La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, May 1, 2024

1,517 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $266.63/cwt -10.37 vs last sale · ≈ $1,397/hd at 524 lb · 39 head

light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $293.94/cwt +1.05 vs last sale · ≈ $1,185/hd at 403 lb · 35 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $295.25/cwt -21.29 vs last sale · ≈ $1,697/hd at 575 lb · 34 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,517	1,123	1,342
Feeder cattle	954	774	871
Slaughter cattle	241	215	150
Replacement cattle	322	134	321

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was moderate. Feeder steers sold on a noticeable lower trend across all weight classes. Feeder heifers under 600lbs sold 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers over 600lbs sold 1.00 lower. Slaughter cows sold unevenly steady across all weight classes and slaughter bulls sold 1.00 higher. The next feeder calf and slaughter cow sale will be next Wednesday May 8, 2024.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
295–297	296	5	363.00–374.00	$369.62	$1,094	—
356–383	371	16	345.00–348.00	$346.74	$1,286	—
419	419	4	349.00	$349.00	$1,462	—
458–483	472	24	312.00–317.00	$313.71	$1,481	—
503–549	518	21	304.00–306.00	$305.29	$1,581	—
575	575	2	272.00	$272.00	$1,564	—
753	753	13	219.00	$219.00	$1,649	—
862	862	18	206.50	$206.50	$1,780	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
338	338	9	325.00	$325.00	$1,098	—
427–447	432	24	317.00–325.00	$322.93	$1,395	+9.93
475	475	3	306.00	$306.00	$1,454	—
541	541	6	281.00	$281.00	$1,520	—
573–590	584	8	236.00–266.00	$254.95	$1,489	—
603	603	4	235.00	$235.00	$1,417	—
685	685	2	211.00	$211.00	$1,445	—
803–837	833	29	191.00–193.00	$192.80	$1,606	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
387	387	3	364.00	$364.00	$1,409	-12.42
450–468	457	5	321.00–323.00	$322.18	$1,472	-20.20
556 value added	556	14	301.00–307.00	$305.29	$1,697	-22.71
560–592	588	20	286.00–291.00	$288.23	$1,695	-20.52
600–618	608	17	281.00–294.00	$286.10	$1,739	+0.10
608 value added	608	7	301.00	$301.00	$1,830	—
650 fancy	650	4	290.00	$290.00	$1,885	—
692	692	3	256.00	$256.00	$1,772	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
376	376	4	332.00	$332.00	$1,248	—
475 thin fleshed	475	11	310.00	$310.00	$1,472	—
494	494	6	293.00	$293.00	$1,447	—
503–528	509	8	291.00–292.00	$291.74	$1,485	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
286	286	4	321.00	$321.00	$918	-18.00
318–343	328	19	295.00–301.00	$298.33	$979	-15.79
350 value added	350	7	302.00	$302.00	$1,057	—
370–394	382	8	287.00–295.00	$290.87	$1,111	—
400–405	403	35	287.00–297.00	$293.94	$1,185	+1.05
488	488	18	271.00–272.00	$271.28	$1,324	-3.54
506–533	524	39	261.00–270.00	$266.63	$1,397	-10.37
559–585	566	8	251.00–257.00	$252.55	$1,429	+1.34
642	642	9	231.00	$231.00	$1,483	+0.50
651	651	8	228.00	$228.00	$1,484	+5.53

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
432	432	5	311.00	$311.00	$1,344	—
466–485	473	25	291.00–301.00	$298.22	$1,411	+2.71
545	545	2	285.00	$285.00	$1,553	—
593–597	594	17	268.00–270.00	$269.41	$1,600	—
603–618	610	7	251.00–258.00	$254.69	$1,554	-0.91

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
250	250	2	300.00	$300.00	$750	—
414	414	4	266.00	$266.00	$1,101	+15.00
511–546	536	14	241.00–256.00	$245.09	$1,314	-10.53
663	663	8	216.00	$216.00	$1,432	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
387	387	6	300.00	$300.00	$1,161	—
451–460	455	9	261.00–274.00	$266.84	$1,214	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
402	402	3	251.00	$251.00	$1,009	+11.00
450–463	459	6	236.00–241.00	$237.64	$1,091	—
598	598	2	230.00	$230.00	$1,375	—
600	600	3	228.00	$228.00	$1,368	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
208	208	2	700.00	$700.00	—

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
583	583	3	251.00	$251.00	$1,463	—
715	715	2	203.00	$203.00	$1,451	—
783	783	2	185.00	$185.00	$1,449	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
472	472	5	311.00	$311.00	$1,468	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
823–910	852	85-90%	3	96.00	$96.00	$818	—
745–1298	1069	85-90%	125	101.00–133.00	$121.48	$1,299	-1.19
930–1255	1071	85-90%	4	71.00–86.00	$78.36	$839	-44.31

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1300–1490	1381	80-85%	55	106.00–134.50	$126.93	$1,753	-4.16

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1502–1630	1531	75-80%	9	111.00–128.00	$123.28	$1,887	—

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1700–1865	1783	65-75%	2	126.00–132.00	$129.14	$2,303	—
1800	1800	65-75%	1	119.50	$119.50	$2,151	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1030–2405	1666	35	118.00–165.00	$140.64	$2,343	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
694	694	(<2 yrs)	Open	4	180.00	$180.00	$1,249
702–980	783	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	44	171.00–199.00	$187.03	$1,464
727–876 thin fleshed	795	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	20	200.00–211.00	$205.50	$1,634

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
695	695	(<2 yrs)	Open	1	160.00	$160.00	$1,112
765–1245	954	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	41	150.00–165.00	$157.04	$1,498

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
813–1220	1012	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	24	122.00–147.50	$137.73	$1,394

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1094	1094	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	4	1,825.00	$1,825.00
1088–1195	1109	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	10	1,725.00–1,985.00	$1,928.99
1159	1159	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo)	4	2,100.00	$2,100.00
1180	1180	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,875.00	$1,875.00
1143–1480	1188	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	8	1,850.00–2,275.00	$2,017.57
1187–1363	1237	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	7	1,760.00–1,875.00	$1,796.20
1336	1336	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	10	1,710.00–1,825.00	$1,756.00
1207–1520	1405	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	23	1,810.00–2,035.00	$1,878.17

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
805–1160	983	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	1,425.00–1,510.00	$1,459.82
945–1065	1005	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	1,450.00–1,475.00	$1,463.25
880–1195	1038	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	4	1,510.00	$1,510.00
1045–1095	1062	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,525.00–1,575.00	$1,542.19
1165–1245	1205	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	1,425.00–1,610.00	$1,520.57

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
890	890	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	2	1,025.00	$1,025.00
835–1070	953	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	1,310.00–1,325.00	$1,318.43
1035	1035	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	1,375.00	$1,375.00
1145	1145	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,325.00	$1,325.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
900–1150	971	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	6	2,000.00–2,425.00	$2,207.70

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
765–965	838	Young (2-4 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	3	1,250.00–1,375.00	$1,328.38
720–975	868	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	1,275.00–1,725.00	$1,478.98

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1000–1150	1075	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	2,025.00–2,050.00	$2,036.63	—
1090–1440	1178	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	4	2,250.00–2,325.00	$2,302.07	—
1227	1227	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	3	1,950.00	$1,950.00	—
1158–1340	1261	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	6	2,200.00–2,575.00	$2,475.02	+207.93
1327	1327	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	22	2,225.00	$2,225.00	-200.00
1265–1376	1362	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	8	2,025.00–2,250.00	$2,051.12	—
1385	1385	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	1,925.00	$1,925.00	—
1418	1418	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	5	2,425.00	$2,425.00	+150.00
1519	1519	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	9	2,550.00	$2,550.00	—
1539	1539	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	5	2,325.00	$2,325.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
913	913	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	2	1,450.00	$1,450.00	—
653–1215	933	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	9	1,250.00–1,625.00	$1,508.28	—
1020	1020	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	Open	1	1,260.00	$1,260.00	—
1030–1110	1070	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	2	1,350.00–1,600.00	$1,479.67	—
1350	1350	Aged (>8 yrs)	Open	1	1,625.00	$1,625.00	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
745	745	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	Open	1	1,000.00	$1,000.00	—

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
750	750	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	2,025.00	$2,025.00	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
805	805	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	1	1,610.00	$1,610.00	—

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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.