Cattle Market Pulse

Livestock Exchange Cattle Auction (Thursday) Market Report

Brush, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 20, 2021

1,232 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Livestock Exchange Cattle Auction (Thursday) report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $134.00/cwt ≈ $800/hd at 597 lb · 19 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $161.00/cwt -10.00 vs last sale · ≈ $919/hd at 571 lb · 18 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $115.82/cwt ≈ $1,002/hd at 865 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,232 1,080 904
Feeder cattle 397 255 169
Slaughter cattle 730 729 512
Replacement cattle 105 96 223

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compare to last week: Slaughter cows traded steady to 1.50 lower. Slaughter bulls traded 3.75 higher. Feeding cows traded 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Feeder cattle and replacement cattle did not have enough comparisons for an accurate trend. Trade activity and demand were moderate. The next available report will be Thursday, May 27, 2021.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
481 481 6 165.00 $165.00 $794 -10.00
526 526 6 152.00 $152.00 $800 -25.00
650 650 4 137.00 $137.00 $890 —
805–840 827 8 121.50–124.50 $122.60 $1,014 —
996 996 7 112.00 $112.00 $1,116 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
571 571 18 161.00 $161.00 $919 -10.00
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935 935 6 115.00 $115.00 $1,075 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
484 484 15 145.00 $145.00 $702 —
597 597 19 134.00 $134.00 $800 —
765 765 5 112.00–115.00 $113.20 $866 —
845 845 8 111.00 $111.00 $938 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
653 653 6 134.00 $134.00 $875 +7.00
735 735 3 132.00 $132.00 $970 —
788 788 6 123.50 $123.50 $973 —
850–872 865 15 115.00–117.50 $115.82 $1,002 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
450 450 9 137.00 $137.00 $616 —
554 554 6 125.00 $125.00 $692 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1143–1665 1377 80-85% 106 62.00–73.00 $67.75 $933 -0.93
1195–1765 1441 80-85% 48 62.00–73.00 $64.69 $932 —
1120–1820 1503 80-85% 172 51.00–61.50 $57.06 $858 —
1435–1800 1592 80-85% 9 40.00–48.00 $44.45 $708 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1074–1135 1086 85-90% 12 71.00–71.50 $71.37 $775 +19.35
995–1240 1132 85-90% 25 57.00–69.50 $61.78 $699 -3.38
915–1554 1147 85-90% 58 44.00–54.50 $50.71 $582 -14.45
955–1355 1150 85-90% 44 55.00–65.00 $58.96 $678 +20.66
915–1350 1239 85-90% 21 25.00–42.50 $38.66 $479 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1815 1684 75-80% 32 64.50–74.50 $69.84 $1,176 —
1663–1803 1741 75-80% 24 52.00–62.50 $58.43 $1,017 -11.16

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1059 1059 4 98.00 $98.00 $1,038 —
1080–1225 1169 5 62.50–84.00 $75.26 $880 —
865–1236 1183 7 87.50–94.00 $93.32 $1,104 —
1310–2485 1601 12 78.50–87.00 $84.24 $1,349 —
1236–2585 1849 27 88.00–95.50 $92.87 $1,717 —
1931–2340 2004 7 98.50–108.00 $100.30 $2,010 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
915–1225 1060 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 70.00–78.00 $75.17 $797
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
835–920 878 (<2 yrs)Open 2 113.00–118.00 $115.38 $1,013
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–1030 978 (<2 yrs)Open 2 101.00–105.00 $102.89 $1,006

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1471 1471 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,100.00 $1,100.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1165–1326 1260 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 11 1,225.00–1,375.00 $1,319.40 —
1321 1321 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 7 1,200.00 $1,200.00 —
1212–1650 1419 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 43 1,025.00–1,335.00 $1,201.31 —
1368–1547 1458 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 1,425.00–1,575.00 $1,495.39 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–990 986 10 82.50–84.00 $83.60 $824 —
1004–1037 1025 13 82.50–84.50 $83.35 $854 —
1050–1098 1076 17 83.50–84.50 $83.59 $899 -1.41
1140 1140 3 83.00–84.00 $83.33 $950 —
1155–1170 1158 9 82.00–84.50 $83.66 $969 —
1203–1245 1226 9 82.50–84.00 $83.33 $1,022 -1.44
1280–1290 1287 6 82.00–84.00 $83.33 $1,072 -0.67
1300 1300 2 82.50 $82.50 $1,072 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
578 578 9 65.00 $65.00 $376 -3.00
746 746 20 73.50 $73.50 $548 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–840 838 2 78.00–80.00 $79.00 $662 -4.00
905–915 910 5 74.00–81.00 $77.60 $706 -6.43
1125–1135 1130 3 74.00–78.00 $76.33 $863 -8.00

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1166 1166 (<2 yrs)Open 9 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.