Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 10, 2021

2,671 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.26/cwt -1.48 vs last sale · ≈ $912/hd at 580 lb · 157 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $142.84/cwt -3.71 vs last sale · ≈ $757/hd at 530 lb · 152 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $138.62/cwt -9.04 vs last sale · ≈ $874/hd at 631 lb · 123 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,671 2,091 2,144
Feeder cattle 2,276 1,909 1,691
Slaughter cattle 395 163 453
Replacement cattle — 19 —

Compared to last week: Feeder steers under 600 lbs traded steady to 8.00 higher. Steers over 600 lbs traded mostly steady to 3.50 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded steady to 5.00 lower, while those weighing over 600 lbs traded mostly 2.00 to 4.00 lower. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. The next available report will be Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
346 346 7 217.00 $217.00 $751 +3.01
377 377 17 199.00 $199.00 $750 ±0.00
424 fancy 424 53 213.00 $213.00 $903 —
418–438 427 28 192.50–203.00 $196.83 $840 +1.51
450–495 485 123 186.00–199.00 $194.30 $942 +8.30
517 fancy 517 24 192.25 $192.25 $994 —
505–543 526 82 174.00–183.00 $177.86 $936 +4.16
550–593 565 62 163.00–174.00 $168.40 $951 -0.10
623–648 631 28 160.50–163.00 $161.76 $1,021 +0.16
635–645 unweaned 642 43 148.00–156.50 $154.96 $995 -0.16
657–698 673 48 162.00–163.00 $162.06 $1,091 +3.42
656–697 unweaned 676 32 151.00–153.75 $152.97 $1,034 +1.37
715–724 722 47 161.00 $161.00 $1,162 —
729–745 unweaned 737 38 148.50–150.50 $149.88 $1,105 -1.69
764 764 14 140.50 $140.50 $1,073 -15.00
757–789 776 12 154.50–161.00 $157.14 $1,219 +1.64
806–815 unweaned 809 13 140.00–145.00 $143.53 $1,161 +3.53
884 884 14 148.00 $148.00 $1,308 —
887 887 3 136.00 $136.00 $1,206 —
893 unweaned 893 4 140.50 $140.50 $1,255 —
991–992 991 22 132.10–140.00 $135.33 $1,341 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
293 293 6 198.00 $198.00 $580 —
319 319 4 187.50 $187.50 $598 —
379 379 3 191.00 $191.00 $724 —
438 438 4 189.00 $189.00 $828 +3.79
464–487 472 24 181.00–185.00 $182.61 $862 +5.97
524–538 531 52 161.00–167.00 $163.43 $868 —
550–593 580 157 151.00–162.50 $157.26 $912 -1.48
614–636 628 17 148.00–156.50 $153.60 $965 +0.93
637–643 unweaned 640 19 141.00–145.00 $142.84 $914 —
656–688 666 39 141.00–148.00 $142.86 $951 -5.10
655–685 unweaned 669 25 133.50–143.00 $138.87 $929 —
715–735 unweaned 720 15 134.00–140.50 $135.77 $978 —
730 730 4 141.00 $141.00 $1,029 -7.30
753 unweaned 753 4 128.00 $128.00 $964 —
1136 1136 11 113.00 $113.00 $1,284 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
440 440 3 174.00 $174.00 $766 —
535 unweaned 535 7 155.00 $155.00 $829 —
562–585 unweaned 574 6 141.00–142.00 $141.51 $812 —
592 592 5 141.00 $141.00 $835 —

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
309 309 5 162.50 $162.50 $502 ±0.00
362–394 383 29 156.00–169.00 $159.41 $611 —
383 unweaned 383 11 155.00 $155.00 $594 —
406–438 420 36 152.50–158.00 $156.17 $656 +4.47
467–498 486 72 145.00–152.00 $149.08 $725 +1.86
500–549 530 152 138.50–146.50 $142.84 $757 -3.71
558–586 577 77 135.00–143.00 $138.42 $799 -1.16
614–638 unweaned 626 18 125.00–129.00 $126.96 $795 —
622–633 629 16 134.00–136.00 $135.28 $851 -2.62
678 unweaned 678 5 126.50 $126.50 $858 —
681–692 685 9 131.00–136.00 $132.68 $909 -1.32
709–714 712 10 127.50–132.00 $130.21 $927 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401–444 410 22 161.00–168.00 $166.07 $681 -0.42
454–463 461 39 156.00–162.00 $158.33 $730 -0.27
500–548 519 47 147.00–157.00 $149.89 $778 -5.47
567 567 13 135.50 $135.50 $768 -13.01
553–582 574 76 144.00–151.00 $146.76 $842 -1.75
622–644 unweaned 628 99 134.50–138.00 $136.47 $857 -3.64
642 642 24 147.50 $147.50 $947 -2.94
651–665 unweaned 654 5 136.00–137.00 $136.20 $891 +1.50
678 678 13 139.00 $139.00 $942 -4.19
763–785 775 11 137.50–141.50 $139.29 $1,079 —
838 838 10 142.50 $142.50 $1,194 —
940 940 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,278 —
1030 1030 5 129.00 $129.00 $1,329 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423 unweaned 423 2 141.00 $141.00 $596 —
428 428 6 148.00 $148.00 $633 —
484 484 5 143.00 $143.00 $692 —
543–546 545 10 136.00–137.00 $136.70 $745 -2.28
588–597 590 11 130.50–131.00 $130.64 $771 —

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Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1045–1505 1292 80-85% 65 38.00–51.00 $43.79 $566 —
1030–1560 1405 80-85% 62 51.00–66.50 $63.12 $887 -5.38
1430–1470 1450 80-85% 2 65.00–69.00 $67.03 $972 -1.47
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
770–1027 962 85-90% 7 29.00–33.00 $29.72 $286 -1.83
800–1335 1079 85-90% 51 35.00–46.00 $41.47 $447 -0.40
1145 1145 85-90% 1 69.00 $69.00 $790 +19.03
905–1240 1175 85-90% 17 51.00–55.00 $51.18 $601 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1575–1720 1648 75-80% 2 51.00–55.00 $52.91 $872 -2.09
1750 1750 75-80% 1 62.00 $62.00 $1,085 —

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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.