Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 22, 2021

961 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $175.53/cwt ≈ $1,097/hd at 625 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $188.79/cwt -6.04 vs last sale · ≈ $1,016/hd at 538 lb · 54 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $167.05/cwt +4.05 vs last sale · ≈ $870/hd at 521 lb · 37 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 961 1,026 1,148
Feeder cattle 763 140 240
Slaughter cattle 174 280 285
Replacement cattle 24 606 623

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last sale: Trade activity was moderate to good. Feeder steers under 600 lbs traded 2.00 higher to 6.00 lower on a thin test. While feeder steers over 600 lbs had no comparisons from last week. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded sharply lower on a thin test and heifers over 600 lbs were 2.00 higher. Slaughter cows traded steady to 3.00 higher and bulls had no comparisons from last week. Bred cows were too light to accurately trend. Due to the holidays, the next available report will be January 05, 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
370 370 9 207.50 $207.50 $768 +2.50
432 432 5 209.00 $209.00 $903 —
466 466 21 207.00 $207.00 $965 +2.29
535–538 538 54 181.00–189.50 $188.79 $1,016 -6.04
602 value added 602 5 185.00 $185.00 $1,114 —
608–636 627 59 171.50–181.00 $174.73 $1,096 —
665 665 12 167.00 $167.00 $1,111 —
713–727 722 21 150.00–151.00 $150.38 $1,086 —
765–783 769 18 142.00–154.50 $151.57 $1,166 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
485–488 487 8 178.00–185.00 $179.74 $875 —
510 510 13 175.00 $175.00 $892 —
580–585 581 4 163.00–172.00 $165.26 $960 —
609–644 624 19 160.00–171.50 $167.21 $1,043 —
655–690 685 32 151.00–160.00 $153.81 $1,054 —
721–745 731 29 136.00–148.00 $143.07 $1,046 —
755–793 783 18 140.00–141.00 $140.66 $1,101 —
860 860 4 137.50 $137.50 $1,182 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
438 438 4 173.00 $173.00 $758 -20.00
456 value added 456 21 177.00 $177.00 $807 —
465 465 7 170.00 $170.00 $790 -9.51
510–522 521 37 156.00–170.00 $167.05 $870 +4.05
562–577 570 20 152.00 $152.00 $866 -6.00
600–611 610 25 148.00–151.00 $150.65 $919 +2.65
659–660 660 22 146.00–147.50 $147.23 $972 —
706–745 714 10 139.00–140.50 $140.19 $1,001 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–371 357 21 160.00–162.50 $162.01 $578 —
518–535 531 9 150.00–160.00 $157.83 $838 —
585–599 594 27 146.00–149.00 $147.03 $873 +6.03
620–640 633 3 136.00–147.00 $143.41 $908 —
650 650 3 133.00 $133.00 $864 —
720–745 733 2 125.00–126.00 $125.49 $920 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
520–545 533 2 145.00 $145.00 $773 —
553–595 583 14 137.00–144.50 $142.47 $831 —
773 773 3 125.00 $125.00 $966 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105–1520 1289 80-85% 23 49.00–69.00 $58.97 $760 —
1075–1557 1295 80-85% 60 49.00–67.50 $60.39 $782 —
1150–1455 1342 80-85% 7 41.00–49.00 $45.78 $614 -13.86
1215–1574 1451 80-85% 12 67.00–72.00 $70.50 $1,023 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
878–1090 982 85-90% 7 51.00–57.00 $54.11 $531 —
915–1085 982 85-90% 3 31.00–34.00 $32.70 $321 —
750–1093 1022 85-90% 11 40.00–48.00 $44.12 $451 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1670–1710 1690 75-80% 2 59.00–62.00 $60.52 $1,023 —
1716 1716 75-80% 5 76.00 $76.00 $1,304 —
1710–1850 1792 75-80% 4 56.00–71.50 $65.83 $1,180 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1050–1750 1308 3 57.00–66.00 $61.72 $807 —
1343–2230 1738 18 70.00–83.00 $75.85 $1,318 —
980–2385 1785 5 85.00–98.00 $90.52 $1,616 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1163–1250 1214 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 19 660.00–710.00 $692.35
1371 1371 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 935.00 $935.00

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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.