Cattle Market Pulse

Livestock Exchange Cattle Auction (Thursday) Market Report

Brush, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, December 16, 2021

1,017 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $159.33/cwt ≈ $1,002/hd at 629 lb · 25 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $193.00/cwt ≈ $1,019/hd at 528 lb · 14 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $198.00/cwt ≈ $859/hd at 434 lb · 11 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,017 838 931
Feeder cattle 314 152 60
Slaughter cattle 659 587 535
Replacement cattle 44 99 336

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Slaughter cows traded steady to 5.00 higher. Slaughter bulls traded 1.00 higher on a very light test. Feeding cows traded steady to 1.00 lower. Holstein heifers traded steady, and replacement cattle traded mostly steady on a thin comparison. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. The next available report will be Thursday, December 30, 2021.

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
434 434 11 198.00 $198.00 $859 —
528 528 14 193.00 $193.00 $1,019 —
613–635 unweaned 627 11 152.00–160.00 $154.84 $971 —
615–632 630 14 162.00–163.00 $162.86 $1,026 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–386 379 11 190.00–192.50 $190.42 $722 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1475 1475 2 100.50 $100.50 $1,482 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 5 172.00 $172.00 $740 —
480 480 9 171.00 $171.00 $821 —
540 540 5 159.00 $159.00 $859 —
1018 1018 10 125.00 $125.00 $1,272 —
1079 1079 5 124.00 $124.00 $1,338 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
713 713 5 134.00 $134.00 $955 —
862 862 6 130.00 $130.00 $1,121 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1355–1625 1490 2 82.00–85.00 $83.36 $1,242 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1350 1350 80-85% 1 75.00 $75.00 $1,012 —
1185–1605 1380 80-85% 104 62.00–72.50 $65.93 $910 —
1350–1655 1440 80-85% 13 32.00–44.00 $34.93 $503 -27.10
1255–1650 1441 80-85% 66 47.00–59.50 $57.04 $822 -4.99
1245–1673 1497 80-85% 151 60.00–68.50 $62.20 $931 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1036 1036 85-90% 5 68.00 $68.00 $704 —
790–1410 1130 85-90% 17 20.00–35.00 $27.77 $314 —
919–1291 1134 85-90% 58 55.50–65.00 $58.07 $659 —
935–1475 1182 85-90% 19 36.00–49.00 $40.95 $484 -18.56
1115–1253 1225 85-90% 5 62.50–68.00 $63.50 $778 +12.77
900–1525 1258 85-90% 49 50.00–61.00 $55.96 $704 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1520–1980 1716 75-80% 70 64.00–75.00 $68.12 $1,169 +9.86
1605–1900 1725 75-80% 68 58.00–63.00 $61.47 $1,060 +3.21
1795 1795 75-80% 1 76.50 $76.50 $1,373 +35.95

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–2235 1895 9 79.00–86.50 $83.96 $1,591 —
1650–2365 1948 7 87.50–90.50 $88.98 $1,733 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1010–1225 1032 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 10 80.00–82.50 $82.20 $848
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
815–1208 1040 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 71.00–79.00 $72.49 $754

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1358–1462 1385 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 15 1,175.00–1,275.00 $1,219.94
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1255–1455 1322 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 650.00–775.00 $695.87

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
873–875 875 14 96.00–97.00 $96.79 $847 +0.79
910–929 925 5 98.00 $98.00 $906 +1.04
952–978 963 9 96.00–98.00 $97.34 $937 -0.39
1027–1045 1036 23 97.50–98.00 $97.93 $1,015 +2.43
1062–1082 1072 29 96.00–99.00 $98.13 $1,052 +0.30
1109–1115 1110 7 95.00–97.00 $96.71 $1,073 -1.29
1208–1227 1215 19 97.00–98.50 $98.16 $1,193 +0.38
1290–1295 1292 8 94.00–98.00 $95.88 $1,239 -2.12
1317 1317 5 98.00 $98.00 $1,291 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 2 62.50 $62.50 $314 —

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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.