Cattle Market Pulse

Livestock Exchange Cattle Auction (Thursday) Market Report

Brush, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Thursday, May 4, 2023

865 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 865 1,663 972
Feeder cattle 178 941 248
Slaughter cattle 597 615 628
Replacement cattle 90 107 96

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Slaughter cows traded steady to 4.00 lower, while slaughter bulls traded 1.00 lower. Feeding cow and feeder dairy heifers traded steady. No other classes of cattle had enough comparable trades for an accurate trend. The next available report will be Thursday, May 11, 2023.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1245–1330 1290 80-85% 5 84.00–87.00 $85.00 $1,096 —
1280–1335 1308 80-85% 2 106.50–110.00 $108.21 $1,415 —
1265–1565 1378 80-85% 3 71.00–72.00 $71.38 $984 -35.19
1365–1410 1388 80-85% 2 105.00 $105.00 $1,457 -1.57
1265–1635 1406 80-85% 56 90.50–103.50 $99.61 $1,401 +0.76
1265–1710 1473 80-85% 73 77.00–87.50 $82.91 $1,221 -1.05
1270–1645 1473 80-85% 34 88.00–99.00 $89.59 $1,320 +5.63
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045 1045 85-90% 1 99.00 $99.00 $1,035 —
700–1298 1074 85-90% 36 71.00–84.50 $79.28 $851 -29.18
900–1217 1138 85-90% 8 99.00–106.00 $102.56 $1,167 —
930–1310 1142 85-90% 9 41.00–69.50 $62.41 $713 —
810–1275 1148 85-90% 41 85.00–95.00 $88.28 $1,013 —
1126–1261 1195 85-90% 11 87.50–95.00 $90.77 $1,085 -0.99
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–2075 1723 75-80% 21 98.50–108.50 $103.62 $1,785 —
1717–2025 1773 75-80% 29 81.00–89.00 $86.27 $1,530 -1.90

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1155 1108 11 131.00–147.00 $136.37 $1,511 —
1335–1775 1618 8 96.00–108.00 $103.45 $1,674 -1.02
1020–2295 1802 29 109.50–118.50 $114.21 $2,058 —
1940–1960 1948 3 120.00–123.50 $121.67 $2,370 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
875–1130 1031 (<2 yrs)Open 4 151.00–167.00 $158.55 $1,635
1056–1225 1088 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 131.00–141.00 $135.90 $1,479
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
960–1245 1093 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 6 117.00–122.50 $119.47 $1,306
1105–1145 1127 (<2 yrs)Open 3 137.50–148.00 $142.90 $1,610

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1250–1288 1273 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,335.00–1,525.00 $1,450.36
1295–1660 1405 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 6 1,650.00–1,675.00 $1,662.61
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1062 1062 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)All Stages (1-9 mo) 3 127.00 $127.00 $1,349
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1223 1223 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,975.00 $1,975.00

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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
1110 1110 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,800.00 $1,800.00 -1,150.00
1078–1220 1125 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 3 1,975.00–2,000.00 $1,984.03 -965.97
1165–1368 1314 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 13 1,425.00–1,600.00 $1,519.68 -580.32
1320 1320 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,425.00 $1,425.00 -675.00
1458 1458 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 3 2,000.00 $2,000.00 —
1470–1633 1600 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 5 1,700.00–1,750.00 $1,740.81 —
1795 1795 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,850.00 $1,850.00 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
955 955 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 2 1,700.00 $1,700.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
918 918 2 141.00 $141.00 $1,294 -2.00
955–993 979 12 143.00–144.50 $143.84 $1,408 +0.25
1013–1049 1035 23 144.50–145.50 $144.87 $1,499 -0.57
1087–1095 1089 4 145.50 $145.50 $1,584 -1.00
1105–1135 1121 8 144.50–146.00 $145.62 $1,632 -0.77
1158–1194 1180 10 142.00–145.50 $145.16 $1,713 +0.01
1240 1240 2 145.00 $145.00 $1,798 +3.23
1295 1295 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,826 -3.16
Large 3-4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503 503 2 117.50 $117.50 $591 —
654 654 6 117.50 $117.50 $768 —
732 732 9 122.50 $122.50 $897 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
988 988 3 156.00 $156.00 $1,541 —
1168 1168 2 152.00 $152.00 $1,775 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
505 505 1 120.00 $120.00 $606 —
798 798 2 132.50 $132.50 $1,057 —
1000 1000 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,380 +3.00
1485 1485 1 133.00 $133.00 $1,975 —
Large 4 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 87.50 $87.50 $284 —
780 780 1 82.50 $82.50 $644 —
1035 1035 1 88.50 $88.50 $916 —

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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.