Cattle Market Pulse

La Junta Livestock Commision Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 11, 2024

3,856 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $403.37/cwt +1.14 vs last sale · ≈ $1,674/hd at 415 lb · 269 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $295.09/cwt +3.99 vs last sale · ≈ $1,535/hd at 520 lb · 252 head
heavy 3-weight M&L 1 steers $426.38/cwt -11.90 vs last sale · ≈ $1,607/hd at 377 lb · 249 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,856 3,754 2,663
Feeder cattle 3,821 3,754 2,641
Replacement cattle 35 — 22

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers under 650lbs sold 2.00 to 7.00 higher with instances of sharply higher. Steers over 650lbs sold mostly 5.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder heifers sold mostly 2.00 to 9.00 higher with instances of sharply higher across all weight classes. The next feeder calf sale will be next Wednesday December 18, 2024.

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
231 231 4 425.00 $425.00 $982 —
263–298 280 113 425.00–462.50 $451.53 $1,264 —
300–349 332 68 420.00–470.00 $449.94 $1,494 +47.40
351–394 377 249 410.00–450.00 $426.38 $1,607 -11.90
400–427 415 269 392.50–415.00 $403.37 $1,674 +1.14
450–498 477 105 340.00–385.00 $356.48 $1,700 +6.28
500–548 523 227 311.00–344.00 $329.08 $1,721 +6.82
559–597 576 171 296.00–327.00 $307.05 $1,769 +4.68
605–639 619 169 276.00–291.00 $282.04 $1,746 -7.47
664–684 675 90 261.00–276.00 $268.51 $1,812 -6.52
701–729 722 93 251.00–265.00 $258.45 $1,866 +7.36
792 792 6 230.00 $230.00 $1,822 -19.13
802–828 813 30 226.00–241.50 $236.84 $1,926 —
885 885 3 231.00 $231.00 $2,044 -5.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 2 445.00 $445.00 $1,246 —
313 313 2 420.00 $420.00 $1,315 —
387–392 391 52 417.50–425.00 $422.86 $1,653 —
429 429 4 390.00 $390.00 $1,673 +10.02
458–495 487 75 325.00–337.50 $335.12 $1,632 -14.88
514 514 44 305.00 $305.00 $1,568 —
576 576 49 294.00–309.00 $303.18 $1,746 +20.18
603–634 626 12 278.00–295.00 $282.09 $1,766 —
668 668 15 258.00 $258.00 $1,723 +3.00
700–713 708 27 248.00–255.00 $252.44 $1,787 —
795 795 10 231.00 $231.00 $1,836 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
372–399 384 23 390.00–405.00 $397.03 $1,525 —
403–448 436 11 361.00–375.00 $367.45 $1,602 -9.46
477 477 3 331.00 $331.00 $1,579 —
520–548 539 27 291.00–305.00 $298.93 $1,611 —
568–598 578 67 271.00–289.00 $284.49 $1,644 —
616–642 627 74 261.00–271.00 $266.35 $1,670 +3.60
680–696 691 9 246.00–254.00 $251.79 $1,740 -8.89
727 727 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,781 +4.00
768 768 2 202.00 $202.00 $1,551 -22.00
848 848 2 218.00 $218.00 $1,849 —
903 903 2 197.00 $197.00 $1,779 —
967 967 3 196.00 $196.00 $1,895 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–398 375 13 350.00–390.00 $368.76 $1,383 —
490 490 7 315.00 $315.00 $1,544 +14.00
596 596 5 280.00 $280.00 $1,669 —
649 649 27 255.00 $255.00 $1,655 —
710 710 12 233.00 $233.00 $1,654 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
389 389 16 281.00 $281.00 $1,093 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
278–292 283 15 375.00–415.00 $393.83 $1,115 +4.98
304–322 314 55 385.00–405.00 $394.42 $1,238 +33.87
350–392 372 110 332.50–355.00 $346.43 $1,289 -3.46
402–448 433 90 310.00–342.50 $328.74 $1,423 +9.79
460–498 480 169 295.00–315.00 $304.66 $1,462 +8.68
506–529 517 207 271.00–300.00 $289.68 $1,498 +1.29
535 fancy 535 45 320.00 $320.00 $1,712 -5.00
557–596 583 180 250.00–272.50 $263.85 $1,538 +3.70
601–643 616 158 240.00–262.50 $256.82 $1,582 +5.52
653–663 657 19 246.00–252.00 $249.38 $1,638 +3.78
713–746 735 17 230.00–236.00 $231.66 $1,703 -1.67
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
242 242 6 355.00 $355.00 $859 —
329–335 331 8 335.00–342.50 $337.84 $1,118 —
359–399 377 86 292.50–327.50 $308.87 $1,164 -16.13
423–441 431 15 297.50–302.00 $300.33 $1,294 +5.33
454–498 467 48 271.00–281.00 $275.86 $1,288 +24.86
515–548 524 34 255.00–261.00 $259.23 $1,358 -1.77
751–756 754 8 211.00–221.00 $216.02 $1,629 —
800 800 2 201.00 $201.00 $1,608 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
318–347 337 24 345.00–355.00 $348.14 $1,173 +33.14
356–381 373 13 301.00–315.00 $305.11 $1,138 —
449 449 21 307.50 $307.50 $1,381 —
460 460 5 262.50 $262.50 $1,208 —
522–541 531 19 250.00–256.00 $252.90 $1,343 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
383 383 13 335.00 $335.00 $1,283 —
405 405 3 332.50 $332.50 $1,347 —
535 535 22 295.00 $295.00 $1,578 +28.38
567–598 580 26 249.00–262.50 $256.06 $1,485 +3.96
603–607 606 8 252.00–253.00 $252.25 $1,529 +3.11
683 683 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,639 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
403 403 4 270.00 $270.00 $1,088 —
496 496 5 254.00 $254.00 $1,260 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
333 333 2 435.00 $435.00 $1,449 —
373 373 6 425.00 $425.00 $1,585 +20.00
492 492 18 332.50 $332.50 $1,636 -22.59

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
775–999 879 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 32 165.00–182.50 $171.49 $1,507
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
853–895 867 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 3 145.00–150.00 $148.28 $1,286

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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.