Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 18, 2023

1,046 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $317.03/cwt +39.56 vs last sale · ≈ $1,642/hd at 518 lb · 140 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $375.16/cwt +21.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,624/hd at 433 lb · 88 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $276.43/cwt +8.41 vs last sale · ≈ $1,700/hd at 615 lb · 76 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,046 1,780 1,245
Feeder cattle 937 1,780 1,175
Slaughter cattle 109 70

Compared to last week, trade and demand on feeder cattle were steady. Todays supply was comprised mostly of preconditioned calves coming straight off the cow. Feeder steers traded mostly 8.00 to 18.00 higher with a few trades sharply higher. Feeder heifers weighing 400 to 600 pounds traded 7.00 to 10.00 lower, with a few trades sharply lower. While heifers weighing over 600 pounds were up 10.00 to 15.00 with a fairly light test. There is no comparable trend on the slaughter cows and bulls as the previous report was in September. Next available reports will be available as receipts warrant.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
348 value added 348 8 400.00 $400.00 $1,392
379–397 value added 385 9 380.00 $380.00 $1,463
418–434 value added 433 88 375.00–380.00 $375.16 $1,624
490–499 value added 495 16 312.50–320.00 $315.75 $1,563
513–522 value added 518 140 306.00–319.00 $317.03 $1,642
562–591 value added 576 35 285.00–301.00 $292.43 $1,684
608–633 value added 615 76 265.00–281.00 $276.43 $1,700
681–690 unweaned 684 8 245.00–257.00 $252.46 $1,727 -2.78
710–714 unweaned 713 23 242.00–253.50 $252.01 $1,797 -0.62
777 777 20 240.00 $240.00 $1,865 -26.50
867 867 12 226.00 $226.00 $1,959
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424–438 value added 427 14 327.50–340.00 $337.25 $1,440
475–478 value added 477 19 327.50–330.00 $328.02 $1,565
531–540 value added 535 12 282.50–287.50 $284.60 $1,523
553 553 4 267.50 $267.50 $1,479
595 595 4 250.00 $250.00 $1,488
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 unweaned 330 3 275.00 $275.00 $908
404 unweaned 404 9 295.00 $295.00 $1,192
448 448 9 280.00 $280.00 $1,254
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
502 502 10 232.00 $232.00 $1,165

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
399 value added 399 4 332.50 $332.50 $1,327
408–435 value added 422 25 280.00–317.50 $296.74 $1,252
465–481 value added 474 28 262.50–269.00 $264.98 $1,256
513–545 value added 529 37 252.50–273.00 $262.68 $1,390
550–599 value added 579 41 245.00–253.00 $249.75 $1,446
617 value added 617 3 257.50 $257.50 $1,589
651 unweaned 651 22 255.00 $255.00 $1,660 +19.51
1007 1007 5 221.50 $221.50 $2,231
1050–1055 1053 2 202.50–205.00 $203.75 $2,145
1130–1145 1134 4 170.00–194.00 $187.94 $2,131
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313 unweaned 313 3 278.00 $278.00 $870
386 unweaned 386 7 255.00 $255.00 $984
759 759 8 229.00 $229.00 $1,738
832 832 40 227.50 $227.50 $1,893 +27.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
430 430 3 270.00 $270.00 $1,161
480 480 11 242.50 $242.50 $1,164
583 583 6 227.50 $227.50 $1,326 -7.50
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
742 742 3 205.00 $205.00 $1,521
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 1 212.50 $212.50 $2,029

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Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
581 581 4 236.00 $236.00 $1,371

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1205 1067 85-90% 5 58.00–71.00 $62.52 $667
1128–1260 1182 85-90% 26 79.50–86.50 $82.98 $981
1015–1415 1222 85-90% 15 87.00–94.00 $89.39 $1,092
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1225–1425 1265 80-85% 5 109.50–112.00 $111.44 $1,410
1150–1485 1315 80-85% 15 92.00–100.00 $96.53 $1,269
1265–1490 1319 80-85% 6 85.00–89.00 $86.25 $1,138
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1150 1150 75-80% 1 93.00 $93.00 $1,070

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1960 1733 9 106.00–113.00 $109.07 $1,890
1450–2350 1836 6 101.00–105.00 $103.33 $1,897
1930 1930 1 117.50 $117.50 $2,268

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Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070 1070 4 160.00 $160.00 $1,712
1128 1128 6 162.00 $162.00 $1,827
1191 1191 5 163.00 $163.00 $1,941
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
898 898 3 156.00 $156.00 $1,401
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
938 938 3 160.00 $160.00 $1,501

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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.