Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 7, 2024

2,468 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $315.92/cwt ≈ $1,829/hd at 579 lb · 227 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $260.79/cwt ≈ $1,729/hd at 663 lb · 223 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $305.23/cwt ≈ $1,655/hd at 542 lb · 193 head
HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,468 1,029 1,113
Feeder cattle 2,395 69 1,013
Slaughter cattle 73 188 100
Replacement cattle — 772 —

Trade activity and demand was good. No trend available on feeder cattle as last sale with measurable receipts was three weeks ago. No trend available on slaughter cows and bulls as there were limited numbers. Next available report will be 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
468–483 480 32 350.00–365.00 $362.26 $1,739 —
513–537 532 80 331.00–344.00 $339.49 $1,806 —
568–594 579 227 310.00–325.00 $315.92 $1,829 —
602–643 632 97 295.00–307.00 $297.63 $1,881 —
654–681 670 26 270.00–287.50 $278.80 $1,868 —
706 fancy 706 98 271.00 $271.00 $1,913 —
706–747 738 67 251.00–264.50 $254.71 $1,880 —
752–772 765 77 246.00–254.50 $250.84 $1,919 —
811 fancy 811 30 248.00 $248.00 $2,011 —
807–838 825 31 230.00–241.00 $234.51 $1,935 —
900–944 937 24 212.00–221.75 $220.19 $2,063 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
401–421 408 11 332.50–345.00 $337.19 $1,376 —
477 477 8 334.00 $334.00 $1,593 —
532 532 3 327.50 $327.50 $1,742 —
558–581 576 9 305.00 $305.00 $1,757 —
622–636 629 44 277.00–289.50 $283.37 $1,782 —
671–682 677 61 265.50–268.50 $266.86 $1,807 —
700–717 704 24 246.00–249.00 $246.76 $1,737 —
1083 1083 4 175.00 $175.00 $1,895 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
463–496 482 7 311.00–315.00 $312.65 $1,507 —
583 583 17 275.00 $275.00 $1,603 —
698 698 3 234.00 $234.00 $1,633 —
741 741 5 229.50 $229.50 $1,701 —
783 783 9 205.00 $205.00 $1,605 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317 317 3 345.00 $345.00 $1,094 —
372–396 390 12 310.00–330.00 $321.11 $1,252 —
464 464 4 280.00 $280.00 $1,299 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
376 376 8 242.50 $242.50 $912 —
594 594 7 235.00 $235.00 $1,396 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
578–599 587 9 296.00–308.00 $302.56 $1,776 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
753 753 6 240.00 $240.00 $1,807 —

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Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
344 344 4 315.00 $315.00 $1,084 —
365–398 385 61 310.00–322.50 $316.55 $1,219 —
455 fancy 455 42 328.00 $328.00 $1,492 —
468–492 479 37 306.00–313.00 $310.05 $1,485 —
537–541 fancy 539 108 311.50–314.50 $313.23 $1,688 —
528–548 546 85 292.00–302.50 $295.06 $1,611 —
554–590 571 60 275.00–288.00 $282.03 $1,610 —
601–628 610 94 263.00–270.00 $265.95 $1,622 —
650–695 663 223 242.50–271.00 $260.79 $1,729 —
710–722 714 36 250.50–259.50 $256.22 $1,829 —
754–760 756 8 222.00–231.00 $227.61 $1,721 —
818 818 12 221.00 $221.00 $1,808 —
851 851 4 200.00 $200.00 $1,702 —
950 950 6 202.50 $202.50 $1,924 —
1050 1050 11 170.00 $170.00 $1,785 —
1156 1156 9 161.00 $161.00 $1,861 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
394 394 5 277.50 $277.50 $1,093 —
436 436 4 264.00 $264.00 $1,151 —
483–491 487 10 295.00–296.00 $295.50 $1,439 —
510–549 534 23 271.00–284.00 $275.44 $1,471 —
575–596 588 31 262.50–280.00 $271.07 $1,594 —
605–632 624 23 253.00–262.00 $258.48 $1,613 —
652–676 669 22 241.00–256.00 $253.03 $1,693 —
742 742 15 230.00 $230.00 $1,707 —
770–790 779 11 202.00–208.00 $205.08 $1,598 —
813–834 824 33 195.00–204.50 $199.55 $1,644 —
923 923 3 190.00 $190.00 $1,754 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
503–512 508 6 252.50–267.50 $260.07 $1,321 —
612–646 631 7 246.00–249.00 $247.75 $1,563 +47.75
673 673 9 238.00 $238.00 $1,602 —
739 739 9 208.00 $208.00 $1,537 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
578 578 10 246.00 $246.00 $1,422 —
698 698 5 234.00 $234.00 $1,633 —
753 753 7 227.50 $227.50 $1,713 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
467–497 477 9 267.00–269.00 $267.69 $1,277 —
525–537 532 9 235.00–246.00 $241.17 $1,283 —
820 820 4 182.50 $182.50 $1,496 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
363 363 8 230.00 $230.00 $835 —
411 411 8 222.50 $222.50 $914 —

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Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900 900 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $495 —
1110 1110 85-90% 1 82.50 $82.50 $916 —
1015–1505 1253 85-90% 25 89.00–99.00 $96.42 $1,208 +56.42
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
975–1335 1147 80-85% 6 110.00–112.50 $110.35 $1,266 —
940–1600 1314 80-85% 16 104.00–112.00 $108.05 $1,420 +10.32
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380 1380 75-80% 1 148.00 $148.00 $2,042 +38.00
1607–2085 1727 75-80% 4 114.00–115.00 $114.70 $1,981 —

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YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590 1590 1 87.00 $87.00 $1,383 —
1495–1980 1776 4 104.00–106.00 $105.17 $1,868 —
1040–2110 1792 9 120.00–129.00 $123.80 $2,218 —

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Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1131–1140 1135 7 151.00 $151.00 $1,714 —
1242 1242 31 153.50 $153.50 $1,906 —
1270 1270 3 150.50 $150.50 $1,911 —

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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.