Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 29, 2023

4,902 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $185.54/cwt +8.59 vs last sale · ≈ $1,255/hd at 677 lb · 291 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $235.41/cwt +1.70 vs last sale · ≈ $1,367/hd at 581 lb · 189 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $202.63/cwt +18.45 vs last sale · ≈ $1,451/hd at 716 lb · 189 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,902 1,060 5,712
Feeder cattle 4,655 909 5,498
Slaughter cattle 237 151 214
Replacement cattle 10 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were good. Feeder steers under 600 lbs traded 5.00 to 10.00 higher, while those over 600 lbs traded 4.00 to 18.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded sharply higher and those over 600 lbs traded 3.00 to 12.00 higher. Slaughter cows traded 2.00 to 5.00 higher and slaughter bulls traded steady. Today's run consisted of many larger consignments with cattle that packaged very uniformly across all the weight ranges. Most of the cattle had multiple rounds of vaccinations and were typically weaned 45 or more days. The next available report will be Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

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
345 345 2 287.50 $287.50 $992 —
351–385 368 24 285.00–290.00 $285.60 $1,051 —
435–446 445 30 278.00–288.00 $286.70 $1,276 —
450–482 469 85 267.00–278.00 $272.09 $1,276 —
500–538 517 92 253.00–266.00 $260.96 $1,349 —
573 573 42 220.50 $220.50 $1,263 -13.21
563–593 583 147 237.00–243.00 $239.67 $1,397 +5.96
614 fancy 614 26 243.00 $243.00 $1,492 —
603–640 628 52 225.00–234.00 $229.28 $1,440 +4.28
701–747 716 189 199.50–205.00 $202.63 $1,451 +18.45
759–795 765 121 188.50–197.00 $194.43 $1,487 —
801–824 813 140 185.50–197.50 $188.90 $1,536 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
282 282 3 285.00 $285.00 $804 —
355–387 378 18 270.00–279.00 $272.21 $1,029 +12.25
401–440 421 37 250.00–268.00 $258.34 $1,088 —
463–489 470 48 251.00–261.00 $254.84 $1,198 +5.12
513–544 533 38 240.00–249.00 $245.87 $1,310 +16.87
591 591 49 232.00–235.00 $232.67 $1,375 +10.63
602–641 628 38 206.00–220.00 $211.84 $1,330 —
675–698 681 90 201.00–205.00 $202.27 $1,377 —
724–749 732 150 186.00–191.50 $190.62 $1,395 —
838 838 29 183.50 $183.50 $1,538 —
890–898 891 44 179.00–179.50 $179.43 $1,599 —
900 900 57 179.00 $179.00 $1,611 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 15 221.00 $221.00 $1,023 —
555–581 572 64 206.00–214.00 $210.18 $1,202 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 1 245.00 $245.00 $1,066 —
523–533 530 14 236.00–239.00 $238.15 $1,262 —
628–648 636 15 198.00 $198.00 $1,259 —
680–682 682 13 184.00–187.00 $184.38 $1,257 —
791 791 14 166.50 $166.50 $1,317 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–298 292 3 226.00–231.00 $229.40 $670 —
326–343 331 11 220.00–224.00 $221.64 $734 —
355–397 381 24 217.00–228.00 $221.28 $843 —
402–448 423 40 210.00–224.00 $217.12 $918 —
450–496 468 117 208.00–227.00 $219.35 $1,027 +19.35
506–543 521 112 199.00–213.00 $208.66 $1,087 +14.79
532 532 8 224.00 $224.00 $1,192 +30.13
550–595 569 44 190.00–206.00 $198.59 $1,130 +7.59
564–592 574 140 209.00–212.50 $211.02 $1,211 +20.02
606–639 631 100 189.00–199.00 $193.44 $1,221 +12.17
650–673 652 44 187.50–189.00 $187.71 $1,224 +10.76
650–699 680 216 175.00–184.00 $182.30 $1,240 +5.35
688 fancy 688 31 205.00 $205.00 $1,410 —
703–745 730 80 173.00–184.00 $179.07 $1,307 +3.57
737 737 10 190.00 $190.00 $1,400 +14.50
750–796 778 183 170.00–181.00 $177.54 $1,381 +9.54
805–830 808 9 170.00–176.00 $173.98 $1,406 —
850–885 879 20 163.00–171.00 $169.93 $1,494 —
901–944 923 23 160.00–162.00 $160.93 $1,485 —
950–963 962 9 151.00 $151.00 $1,453 —
977 977 17 166.00 $166.00 $1,622 —
1023 1023 6 145.00 $145.00 $1,483 —
1061 1061 19 145.50 $145.50 $1,544 —
1105–1129 1126 7 120.50–121.00 $120.57 $1,358 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365 365 1 215.00 $215.00 $785 —
400–449 422 12 195.00–207.00 $202.22 $853 -0.97
460–493 465 14 197.00–207.00 $205.48 $955 +18.82
551–594 584 96 181.00–195.00 $188.34 $1,100 —
611–646 631 26 178.00–185.00 $181.34 $1,144 —
710–743 723 10 166.00–171.00 $169.11 $1,223 —
770–790 782 3 165.00–168.00 $166.34 $1,301 —
845–848 847 3 152.00–161.00 $158.01 $1,338 -5.49
908 908 6 149.00 $149.00 $1,353 -6.00
1180 1180 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,298 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
283–293 285 13 206.00–211.00 $207.18 $590 —
433 433 2 191.00 $191.00 $827 —
494 494 13 191.00 $191.00 $944 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
418 418 3 271.00 $271.00 $1,133 —
467 467 3 245.00 $245.00 $1,144 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
785–1135 988 85-90% 16 67.00–80.00 $73.39 $725 -1.60
680–1133 1020 85-90% 12 61.00–65.00 $61.67 $629 —
985–1190 1090 85-90% 27 92.00–106.00 $95.76 $1,044 —
875–1230 1144 85-90% 48 81.00–91.00 $87.32 $999 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1380 1289 80-85% 24 101.00–108.00 $102.61 $1,323 +6.42
1205–1462 1333 80-85% 50 90.00–100.00 $94.79 $1,264 —
1495 1495 80-85% 2 76.00–87.50 $81.75 $1,222 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1425–1835 1645 75-80% 3 96.00–103.00 $99.14 $1,631 —
1905 1905 75-80% 1 83.00 $83.00 $1,581 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1001–1210 1040 17 105.00–114.00 $111.77 $1,162 —
1050–1890 1316 5 86.00–102.00 $94.75 $1,247 —
1085–2035 1539 16 103.00–111.00 $105.88 $1,629 —
1725 1725 1 115.50 $115.50 $1,992 +4.01

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1135 1135 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 1,085.00 $1,085.00

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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.