Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 27, 2021

1,347 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $175.11/cwt +1.40 vs last sale · ≈ $897/hd at 512 lb · 101 head

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $150.85/cwt -3.82 vs last sale · ≈ $955/hd at 633 lb · 85 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.82/cwt -0.37 vs last sale · ≈ $817/hd at 576 lb · 78 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,347	898	1,212
Feeder cattle	1,209	793	1,046
Slaughter cattle	111	61	110
Replacement cattle	27	44	56

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were moderate. Feeder steers under 550 lbs traded 1.00 to 10.00 higher. Steers between 550 to 700 lbs traded 3.00 to 6.00 lower, and those over 700 lbs traded steady to 3.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 550 lbs traded 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Heifers over 550 lbs had no comparisons from last week to accurately trend. Today's run consisted of a mix of feeder calves with 0 to 60 day wean times and mostly at least two rounds of vaccinations and a run of yearling cattle coming off grass. Calves with multiple rounds of vaccinations and longer wean times continue to carry a stronger demand. The next available report will be Wednesday, November 3, 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
403–410	408	17	195.00–196.00	$195.77	$799	—
456–475	469	16	180.00–190.50	$187.31	$878	+10.68
500–540	512	101	168.00–177.00	$175.11	$897	+1.40
553–555	554	42	165.50–167.00	$165.96	$919	-3.55
616–629	626	33	159.00–160.00	$159.21	$997	-3.91
655–663	658	15	154.00	$154.00	$1,013	-6.64
745–747	746	51	159.50–161.00	$160.03	$1,194	+0.20
755–775	768	16	148.00–157.00	$154.74	$1,188	+2.94
805	805	31	158.00	$158.00	$1,272	—
854–865	859	34	152.00–153.00	$152.47	$1,310	—
925	925	2	143.00	$143.00	$1,323	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
493	493	8	175.00	$175.00	$863	+5.75
501–545	535	21	166.00	$166.00	$888	+6.77
561–594	575	38	156.00–162.00	$158.06	$909	-4.00
600–647	633	85	146.00–156.00	$150.85	$955	-3.82
652–695	676	41	144.00–150.00	$145.88	$986	-5.50
712–735	724	41	147.50–149.00	$148.35	$1,074	+1.36
760–791	776	8	140.00–145.00	$142.45	$1,105	—
805–833	819	38	131.00–137.00	$134.16	$1,099	—
856–891	865	37	131.00–139.00	$137.71	$1,191	—
1030	1030	4	117.00	$117.00	$1,205	—
1055–1075	1065	2	115.00–117.00	$116.01	$1,236	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
370	370	1	163.50	$163.50	$605	+4.31
443	443	2	147.00	$147.00	$651	-0.60
484	484	14	146.00	$146.00	$707	+1.61
517–547	534	53	141.00–147.00	$144.91	$774	-0.73
558–591	576	78	134.00–144.50	$141.82	$817	-0.37
603–628	613	18	137.50–140.00	$138.35	$848	+2.15
650–683	673	25	132.00–138.00	$134.90	$908	—
792	792	3	122.00	$122.00	$966	—
810	810	4	138.00	$138.00	$1,118	—
860	860	3	129.00	$129.00	$1,109	—
1002	1002	3	119.50	$119.50	$1,197	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
371–390	373	11	169.00–176.50	$175.79	$656	—
450–483	467	72	153.00–163.00	$157.03	$733	+3.90
503–538	519	12	148.00–156.00	$151.02	$784	+2.02
602–612	607	30	141.00–145.50	$143.84	$873	—
828	828	2	138.00	$138.00	$1,143	—

Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
600–648	633	26	126.00–129.00	$127.77	$809	—
733	733	5	117.00	$117.00	$858	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1315	1315	80-85%	1	67.00	$67.00	$881	+9.22
1190–1475	1333	80-85%	2	55.00–56.00	$55.55	$740	-2.23
1160–1540	1347	80-85%	25	45.00–53.50	$49.59	$668	—
1105–1560	1350	80-85%	60	55.00–65.50	$60.26	$814	-10.74

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1060	1060	85-90%	1	61.00	$61.00	$647	+7.74
930–1335	1120	85-90%	6	47.00–51.00	$49.42	$554	—
1030–1263	1123	85-90%	10	39.00–45.50	$41.87	$470	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1545	1545	75-80%	1	65.00	$65.00	$1,004	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1455–2230	1767	3	78.00–85.00	$81.64	$1,443	—
1855	1855	1	71.00	$71.00	$1,317	—
1780–2465	2033	6	86.50–90.00	$87.49	$1,779	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1065–1470	1181	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	27	66.00–75.00	$72.01	$850

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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.