Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 22, 2021

1,109 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $159.43/cwt ≈ $1,259/hd at 790 lb · 194 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 steers $152.01/cwt -6.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,332/hd at 876 lb · 131 head

heavy 8-weight M&L 1 heifers $137.39/cwt -0.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,221/hd at 889 lb · 96 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,109	1,351	973
Feeder cattle	912	1,329	827
Slaughter cattle	151	—	140
Replacement cattle	46	22	6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to two weeks ago: Feeder steers under 800 lbs had no comparisons for a market trend. Feeder steers over 800 lbs traded 1.00 to 6.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 750 lbs had no comparison from the last sale, while those over 750 lbs traded steady to 3.50 higher. Replacement cattle had no comparisons from the last test. Trade activity and demand were moderate. The next available report will be Wednesday, October 6, 2021.

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
458–475	460	11	176.00–177.00	$176.09	$810	—
582	582	11	171.00	$171.00	$995	—
705–727	715	72	152.00–156.00	$154.53	$1,105	—
756–796	790	194	150.00–161.00	$159.43	$1,259	—
855–893	876	131	148.50–154.00	$152.01	$1,332	-6.12
904–908	905	61	149.50–156.00	$150.93	$1,366	-2.13
960–966	966	38	140.00–147.00	$140.18	$1,354	-1.82

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
479	479	7	174.00	$174.00	$833	+2.00
539	539	8	165.00	$165.00	$889	—
643	643	18	148.00	$148.00	$952	—
800–837	836	29	145.50–147.50	$145.57	$1,217	+0.24

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
776	776	17	146.00	$146.00	$1,133	-1.00
821	821	8	144.50	$144.50	$1,186	+3.63
861–893	889	96	135.00–137.75	$137.39	$1,221	-0.71
904	904	32	137.00	$137.00	$1,238	+3.57
979	979	35	133.10	$133.10	$1,303	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
361	361	6	162.00	$162.00	$585	—
455–486	480	10	152.00–155.00	$154.43	$741	—
503–545	506	14	146.00–147.00	$146.08	$739	+1.08
595 unweaned	595	6	139.00	$139.00	$827	—
610	610	6	141.00	$141.00	$860	—
728	728	6	140.00	$140.00	$1,019	+2.00
754–783	760	9	137.00–138.00	$137.77	$1,047	+1.77

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1225–1475	1344	80-85%	4	63.00–73.50	$66.31	$891	—
1160–1415	1355	80-85%	18	50.00–61.00	$58.23	$789	—
1153–1570	1360	80-85%	57	65.00–75.00	$70.51	$959	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
993–1160	1068	85-90%	5	48.50–57.50	$52.22	$558	—
960–1125	1070	85-90%	3	75.00–75.50	$75.35	$806	—
975–1195	1085	85-90%	3	22.00–39.00	$30.94	$336	—
1000–1285	1146	85-90%	7	62.00–67.00	$64.68	$741	—
1165–1295	1230	85-90%	2	60.00–61.00	$60.47	$744	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1480–1790	1635	75-80%	2	70.50–73.50	$72.14	$1,179	—
1770	1770	75-80%	1	41.00	$41.00	$726	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1200–2745	1653	18	69.00–79.50	$76.66	$1,267	—
1400–2225	1824	20	80.50–85.50	$83.56	$1,524	—
1935–2105	2020	2	88.00–88.50	$88.24	$1,782	—

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1090–1313	1302	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	21	1,125.00–1,285.00	$1,278.62
1361–1548	1388	Aged (>8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	14	900.00–975.00	$911.95

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1065–1175	1120	(<2 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	2	1,075.00–1,200.00	$1,134.43

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	Δ last sale
1188–1340	1218	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	6	1,125.00–1,150.00	$1,129.58	—
1290	1290	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	1	1,085.00	$1,085.00	—

↑ Back to top

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.