Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 2, 2020

2,000 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $155.92/cwt +3.92 vs last sale · ≈ $968/hd at 621 lb · 163 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $151.39/cwt ≈ $989/hd at 653 lb · 136 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.26/cwt +4.36 vs last sale · ≈ $892/hd at 567 lb · 132 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,000 958 1,946
Feeder cattle 1,993 432 1,946
Replacement cattle 7 526 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder steers under 600 lbs traded unevenly steady. Steers over 600 lbs did not have enough comparable trades to accurately trend. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded 4.00 to 10.00 higher, while those over 600 lbs traded 2.00 to sharply higher. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. The next available report will be Wednesday, December 9, 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
464–491 472 40 171.00–181.00 $177.35 $837 -1.17
514–529 521 29 169.00–170.00 $169.49 $883 -4.15
552–583 564 90 161.00–169.00 $165.86 $935 +3.86
603–638 621 163 152.00–160.00 $155.92 $968 —
650–691 653 136 148.00–154.00 $151.39 $989 —
700–747 725 108 146.00–154.50 $150.89 $1,094 —
766–777 770 8 152.50–153.00 $152.69 $1,176 —
801–808 802 22 146.00–147.50 $147.29 $1,181 —
853 853 4 141.00 $141.00 $1,203 —
930 930 6 134.50 $134.50 $1,251 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–391 376 19 174.00–180.00 $177.73 $668 —
454–482 473 42 167.00–170.00 $168.24 $796 +3.24
510–546 526 39 159.00–166.00 $163.21 $858 +7.28
553–596 567 132 152.00–159.50 $157.26 $892 +4.36
602–624 618 21 146.00–148.00 $146.45 $905 +2.82
651–679 664 32 140.50–147.00 $143.53 $953 —
750–763 759 15 136.00–137.50 $137.01 $1,040 +2.01
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 348 16 171.00 $171.00 $595 -4.00
386 386 8 160.00 $160.00 $618 -11.00
407–408 408 22 166.00 $166.00 $677 —
462–490 479 19 162.00–164.00 $162.43 $778 +3.43
570–588 574 14 143.00–149.50 $144.43 $829 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463 463 26 157.00 $157.00 $727 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
298 298 22 585.00 $585.00 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
490 490 10 154.50 $154.50 $757 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401–435 416 16 156.00–160.50 $158.44 $659 +4.61
453–498 475 42 150.00–155.50 $152.19 $723 —
514–544 526 108 145.00–152.50 $149.23 $785 +10.73
561–570 567 82 140.00–144.75 $143.34 $813 +8.14
614–644 627 80 135.00–139.00 $136.46 $856 +2.47
651–686 664 37 129.00–136.00 $132.24 $878 —
715–726 723 11 128.00–129.00 $128.27 $927 —
873 873 12 130.00 $130.00 $1,135 —
1013–1049 1039 14 125.00–126.50 $126.08 $1,310 +13.52
1059–1077 1064 11 122.00–126.00 $124.90 $1,329 +13.90
1158 1158 5 117.50 $117.50 $1,361 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373–385 375 16 148.00–156.00 $149.03 $559 —
435–443 437 35 146.00–151.00 $148.91 $651 +10.91
459–497 470 18 141.00–146.00 $142.45 $670 +5.60
503–548 529 22 140.00–144.50 $141.44 $748 +7.94
550–598 584 82 135.50–139.50 $137.93 $806 +10.93
609–641 628 14 129.00–131.50 $130.97 $822 —
674–693 685 32 122.00–128.50 $124.55 $853 +2.55
861 861 14 124.00 $124.00 $1,068 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
411 411 5 141.00 $141.00 $580 —
544 544 26 133.00 $133.00 $724 +3.00
571–586 584 42 131.00–133.00 $132.05 $771 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1153–1585 1303 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 5 760.00–950.00 $815.81

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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.