Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 20, 2021

898 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $163.12/cwt +1.08 vs last sale · ≈ $1,033/hd at 633 lb · 74 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $173.71/cwt +3.06 vs last sale · ≈ $919/hd at 529 lb · 61 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.06/cwt +3.07 vs last sale · ≈ $940/hd at 580 lb · 61 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 898 1,542 1,212
Feeder cattle 793 1,449 1,046
Slaughter cattle 61 81 110
Replacement cattle 44 12 56

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 500 lbs traded 5.00 lower. Steers 500 to 700 lbs traded steady to 3.00 higher and steers over 700 lbs traded steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs traded 2.50 higher, while those between 500 to 700 lbs traded 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Heifers over 700 lbs did were too thinly tested for any comparison. Trade activity and demand were moderate. The next available report will be Wednesday, October 27, 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
453–498 488 30 175.00–184.50 $176.63 $862 -5.05
502–545 529 61 170.00–177.00 $173.71 $919 +3.06
553–566 560 10 169.00–170.00 $169.51 $949 +3.20
609–644 633 74 159.00–166.25 $163.12 $1,033 +1.08
651–695 661 11 157.00–163.00 $160.64 $1,062 -0.62
714–718 716 9 157.50–162.00 $159.83 $1,144 +2.34
764–796 773 34 147.00–153.50 $151.80 $1,173 +0.80
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
433–441 437 28 170.00–180.50 $175.24 $766 +1.24
495 495 8 167.00–170.00 $169.25 $838 +0.24
540–543 541 13 158.00–160.00 $159.23 $861 +1.04
551–594 580 61 153.00–165.00 $162.06 $940 +3.07
615–619 616 15 154.00–156.00 $154.67 $953 +0.46
667–671 668 16 151.00–152.50 $151.38 $1,011 +0.39
700–738 725 32 145.00–148.00 $146.99 $1,066 +1.99
922–945 928 4 130.00–136.00 $131.53 $1,221 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381–392 387 9 157.00–162.00 $159.19 $616 —
407–445 437 14 147.00–150.00 $147.60 $645 -2.40
465–496 482 35 142.00–148.00 $144.39 $696 +1.75
502–539 519 53 143.50–147.50 $145.64 $756 +1.59
552–599 574 26 139.50–144.50 $142.19 $816 +0.30
618–640 629 27 133.00–140.00 $136.20 $857 -5.28
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452–458 454 18 151.00–154.50 $153.13 $695 +2.58
533 533 2 149.00 $149.00 $794 -3.00
568–582 577 20 145.75–154.00 $148.59 $857 -1.41
669–682 676 24 141.00–146.00 $143.53 $970 -1.60
983 983 4 130.00 $130.00 $1,278 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
539–547 541 33 134.50–137.00 $135.29 $732 -4.71
580–590 582 25 130.00–134.50 $133.33 $776 +8.33
691 691 10 128.00 $128.00 $884 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240 1240 80-85% 1 57.00 $57.00 $707 —
1210–1325 1275 80-85% 6 48.00–53.00 $49.70 $634 -5.13
1205–1385 1307 80-85% 11 54.00–61.00 $57.78 $755 -5.89
1373 1373 80-85% 5 71.00 $71.00 $975 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
995–1190 1032 85-90% 8 45.00–49.00 $46.72 $482 —
1010–1150 1086 85-90% 7 50.00–55.00 $53.26 $578 -10.34
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225–1780 1473 75-80% 5 55.00–64.00 $60.04 $884 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1565–2255 1962 7 65.00–73.00 $70.10 $1,375 —
1965–2205 2110 4 77.00–83.00 $79.41 $1,676 -0.59

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1139–1475 1226 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 34 710.00–840.00 $780.69

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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.