Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 6, 2022

1,175 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $171.56/cwt +2.60 vs last sale · ≈ $901/hd at 525 lb · 83 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $182.89/cwt ≈ $870/hd at 476 lb · 78 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $168.61/cwt -4.16 vs last sale · ≈ $954/hd at 566 lb · 75 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,175 894 1,325
Feeder cattle 1,051 465 1,281
Slaughter cattle 79 166 0
Replacement cattle 45 263 44

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: No trend is available due to the lack of receipts from the last three weeks. Trade activity and demand were moderate. Today's run consisted of mostly long weaned calves. The next available report will April 20, 2022.

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
458–495 476 21 206.00–212.50 $210.99 $1,004 -1.01
503–515 509 39 200.00–212.00 $206.39 $1,051 +2.06
568–594 575 61 200.00–210.00 $207.29 $1,192 +0.86
618–636 626 38 199.00–206.50 $203.29 $1,273 +14.29
676 676 42 177.00–188.50 $186.58 $1,261 +5.68
713–748 734 28 163.00–167.50 $166.24 $1,220 +0.73
755 755 13 154.00 $154.00 $1,163 -10.50
813–845 821 19 148.00–153.00 $151.31 $1,242 —
957–963 958 11 139.50–145.00 $140.51 $1,346 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424–439 428 16 196.00–205.00 $199.80 $855 —
458–494 477 25 189.00–203.00 $196.96 $939 -7.03
535 535 7 190.00 $190.00 $1,016 —
535 unweaned 535 10 172.00 $172.00 $920 —
550–588 571 31 178.00–188.00 $182.49 $1,042 -13.51
611–644 631 19 166.00–176.00 $171.73 $1,084 -9.64
700–738 730 10 156.00–159.00 $158.42 $1,156 -4.58
835 835 3 146.00 $146.00 $1,219 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
479 unweaned 479 4 158.00 $158.00 $757 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–422 413 20 185.00–190.00 $187.30 $774 —
452–488 460 34 177.00–181.00 $179.66 $826 —
485–495 fancy 488 44 184.50–188.00 $185.39 $905 —
550–599 566 75 163.00–172.00 $168.61 $954 -4.16
612–649 637 67 160.00–164.00 $162.03 $1,032 —
663 663 8 159.00 $159.00 $1,054 —
713–731 725 6 144.00–150.00 $148.03 $1,073 —
750 750 5 143.50 $143.50 $1,076 —
802–833 815 25 134.25–136.00 $134.81 $1,099 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
328–343 337 12 184.00–188.00 $185.62 $626 —
428–440 431 4 178.00–179.00 $178.74 $770 -3.26
450–459 457 29 165.00–178.00 $175.80 $803 -1.36
503–547 525 83 163.00–174.00 $171.56 $901 +2.60
550–578 569 11 153.00–167.00 $155.14 $883 —
626 626 9 154.00 $154.00 $964 +2.00
684–692 689 15 142.00–147.00 $143.65 $990 -5.40
718–745 732 41 132.00–141.50 $139.28 $1,020 -2.72
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
366 unweaned 366 5 170.00 $170.00 $622 —
444 unweaned 444 6 169.00 $169.00 $750 —
699 699 7 132.00 $132.00 $923 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1215–1625 1354 80-85% 16 80.00–86.50 $82.81 $1,121 +0.37
1335–1375 1355 80-85% 2 78.00 $78.00 $1,057 -4.44
1230–1590 1407 80-85% 17 81.00–89.50 $83.97 $1,181 -2.44
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1330 1123 85-90% 12 71.00–81.00 $76.47 $859 -12.38
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1630–1765 1688 75-80% 3 86.00–88.00 $87.34 $1,474 +3.73
1760 1760 75-80% 1 84.00 $84.00 $1,478 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590–2110 1882 8 88.00–96.00 $91.73 $1,726 —
1970–2095 2035 4 100.00–101.00 $100.50 $2,045 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1243 1243 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 1,335.00 $1,335.00
1357 1357 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,100.00 $1,100.00
1433–1686 1589 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 11 1,175.00–1,475.00 $1,366.18
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1565–1785 1675 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,500.00–1,550.00 $1,526.64
1795 1795 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,510.00 $1,510.00

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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.