83.14 $955 —
1080–1285 1150 80-85% 8 74.00–81.00 $77.49 $891 —
980–1253 1162 80-85% 30 81.00–84.00 $83.29 $968 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860–1145 1004 85-90% 9 70.00–75.00 $72.21 $725 —
1000–1068 1039 85-90% 3 78.00–82.00 $79.69 $828 —
860–1114 1056 85-90% 15 75.00–81.00 $76.35 $806 -2.88
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1610 1427 75-80% 5 83.00–85.00 $83.66 $1,194 —
1765 1765 75-80% 1 81.00 $81.00 $1,430 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1740 1740 1 101.00 $101.00 $1,757 —
1540–1970 1808 4 102.00–110.50 $106.41 $1,924 —

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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.