Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 6, 2021

1,411 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.48/cwt +2.48 vs last sale · ≈ $794/hd at 561 lb · 78 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $146.51/cwt +0.43 vs last sale · ≈ $756/hd at 516 lb · 75 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.05/cwt ≈ $935/hd at 588 lb · 75 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,411 1,109 1,777
Feeder cattle 1,287 912 1,612
Slaughter cattle 124 151 165
Replacement cattle — 46 —

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Feeder steers under 700 lbs did not have enough comparisons to accurately trend. Steers over 700 lbs traded mostly steady to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers had too few comparisons to accurately trend for any weight ranges. Replacement cattle were too thinly tested to quote. Slaughter cows traded steady to 1.75 lower. Feeding cows traded 1.50 to 3.50 lower and slaughter bulls traded 1.50 lower. Trade activity and demand were moderate. Today's run consisted of a mix of lighter calves and yearling cattle coming off grass. Calves that had at least two rounds of vaccinations commanded much more interest and better prices compared to those that had one or no vaccinations. The next available report will be Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

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
325 325 5 190.00 $190.00 $618 —
425 425 4 168.00 $168.00 $714 —
500–531 519 44 167.00–170.00 $168.05 $872 —
563–593 576 59 167.00–174.50 $170.36 $981 -0.64
610 unweaned 610 20 156.00 $156.00 $952 —
606–645 629 50 159.00–168.00 $161.00 $1,013 —
655–686 668 63 157.00–168.00 $162.75 $1,087 —
672 unweaned 672 9 153.50 $153.50 $1,032 —
710 710 4 131.00 $131.00 $930 -23.53
700–726 714 41 152.00–162.50 $157.80 $1,127 +3.27
753–760 754 20 157.00–162.00 $159.99 $1,206 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430–447 442 21 169.00–171.00 $169.56 $749 —
463–491 488 42 158.00–169.00 $159.03 $776 -14.97
517–545 527 38 156.00–164.00 $159.21 $839 -5.79
562–597 588 75 152.50–163.00 $159.05 $935 —
622–648 625 66 147.00–150.00 $147.38 $921 -0.62
658 658 4 142.00 $142.00 $934 —
803 803 3 140.00 $140.00 $1,124 -5.57
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
624 624 30 145.00 $145.00 $905 —
712 712 21 140.00 $140.00 $997 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433 433 5 155.00 $155.00 $671 —
461–493 473 14 150.00–151.00 $150.85 $714 —
588 588 6 142.00 $142.00 $835 —
707 707 5 129.00 $129.00 $912 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
465 465 9 141.00 $141.00 $656 —
584 584 6 123.00 $123.00 $718 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
385 385 2 152.00 $152.00 $585 -10.00
428–438 431 19 152.50–153.00 $152.63 $658 —
450–495 469 56 142.00–154.00 $148.19 $695 -6.24
504–533 516 75 144.50–149.50 $146.51 $756 +0.43
555–590 561 78 135.50–145.50 $141.48 $794 —
600–626 608 25 137.50–141.00 $138.54 $842 -2.46
661–696 683 38 132.00–135.75 $134.44 $918 —
706–719 714 24 134.00–142.00 $139.69 $997 -0.31
782 782 13 136.50 $136.50 $1,067 -1.27
826 826 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,123 —
933 933 2 126.00 $126.00 $1,176 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357–389 382 14 164.00–167.00 $166.40 $636 —
501–523 516 23 150.00–152.50 $151.76 $783 —
564–594 579 29 146.00–154.00 $149.15 $864 —
603–608 606 22 148.50–156.00 $152.94 $927 —
669 669 13 136.00–142.00 $140.15 $938 —
926 926 5 135.00 $135.00 $1,250 -2.00
986 986 11 134.00 $134.00 $1,321 +0.90
1045 1045 4 124.00 $124.00 $1,296 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
530 530 14 137.00 $137.00 $726 —
637 637 20 135.00 $135.00 $860 —
725 725 7 128.00 $128.00 $928 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
391 391 5 143.00 $143.00 $559 —
493–497 496 9 131.00–138.00 $135.68 $673 —
610–643 630 11 126.00–132.00 $129.89 $818 —
695 695 1 129.00 $129.00 $897 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1228–1380 1275 80-85% 5 63.00–68.00 $66.38 $846 —
925–1465 1296 80-85% 61 63.00–74.00 $68.60 $889 —
1270–1435 1328 80-85% 4 56.00–61.00 $59.17 $786 -7.14
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1030 1015 85-90% 2 70.50–73.00 $71.77 $728 —
860–1155 1040 85-90% 12 47.00–58.00 $54.99 $572 —
930–1320 1121 85-90% 12 57.00–66.00 $62.46 $700 -2.22
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1646–1650 1647 75-80% 5 67.00–69.00 $67.40 $1,110 -4.74
1680–1825 1758 75-80% 3 69.00–72.00 $70.30 $1,236 +29.30

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–2115 1529 11 69.00–78.50 $74.62 $1,141 —
1720–2090 1939 6 79.50–84.50 $82.04 $1,591 —

↑ 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.