Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 21, 2020

1,102 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Sterling Livestock Commission report →

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $145.26/cwt -8.49 vs last sale · ≈ $832/hd at 573 lb · 149 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $142.48/cwt -13.00 vs last sale · ≈ $909/hd at 638 lb · 97 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.97/cwt -4.94 vs last sale · ≈ $742/hd at 571 lb · 90 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,102 1,878 1,550
Feeder cattle 1,046 1,863 1,550
Replacement cattle 56 15 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 550 lbs traded mostly 1.00 to 5.00 lower with instances of 12.00 lower. Steers over 550 lbs traded 8.00 to 13.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs 0.25 to 3.75 lower, while those over 600 lbs traded steady to 6.00 lower. Replacement cattle traded 150.00 per head lower when directly compared to a week ago. Trade activity and demand were moderate. The next available report will be Wednesday, October 28, 2020.

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
377 377 6 191.00 $191.00 $720 -12.84
430–448 441 10 170.00–177.00 $174.69 $770 -5.31
455–460 457 3 165.00–168.00 $166.66 $762 -1.52
502–518 509 28 155.00–161.00 $158.13 $805 -0.75
551–593 573 149 143.25–148.00 $145.26 $832 -8.49
612–643 638 97 137.00–144.25 $142.48 $909 -13.00
656–694 668 82 138.50–143.50 $141.30 $944 -9.68
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–447 439 9 160.00–167.00 $162.83 $715 -2.66
502–549 532 48 142.50–148.50 $145.16 $772 -5.57
551–598 575 40 138.00–143.00 $140.91 $810 -5.53
617–619 618 20 135.00–138.00 $137.10 $847 -11.90
671 671 12 134.50–135.00 $134.83 $905 -8.31

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
389 389 7 151.00 $151.00 $587 —
450–495 475 58 137.00–141.50 $140.38 $667 -1.06
504–546 535 71 135.00–136.75 $135.51 $725 -3.36
562–590 571 90 128.00–132.00 $129.97 $742 -4.94
613–615 614 22 125.50–128.50 $127.28 $781 -4.89
665–696 681 16 122.00–127.00 $123.89 $844 -3.12
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409–423 413 16 146.00–151.50 $150.51 $622 —
453 453 6 144.50 $144.50 $655 -0.34
505–513 510 42 141.00–144.75 $143.73 $733 -0.97
555–560 559 46 134.00–136.00 $134.56 $752 -3.82
603–631 614 40 130.00–132.00 $131.47 $807 -5.84
650–653 652 6 127.00–131.75 $130.17 $849 -3.31
706 706 4 128.00 $128.00 $904 +0.94
953–995 974 4 115.00–118.00 $116.47 $1,134 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
886 886 13 95.00 $95.00 $842 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200–1418 1246 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 41 650.00–775.00 $699.63
1285–1457 1356 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 15 810.00–950.00 $841.98

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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.