Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 14, 2022

784 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $181.00/cwt ≈ $845/hd at 467 lb · 22 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $192.07/cwt -11.70 vs last sale · ≈ $985/hd at 513 lb · 22 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 steers $189.62/cwt ≈ $920/hd at 485 lb · 22 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 784 958 0
Feeder cattle 566 708 0
Slaughter cattle 218 175 0
Replacement cattle — 75 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder cattle and calves too lightly tested last week for a comparison this week. Slaughter cows steady to 2.00 lower decline on breaker's and boner's. Slaughter bulls mostly steady.

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
322–340 329 5 224.00–225.00 $224.59 $739 -14.91
362–383 373 11 219.00–220.00 $219.56 $819 -19.44
404–405 fancy 404 8 213.00–216.00 $213.75 $864 —
409–439 419 6 206.00–209.00 $207.95 $871 -0.89
462–467 466 13 206.00–208.00 $206.46 $962 +0.46
503–528 513 22 191.00–193.00 $192.07 $985 -11.70
612 unweaned 612 11 185.00 $185.00 $1,132 —
700–730 717 9 173.00 $173.00 $1,240 +1.09
769 769 5 169.00 $169.00 $1,300 +1.77
886 886 16 160.00 $160.00 $1,418 —
915 915 13 156.00 $156.00 $1,427 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465–494 485 22 186.00–195.00 $189.62 $920 —
538–545 544 16 184.00–187.00 $185.12 $1,007 —
590 590 3 181.00 $181.00 $1,068 +2.00
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
421 421 7 173.00 $173.00 $728 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
319 319 4 202.00 $202.00 $644 —
364 364 6 195.00 $195.00 $710 -14.00
408–446 439 13 184.00–189.00 $187.84 $825 -19.16
456–472 467 22 181.00 $181.00 $845 —
546 546 9 175.00 $175.00 $956 -0.85
558–562 561 16 168.00–174.00 $169.49 $951 —
629 unweaned 629 6 163.00 $163.00 $1,025 —
693 693 5 166.00 $166.00 $1,150 -6.28
695 unweaned 695 7 163.00 $163.00 $1,133 —
707 707 3 156.00 $156.00 $1,103 —
855 855 14 154.00 $154.00 $1,317 -8.01
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 10 173.00 $173.00 $834 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1035–1310 1172 80-85% 6 73.00–79.00 $75.92 $890 -10.32
1170–1225 1190 80-85% 31 81.00–84.00 $82.75 $985 -3.49
1105–1352 1244 80-85% 34 81.00–87.00 $83.69 $1,041 +6.74
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–1355 992 85-90% 12 61.00–70.00 $64.60 $641 —
918–1280 1024 85-90% 17 71.00–79.00 $76.04 $779 +2.60
820–1127 1063 85-90% 18 81.00–83.00 $81.80 $870 —
1104 1104 85-90% 5 81.00 $81.00 $894 +0.83
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430–1445 1438 75-80% 2 76.00–81.00 $78.49 $1,129 -16.51
1380–1750 1483 75-80% 18 86.00–88.00 $87.33 $1,295 —
1490 1490 75-80% 1 92.00 $92.00 $1,371 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1650–1925 1818 8 103.00–109.00 $106.33 $1,933 —
1635–2035 1825 5 96.00–102.00 $98.33 $1,795 —
2175 2175 1 114.50 $114.50 $2,490 —

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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.