Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 11, 2020

1,742 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $173.29/cwt +14.85 vs last sale · ≈ $908/hd at 524 lb · 168 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $160.33/cwt +9.51 vs last sale · ≈ $927/hd at 578 lb · 163 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $186.15/cwt +11.58 vs last sale · ≈ $864/hd at 464 lb · 116 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,742	1,456	2,764
Feeder cattle	1,691	1,446	2,734
Replacement cattle	51	10	30

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 600 lbs traded mostly steady to 9.50 higher, while those over 600 lbs traded 8.25 to 12.75 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded 2.50 to 7.00 higher and heifers weighing over 600 lbs traded 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Replacement cattle were steady on like comparisons. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Today's run consisted of calves and yearling cattle that had multiple rounds of vaccinations, with weaning times of 30-60 days. Slaughter cattle were not reported due to reporter availability due to the Veteran's day holiday.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
315–326	324	5	196.00–200.00	$199.22	$645	—
438–441	439	16	180.00–184.00	$181.69	$798	—
456 fancy	456	69	193.50	$193.50	$882	—
454–495	476	47	169.00–181.00	$175.35	$835	+0.78
521 fancy	521	101	180.00	$180.00	$938	—
503–543	528	67	160.00–168.00	$163.17	$862	+4.73
550–595	578	163	157.00–165.00	$160.33	$927	+9.51
605–645	620	70	153.00–160.25	$156.79	$972	+8.29
651–676	667	84	152.00–158.25	$156.57	$1,044	+9.57
701 unweaned	701	35	148.00	$148.00	$1,037	—
711–743	729	45	154.00–157.50	$156.24	$1,139	+12.74
765–769	768	11	152.00–156.50	$153.22	$1,177	—
885	885	29	138.00	$138.00	$1,221	—
1039	1039	4	131.00	$131.00	$1,361	—
1079	1079	5	125.00	$125.00	$1,349	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
319–345	324	5	187.00–194.00	$188.49	$611	—
383–399	396	18	183.00–188.00	$186.92	$740	—
408–446	430	21	166.00–176.50	$173.62	$747	+5.57
450–496	483	11	163.00–166.50	$165.61	$800	+5.28
502–543	526	26	152.00–159.00	$154.97	$815	+12.22
560–580	569	26	145.00–154.50	$151.69	$863	+7.61
603–626	608	19	144.00–151.00	$146.84	$893	+1.34
661–699	674	33	138.00–143.00	$140.24	$945	-2.07
775	775	11	135.00	$135.00	$1,046	-1.00
838	838	10	132.00	$132.00	$1,106	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
499	499	8	154.50	$154.50	$771	—
710	710	10	130.00	$130.00	$923	—

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
946	946	5	128.00	$128.00	$1,211	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
353–398	386	18	158.50–161.00	$160.13	$618	—
402–448	425	44	149.00–154.50	$152.03	$646	+5.03
454–483	473	68	146.50–153.50	$149.84	$709	+4.87
500–547	528	91	142.50–149.00	$145.10	$766	+7.06
559–593	579	71	137.50–144.25	$139.94	$810	+2.78
613–645	623	57	135.00–139.75	$135.73	$846	+0.98
652–670	659	29	139.00–146.50	$143.15	$943	—
830	830	10	126.00	$126.00	$1,046	—
969	969	4	127.50	$127.50	$1,235	—
1017	1017	10	126.00	$126.00	$1,281	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
350–378	360	11	149.00–155.00	$152.29	$548	+4.94
409	409	18	136.00	$136.00	$556	-5.36
454–496	486	17	138.00–143.00	$140.90	$685	+5.63
503–549	521	65	137.00–139.00	$138.32	$721	+6.48
552–575	560	14	130.00–135.50	$133.53	$748	+8.32
608–630	623	37	128.00–130.50	$129.67	$808	—
673–694	689	22	121.00–129.00	$127.38	$878	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
383	383	6	134.00	$134.00	$513	—
409	409	18	136.00	$136.00	$556	—
924	924	11	98.00	$98.00	$906	—

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1198–1513	1274	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	20	910.00–950.00	$922.67
1255–1399	1337	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	7	825.00–885.00	$849.13

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
819–1260	856	(<2 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	12	1,000.00–1,110.00	$1,013.50

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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.