Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 12, 2022

1,692 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $202.44/cwt -4.48 vs last sale · ≈ $989/hd at 489 lb · 113 head

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $158.13/cwt ≈ $1,056/hd at 668 lb · 100 head

light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $181.02/cwt ≈ $1,311/hd at 724 lb · 82 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,692	1,264	1,542
Feeder cattle	1,474	1,042	1,449
Slaughter cattle	200	180	81
Replacement cattle	18	42	12

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Today's sale consisted of calves having multiple rounds of vaccinations and being weaned 30 or more days. Steers under 500 lbs traded steady to 5.00 lower and steers 500-600 lbs were 1.00 to 4.00 lower, while those over 600 lbs were 2.00 to 7.00 higher on a light test. Heifer calves under 500 lbs traded 1.00 to 2.50 lower, while those over 500 lbs traded steady to 10.00 higher on a thin test. Slaughter cows were steady to 1.00 higher. Replacement cattle were too light to test. The next available report will be October 19, 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
295	295	3	227.50	$227.50	$671	—
360–385	363	16	218.00–225.00	$224.07	$813	+3.37
408–423	419	25	204.00–217.00	$211.09	$884	+5.01
430 fancy	430	45	225.00	$225.00	$968	—
469 fancy	469	8	211.00	$211.00	$990	+0.38
457–496	490	105	197.00–207.00	$201.79	$989	-0.69
514–545	520	5	194.00–195.00	$194.21	$1,010	-1.95
525 fancy	525	31	208.00	$208.00	$1,092	+2.03
550–581	570	44	187.00–194.00	$189.06	$1,078	-4.78
576–588 fancy	578	36	200.00–202.00	$201.60	$1,165	—
605–648	628	74	180.00–187.00	$182.62	$1,147	-1.48
644 fancy	644	7	194.00	$194.00	$1,249	—
652–689	674	54	179.50–182.50	$180.57	$1,217	+2.61
708–731	724	82	178.00–181.50	$181.02	$1,311	—
774–775	775	12	178.00–178.50	$178.25	$1,381	+7.05
802–831	818	38	176.00–179.00	$178.19	$1,458	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
383	383	3	205.00	$205.00	$785	—
453	453	12	190.00	$190.00	$861	-2.60
514–546	531	52	185.00–190.00	$186.33	$989	-1.13
557–588	566	20	186.00	$186.00	$1,053	—
605–643	622	70	172.00–178.50	$177.38	$1,103	—
656–693	675	16	172.50–176.00	$174.20	$1,176	+7.40
707–743	729	26	166.00–173.00	$170.44	$1,243	+3.91

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
375–385	383	4	190.00–197.00	$191.72	$734	—
434	434	4	191.50	$191.50	$831	+5.10
464–495	477	56	172.00–182.00	$177.50	$847	-0.50
500–547	532	56	166.00–176.50	$169.56	$902	+2.28
594–597 unweaned	596	13	155.00–156.00	$155.62	$927	—
618–633	626	34	150.00–168.00	$160.76	$1,006	—
653–678	668	100	152.00–163.00	$158.13	$1,056	—
750	750	12	157.00	$157.00	$1,178	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
364–386	373	7	200.50–209.50	$204.49	$763	+10.33
385 fancy	385	9	216.50	$216.50	$834	+0.50
410–428	423	20	194.00–200.00	$197.94	$837	+6.77
450–498	482	29	185.50–193.00	$190.17	$917	+5.47
508–548	522	63	178.00–187.00	$182.65	$953	+3.72
550–580	560	71	170.00–181.00	$175.63	$984	+4.75
600–619	613	18	165.00–169.00	$165.82	$1,016	-3.04
661	661	8	167.00	$167.00	$1,104	—
766	766	7	162.00	$162.00	$1,241	—

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1063–1655	1279	80-85%	32	60.50–68.00	$64.69	$827	—
1315–1598	1399	80-85%	15	70.00–75.00	$73.55	$1,029	-1.08
1170–1580	1413	80-85%	23	75.50–80.00	$77.58	$1,096	—
1308–1594	1451	80-85%	28	69.50–75.00	$72.85	$1,057	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
980–1260	1097	85-90%	12	67.00–73.00	$70.56	$774	—
985–1265	1152	85-90%	30	58.00–63.50	$60.64	$699	+7.30
1056–1380	1191	85-90%	9	51.00–56.00	$53.03	$632	-0.31

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1540–1850	1678	75-80%	12	80.00–84.50	$82.94	$1,392	—

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1350–2005	1638	12	81.00–88.00	$85.06	$1,393	—
1615–2170	1785	4	91.00–94.50	$92.25	$1,647	—
1820–2005	1930	4	98.00–103.50	$100.03	$1,931	—

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1272	1272	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	9	900.00	$900.00
1385	1385	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	900.00	$900.00

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1213	1213	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	925.00	$925.00
1258	1258	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	4	1,100.00	$1,100.00
1300	1300	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	985.00	$985.00

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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.