Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 8, 2023

1,128 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $202.60/cwt -15.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,282/hd at 633 lb · 102 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $170.30/cwt ≈ $1,073/hd at 630 lb · 97 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $175.09/cwt +1.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,021/hd at 583 lb · 66 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,128 2,200 1,255
Feeder cattle 1,013 2,200 1,116
Slaughter cattle 100 — 37
Replacement cattle 15 — 102

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Trade activity and demand were good. Feeder steers under 700 lbs traded 3.00 to 8.00 lower while steers weighing over 700 lbs traded 2.00 to 7.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 650 lbs traded 2.50 to 6.00 lower and heifers over 650 lbs traded steady to 2.00 higher. There were no other classes of cattle for comparison. The next available report will be Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

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
503 503 15 214.00 $214.00 $1,076 -8.12
505–519 value added 517 50 231.00–235.00 $231.79 $1,198 +1.20
568–577 fancy 575 56 223.00–223.75 $223.60 $1,286 —
609–645 633 102 198.00–210.00 $202.60 $1,282 -8.57
659–699 686 26 189.00–194.00 $191.32 $1,312 -3.62
716 fancy 716 54 197.00 $197.00 $1,411 +7.00
725 725 10 187.00 $187.00 $1,356 +2.49
768–787 778 24 181.00–184.00 $182.82 $1,422 -1.59
800 value added 800 10 186.00 $186.00 $1,488 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
555–599 590 5 197.00–199.00 $198.62 $1,172 -4.34
601 unweaned 601 32 192.50 $192.50 $1,157 —
630 630 3 193.00 $193.00 $1,216 -3.32
663 663 2 176.00 $176.00 $1,167 -4.76
707 unweaned 707 9 174.00 $174.00 $1,230 —
711 711 5 176.00 $176.00 $1,251 ±0.00
852 852 13 165.50 $165.50 $1,410 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
413 413 5 183.00 $183.00 $756 —
458 458 8 182.00 $182.00 $834 —
561 561 4 189.00 $189.00 $1,060 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458–487 475 20 189.00–192.50 $191.15 $908 -0.36
531–540 538 21 171.50–188.00 $175.67 $945 -3.32
573–585 581 41 176.00–181.00 $176.97 $1,028 -1.06
587 unweaned 587 25 172.00 $172.00 $1,010 -0.50
609–649 630 97 165.00–174.00 $170.30 $1,073 —
662–679 666 19 164.00–169.00 $167.82 $1,118 +0.70
720–724 724 39 166.50–169.00 $168.74 $1,222 +10.98
755–757 757 21 161.00–163.00 $162.81 $1,232 +12.12
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
406 406 9 201.00 $201.00 $816 —
407 unweaned 407 9 196.00 $196.00 $798 —
467–480 477 45 202.00–209.00 $205.30 $979 -6.70
527–537 535 64 193.00–202.50 $196.42 $1,051 +3.69
553–556 555 26 184.00–192.00 $188.93 $1,049 -3.59
603 603 2 182.00 $182.00 $1,097 -2.57
674 674 37 177.00 $177.00 $1,193 +2.29
708 708 16 175.00 $175.00 $1,239 +0.40
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 2 170.00 $170.00 $578 —
419–438 432 23 160.00–161.00 $160.70 $694 —
563 563 3 157.00 $157.00 $884 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
434 434 7 176.00 $176.00 $764 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1322–1470 1356 80-85% 7 73.00–78.00 $76.87 $1,042 —
1200–1550 1426 80-85% 58 78.00–87.50 $82.36 $1,174 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1370 1168 85-90% 4 69.00–72.50 $70.29 $821 —
1005–1305 1189 85-90% 9 74.50–79.50 $75.63 $899 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1575–2065 1672 75-80% 10 82.50–84.00 $82.86 $1,385 —
1650–1940 1795 75-80% 2 85.00–89.50 $87.43 $1,569 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1275–1335 1305 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 2 935.00–1,100.00 $1,019.40
1345–1425 1372 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 1,125.00–1,185.00 $1,145.78
1215–1490 1398 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,125.00–1,250.00 $1,213.80
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1990 1990 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,675.00 $1,675.00

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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.