Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 19, 2022

1,256 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $198.26/cwt -7.83 vs last sale · ≈ $1,033/hd at 521 lb · 100 head

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $211.28/cwt +8.84 vs last sale · ≈ $991/hd at 469 lb · 77 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $187.27/cwt -7.43 vs last sale · ≈ $1,066/hd at 569 lb · 74 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	1,256	1,692	898
Feeder cattle	1,175	1,474	793
Slaughter cattle	70	200	61
Replacement cattle	11	18	44

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were moderate to good. Today's sale consisted of unweaned calves with 1-2 rounds of shots and weaned calves 30 to 45 days. Steers calves under 500 lbs traded uneven to 4.50 higher and steers 500-600 lbs were 2.00 lower, while those over 600 lbs were 3.00 higher to 4.50 lower. Heifer calves traded 1.00 to 7.00 lower. Slaughter cows were steady to 7.00 lower. Replacement cattle were too light to test. The next available report will be October 26, 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
307–349	340	17	222.50–227.50	$226.70	$771	—
386	386	3	215.00	$215.00	$830	-9.07
415	415	2	206.00	$206.00	$855	-5.09
410–449 fancy	426	30	220.00–229.00	$225.20	$959	+0.20
453 fancy	453	35	217.00	$217.00	$983	+6.00
475–483	482	42	197.00–207.50	$206.52	$995	+4.73
507–512	508	22	192.00–196.00	$193.10	$981	-1.11
514–535 fancy	525	78	197.00–203.00	$199.71	$1,048	-8.29
554–588	569	74	183.00–191.00	$187.27	$1,066	-1.79
606–645	620	42	185.00–186.00	$185.63	$1,151	+3.01
632 unweaned	632	15	180.50	$180.50	$1,141	—
652–688	669	33	175.00–182.00	$178.55	$1,194	-2.02
686 fancy	686	17	188.00	$188.00	$1,290	—
726–741	732	17	175.50–178.00	$176.54	$1,292	-4.48
774	774	7	168.50	$168.50	$1,304	-9.75
968	968	2	135.00	$135.00	$1,307	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
271–293	281	11	220.00	$220.00	$618	—
400–443	425	10	199.00–200.00	$199.62	$848	—
473–486	478	15	188.00–194.00	$191.56	$916	+1.56
532	532	3	186.00	$186.00	$990	-0.33
553	553	5	182.00	$182.00	$1,006	-4.00
605–628	614	30	175.00–182.00	$178.19	$1,094	+0.81
654–693	680	12	163.00–172.00	$165.89	$1,128	-8.31
714 unweaned	714	13	152.00	$152.00	$1,085	—
706–736	725	16	160.00–165.00	$161.90	$1,174	-8.54

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
330	330	2	205.00	$205.00	$676	—
375–396	395	20	197.00–199.00	$197.09	$779	-7.40
418–442	429	30	190.00–198.00	$194.80	$836	-3.14
457–486	482	32	185.00–195.00	$186.64	$900	-3.53
523–549	542	46	180.00–184.00	$180.17	$977	-2.48
551 fancy	551	18	180.00	$180.00	$992	—
555–592	573	47	168.00–177.00	$173.24	$993	-2.39
605–634	620	66	160.00–169.00	$165.19	$1,024	-0.63
706–738	715	11	159.00–162.00	$159.84	$1,143	—
806	806	7	134.00	$134.00	$1,080	—

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
438	438	14	188.00	$188.00	$823	-3.50
460–489	478	11	176.50–181.00	$178.61	$854	+1.11
520–523	522	24	168.50–175.00	$173.65	$906	+4.09
567–586	579	13	160.00–165.00	$162.01	$938	—
602 unweaned	602	10	150.00	$150.00	$903	—
651–697	672	28	152.00–158.00	$155.82	$1,047	-2.31

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1190–1315	1259	80-85%	7	60.00–67.00	$63.26	$796	-1.43
1115–1405	1297	80-85%	3	54.50–57.50	$56.27	$730	-8.42
1185–1548	1355	80-85%	18	68.50–79.50	$73.24	$992	—
1548	1548	80-85%	2	71.50	$71.50	$1,107	—

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
815–1095	936	85-90%	4	65.00–70.00	$66.93	$626	—
915–1330	1058	85-90%	3	50.00–51.00	$50.71	$537	—
925–1295	1106	85-90%	7	54.50–62.00	$57.61	$637	—

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1600–1680	1667	75-80%	6	71.00–76.50	$75.62	$1,261	-7.32

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1281	1281	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	11	860.00	$860.00

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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.