Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 9, 2022

1,255 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $162.41/cwt -2.80 vs last sale · ≈ $1,018/hd at 627 lb · 80 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $180.81/cwt -1.57 vs last sale · ≈ $1,220/hd at 675 lb · 76 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $167.03/cwt -2.70 vs last sale · ≈ $944/hd at 565 lb · 74 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,255	2,185	611
Feeder cattle	1,116	2,185	573
Slaughter cattle	37	—	35
Replacement cattle	102	—	3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Feeder steers under 500 lbs were 4.00 to 8.00 lower while steers over 500 lbs were 1.00 to 5.00 lower, with small instances of 7.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs traded 2.00 to 8.00 lower. Heifers 600-700 lbs traded 3.00 to 4.00 higher while those over 700 lbs traded 5.00 to 6.00 lower. Bred cattle had no comparisons from last week. Slaughter cattle were not reported due to availability. The next available report will be a bred cow/heifer sale on February 16, 2022.

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
345	345	3	232.50	$232.50	$802	-5.00
358	358	4	219.00	$219.00	$784	-4.48
369 fancy	369	10	232.50	$232.50	$858	—
405 fancy	405	3	225.00	$225.00	$911	—
402–448	427	23	212.50–222.50	$216.24	$923	-0.93
456 fancy	456	10	215.00	$215.00	$980	—
450–494	476	21	206.00–211.00	$208.46	$992	-8.63
505–509	508	8	199.00–206.00	$200.74	$1,020	—
500–548 fancy	524	29	211.00–219.00	$214.16	$1,122	—
552–593	564	57	193.00–202.00	$198.53	$1,120	-0.10
605–632	621	31	184.00–193.50	$192.17	$1,193	+7.26
655–682	672	42	172.50–182.00	$177.02	$1,190	-5.36
678 fancy	678	34	185.50	$185.50	$1,258	—
740–746	744	25	162.00–170.00	$167.45	$1,246	-3.21
758–774	769	13	165.50–167.00	$165.95	$1,276	-1.20
818–819	819	19	156.00–159.00	$158.68	$1,300	-3.71

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
303	303	3	207.50	$207.50	$629	+5.00
483–484	484	18	197.50	$197.50	$956	-6.50
504–547	516	12	185.00–191.00	$188.36	$972	+3.65
565–575	571	5	180.00	$180.00	$1,028	-9.00
602–643	635	14	162.00–170.00	$166.63	$1,058	-5.29
682	682	3	162.00	$162.00	$1,105	—
713–747	726	35	156.00–160.00	$158.91	$1,154	-2.09
755–778	757	33	150.00–158.50	$157.38	$1,191	—
851	851	14	154.00	$154.00	$1,311	—
927	927	7	145.00	$145.00	$1,344	—

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
431–447	439	16	180.00–184.00	$182.77	$802	-0.55
440–449 fancy	443	16	191.00–192.00	$191.68	$849	—
451–493	463	20	172.00–183.00	$175.34	$812	-3.61
505–541	531	30	169.00–173.00	$171.13	$909	-6.67
551–586	565	74	163.00–171.50	$167.03	$944	-2.70
614–635	627	80	160.00–164.00	$162.41	$1,018	+4.10
680–697	693	21	152.00–160.00	$157.43	$1,091	+3.72
706–741	721	20	149.00–152.00	$151.23	$1,090	+0.49
765	765	20	147.50	$147.50	$1,128	-5.50
824–835	831	15	140.00–143.50	$142.34	$1,183	-6.16

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
350–398	380	9	182.00–184.00	$182.98	$695	+3.49
456	456	7	166.00	$166.00	$757	+5.00
513–547	541	16	166.00–168.00	$166.36	$900	+0.02
623–648	640	38	152.00–154.00	$153.39	$982	+4.21
650–688	671	39	145.00–147.50	$145.92	$979	—
709–746	736	41	142.00–147.50	$144.66	$1,065	+0.53
1059	1059	8	127.00	$127.00	$1,345	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1055–1260	1139	80-85%	4	60.00–72.00	$67.48	$769	—
1000–1340	1283	80-85%	18	76.00–79.50	$78.45	$1,007	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1420–1460	1435	75-80%	4	73.00–79.50	$75.27	$1,080	—
1460–1750	1605	75-80%	2	71.00–71.50	$71.27	$1,144	—

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1645–2350	2002	6	80.00–90.50	$87.79	$1,758	—
2020–2210	2117	3	96.00–99.00	$97.36	$2,061	—

↑ Back to top

Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
1110–1274	1258	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	16	81.00–87.00	$86.26	$1,085
1362–1855	1502	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	Open	71	81.00–88.00	$85.31	$1,281

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1159	1159	Aged (>8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	4	885.00	$885.00
1193	1193	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	910.00	$910.00
1430	1430	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,050.00	$1,050.00

↑ Back to top

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.