Cattle Market Pulse

Livestock Exchange Cattle Auction (Thursday) Market Report

Brush, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 2, 2021

1,987 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,987 1,596 1,198
Feeder cattle 214 130 0
Slaughter cattle 1,243 1,327 682
Replacement cattle 530 139 516

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Average dress slaughter cows traded steady to 5.50 higher, while feeding cows traded 6.00 to 10.00 higher. Slaughter bulls traded 5.00 higher on a thin test. Replacement cattle traded 150.00 to 300.00 per head higher that those from two weeks ago. Dairy heifers traded 2.50 to 4.00 higher. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Today's run included a large run of slaughter cows as well as a bred cow special that were mostly younger running age cows to short term older cows. The next available report will be Thursday, December 9, 2021.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
836–1355 1069 85-90% 33 20.00–32.50 $28.11 $300 —
1075–1225 1129 85-90% 5 67.50–72.00 $69.44 $784 +2.33
930–1465 1142 85-90% 84 35.00–48.50 $44.40 $507 -22.71
940–1375 1210 85-90% 40 53.00–65.00 $57.35 $694 —
995–1460 1262 85-90% 98 49.00–60.00 $52.06 $657 +5.57
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1175–1553 1399 80-85% 61 61.00–70.00 $66.21 $926 +6.31
1254–1595 1464 80-85% 52 59.00–70.00 $62.18 $910 —
1220–1671 1496 80-85% 133 47.00–57.00 $52.52 $786 —
1490–1610 1508 80-85% 10 32.50–45.00 $36.92 $557 -13.15
1525–1570 1548 80-85% 2 71.00–73.00 $72.01 $1,115 +50.77
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1600–1791 1665 75-80% 47 65.00–76.00 $70.60 $1,175 +21.60
1608–2090 1678 75-80% 44 52.50–64.50 $54.71 $918 +5.71
1722–1785 1751 75-80% 12 39.00–51.00 $49.73 $871 -28.27
1677–1860 1779 75-80% 7 83.00–96.00 $86.73 $1,543 +8.73

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1435 1435 5 70.00 $70.00 $1,004 +12.50
1670 1670 1 85.00 $85.00 $1,420 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1095 1095 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 1,300.00 $1,300.00
1137 1137 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,425.00 $1,425.00
1164–1575 1347 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 92 800.00–1,050.00 $886.34
1073–1533 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 42 1,100.00–1,425.00 $1,296.48
1030–1588 1360 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 71 950.00–1,100.00 $1,026.22
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1181 1181 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 4 1,200.00 $1,200.00
1220–1766 1435 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 65 950.00–1,225.00 $1,069.06
1513 1513 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 1,575.00 $1,575.00
1388–1678 1558 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 41 1,500.00–1,675.00 $1,603.56
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1165–1425 1232 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 67 500.00–775.00 $670.10
1148–1365 1238 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 30 875.00–1,075.00 $964.57
1280–1402 1340 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 8 875.00–925.00 $899.97

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
693–698 695 6 90.00–92.50 $90.84 $631 —
810 810 1 97.50 $97.50 $790 —
870 870 1 95.00 $95.00 $826 —
915–941 927 23 96.00–97.50 $97.24 $901 —
970–999 984 25 96.50–98.00 $97.12 $956 +2.62
1000–1015 1002 18 97.50–98.00 $97.69 $979 +3.32
1055–1096 1079 19 95.00–98.00 $96.69 $1,043 +2.53
1105–1139 1119 32 97.00–98.50 $97.74 $1,094 +3.74
1163–1190 1171 15 98.00–98.50 $98.23 $1,150 +4.38
1200–1235 1214 6 95.00–98.50 $96.68 $1,174 +2.68
1261 1261 2 91.00 $91.00 $1,148 —
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
620 620 1 70.00 $70.00 $434 —
690 690 5 70.00 $70.00 $483 —
724 724 4 75.00 $75.00 $543 —
750–792 777 30 70.00–75.00 $71.44 $555 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
777 777 5 85.00 $85.00 $660 —
836 836 7 81.00 $81.00 $677 —
1065–1078 1074 3 85.00–89.00 $86.32 $927 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1484 1484 5 85.00 $85.00 $1,261 —
1645 1645 1 98.00 $98.00 $1,612 —

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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.