Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 2, 2022

2,185 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $174.63/cwt ≈ $1,262/hd at 723 lb · 199 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $182.38/cwt ≈ $1,218/hd at 668 lb · 185 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $153.71/cwt ≈ $1,053/hd at 685 lb · 167 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,185 1,336 1,665
Feeder cattle 2,185 — 1,665
Slaughter cattle — 229 —
Replacement cattle — 1,107 —

Compared to last week: No comparison is available as the last sale reported was a bred cow/heifer special. Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Todays run consisted primarily of preconditioned calves with the majority having multiple rounds of vaccinations and mostly weaned between 45-90 days. The next report available will be on February 09, 2022; the second out of the three calf specials for this month.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 3 237.50 $237.50 $808 —
374–388 383 17 222.50–224.00 $223.48 $856 —
413–449 435 55 214.00–218.00 $217.17 $945 —
469–498 481 15 216.50–217.50 $217.09 $1,044 —
524–548 544 45 199.00–202.50 $201.34 $1,095 —
563–595 575 166 193.00–202.50 $198.63 $1,142 —
613 fancy 613 56 195.50 $195.50 $1,198 —
612–649 631 51 181.50–191.50 $184.91 $1,167 —
654–678 668 185 174.00–184.00 $182.38 $1,218 —
702–737 722 108 162.00–172.00 $170.66 $1,232 —
714–726 fancy 724 91 176.00–180.00 $179.35 $1,298 —
758–771 767 104 165.00–172.00 $167.15 $1,282 —
805–840 833 93 155.00–165.00 $162.39 $1,353 —
857 857 43 162.75 $162.75 $1,395 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 3 202.50 $202.50 $638 —
424 424 17 206.00 $206.00 $873 —
453 453 6 204.00 $204.00 $924 —
500–510 506 29 181.00–188.00 $184.71 $935 —
593 593 6 189.00 $189.00 $1,121 —
616–627 620 14 164.00–174.50 $171.92 $1,066 —
713 713 2 161.00 $161.00 $1,148 —
793 793 5 150.00 $150.00 $1,190 —
887 887 5 152.50 $152.50 $1,353 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
384 384 9 185.00 $185.00 $710 —
600 600 4 159.00 $159.00 $954 —
749 749 4 141.00 $141.00 $1,056 —

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
371–394 386 35 189.00 $189.00 $730 —
423–446 437 26 180.00–185.00 $183.32 $801 —
460 fancy 460 35 187.00 $187.00 $860 —
452–496 483 30 177.00–183.00 $178.95 $864 —
503–540 532 96 173.50–182.00 $177.80 $946 —
570–581 579 81 159.00–170.00 $169.73 $983 —
605 fancy 605 34 168.25 $168.25 $1,018 —
603–644 628 15 156.00–162.00 $158.31 $994 —
673–697 685 167 148.50–156.50 $153.71 $1,053 —
709–744 727 66 150.00–152.00 $150.74 $1,096 —
762–769 763 38 153.00 $153.00 $1,167 —
801 801 34 148.50 $148.50 $1,189 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
362–388 367 18 178.00–181.00 $179.49 $659 —
451–457 453 14 161.00 $161.00 $729 —
516–549 528 43 162.00–171.00 $166.34 $878 —
623–644 632 18 148.50–150.00 $149.18 $943 —
700–745 716 41 138.00–147.00 $144.13 $1,032 —
794 794 21 141.50 $141.50 $1,124 —

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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.