Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 7, 2022

1,615 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $181.56/cwt ≈ $1,031/hd at 568 lb · 119 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $191.16/cwt ≈ $1,289/hd at 674 lb · 88 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $205.39/cwt +28.46 vs last sale · ≈ $966/hd at 470 lb · 85 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,615 1,399 2,372
Feeder cattle 1,405 376 2,099
Slaughter cattle 180 419 273
Replacement cattle 30 604 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trend is available as the last reported sale for this market was three weeks ago. Today's run consisted primarily of pre-conditioned calves with the majority having multiple rounds of vaccinations and most being weaned between 30-90 days. Trade activity and demand were good. The next available report will be December 14, 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
387 387 7 245.00 $245.00 $948 —
423 423 5 222.50–232.50 $226.50 $958 —
457 457 10 227.00 $227.00 $1,037 —
454–489 fancy 483 36 235.00–240.00 $238.76 $1,153 —
504–524 511 60 210.00–220.50 $214.19 $1,095 —
555–557 fancy 556 31 217.00 $217.00 $1,207 —
569–588 578 52 201.00–211.00 $204.22 $1,180 +2.22
600 fancy 600 22 205.00 $205.00 $1,230 —
622 unweaned 622 11 186.00 $186.00 $1,157 +13.20
620–643 626 45 190.00–200.50 $198.71 $1,244 —
631 631 4 188.00 $188.00 $1,186 —
668–677 value added 669 37 193.00–196.00 $195.59 $1,308 —
653–698 678 51 181.00–193.50 $187.95 $1,274 —
702–746 718 50 176.00–191.50 $186.14 $1,336 —
735–749 fancy 746 22 193.00–198.50 $197.27 $1,472 —
800–803 802 6 176.00–177.00 $176.50 $1,416 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–441 431 12 209.00–217.50 $212.42 $916 —
459–496 481 17 203.00–216.00 $210.89 $1,014 —
503–546 530 20 200.00–208.00 $203.69 $1,080 +7.69
583–590 584 12 173.00–181.50 $180.54 $1,054 —
621–625 621 9 170.00–172.00 $170.22 $1,057 —
682 682 13 172.00 $172.00 $1,173 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
728 728 3 162.00 $162.00 $1,179 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–343 339 3 211.00–215.00 $213.70 $724 —
398 398 8 214.00 $214.00 $852 —
403–440 432 19 206.00–217.00 $214.29 $926 —
442 fancy 442 3 220.00 $220.00 $972 —
461 fancy 461 23 215.00 $215.00 $991 —
453–485 470 52 200.00–209.00 $203.23 $955 —
492 492 10 194.50 $194.50 $957 —
512–546 527 27 181.00–195.00 $189.94 $1,001 —
551–589 568 119 177.50–188.50 $181.56 $1,031 —
610–648 637 48 175.00–181.00 $178.52 $1,137 —
660–685 671 52 168.00–175.50 $171.39 $1,150 —
720 720 5 163.00–168.00 $167.00 $1,202 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 2 209.00 $209.00 $637 —
393 393 2 196.00 $196.00 $770 —
407–437 424 11 185.00–191.00 $187.13 $793 —
475–493 484 4 187.00–192.00 $189.45 $917 —
510–541 527 9 175.00–179.00 $177.28 $934 —
550–598 581 44 169.00–196.00 $175.48 $1,020 —
625–640 630 23 162.00–166.00 $163.32 $1,029 —
652–671 665 12 165.00–167.00 $165.50 $1,101 —
667 unweaned 667 3 152.00 $152.00 $1,014 —
710–720 717 3 152.00–155.00 $154.01 $1,104 —
888 888 2 146.00 $146.00 $1,296 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030–1600 1282 80-85% 39 59.00–69.00 $61.90 $794 —
1200–1495 1347 80-85% 5 55.00–58.50 $56.92 $767 —
1205–1450 1351 80-85% 14 64.00–71.50 $69.52 $939 +2.56
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
760–1275 1084 85-90% 15 39.00–47.00 $44.71 $485 —
775–1310 1119 85-90% 23 50.00–57.50 $54.48 $610 +12.98
770–1250 1126 85-90% 7 58.00–61.00 $59.68 $672 +18.18
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1489–1835 1629 75-80% 34 69.00–77.00 $75.21 $1,225 +5.57

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485–2305 1794 8 84.00–89.00 $87.10 $1,563 —
1860–2405 2207 3 91.00–98.00 $93.49 $2,063 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 985.00 $985.00
1055–1308 1172 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 835.00–1,325.00 $991.94
1175 1175 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 700.00 $700.00
1231 1231 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 16 785.00 $785.00

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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.