Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 6, 2024

1,996 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $302.66/cwt ≈ $1,904/hd at 629 lb · 156 head
heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $257.80/cwt ≈ $2,031/hd at 788 lb · 116 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $266.98/cwt +0.48 vs last sale · ≈ $1,920/hd at 719 lb · 100 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,996 718 0
Feeder cattle 1,706 718 0
Slaughter cattle 290 — 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was very good. No trends available as last report was 3 weeks ago. Feeder steers and heifers had strong upward tones. Slaughter cows and bulls also had sharply higher tones from three weeks ago. Next available report will be as receipts warrant.

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
314 314 4 402.50 $402.50 $1,264 —
393 393 3 357.50 $357.50 $1,405 —
421–436 427 19 360.00–369.00 $363.39 $1,552 —
474 474 4 370.00 $370.00 $1,754 +24.21
500–537 521 69 345.00–357.50 $348.75 $1,817 +26.25
562–566 564 42 322.50–335.00 $330.01 $1,861 +11.92
620 fancy 620 29 315.00 $315.00 $1,953 —
600–644 631 127 294.00–307.50 $299.84 $1,892 —
661 fancy 661 10 291.00 $291.00 $1,924 —
669–688 681 37 279.00–288.00 $284.32 $1,936 +3.02
704–748 719 100 260.00–271.00 $266.98 $1,920 +0.48
782–799 788 116 251.00–261.00 $257.80 $2,031 —
813–825 814 56 232.00–247.00 $243.23 $1,980 —
861 861 5 232.00 $232.00 $1,998 —
902–916 912 61 230.00–237.50 $232.91 $2,124 —
1020 1020 1 195.00 $195.00 $1,989 —
1143 1143 2 181.00 $181.00 $2,069 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
422–440 432 13 335.00–355.00 $345.98 $1,495 +40.98
494 494 9 330.00 $330.00 $1,630 —
536–544 540 33 322.50–342.50 $333.18 $1,799 —
565–593 582 24 310.00–317.00 $312.65 $1,820 +15.65
641 641 9 278.00 $278.00 $1,782 -4.44
663 663 3 262.00 $262.00 $1,737 —
817 817 5 210.00 $210.00 $1,716 —
852 852 7 211.00 $211.00 $1,798 -2.00
928 928 4 210.00 $210.00 $1,949 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
939 939 8 205.50 $205.50 $1,930 —
1013 1013 3 193.50 $193.50 $1,960 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
588 588 6 290.00 $290.00 $1,705 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
600 600 4 205.00 $205.00 $1,230 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
357–394 377 36 331.00–340.00 $335.19 $1,264 —
422–430 427 14 320.00–333.00 $328.41 $1,402 +13.14
492–497 494 29 310.00–318.00 $315.22 $1,557 —
506 fancy 506 7 318.00 $318.00 $1,609 —
505–532 516 51 297.00–307.50 $300.76 $1,552 +1.76
566 fancy 566 16 296.00 $296.00 $1,675 —
560–594 586 46 277.00–287.00 $278.63 $1,633 +10.17
615 fancy 615 36 275.50 $275.50 $1,694 —
628–637 631 39 259.00–265.00 $262.67 $1,657 +13.87
658–687 667 77 244.00–254.00 $249.11 $1,662 -1.61
726–745 731 28 222.00–237.00 $231.08 $1,689 +8.08
744 fancy 744 45 243.00 $243.00 $1,808 —
756–785 772 62 230.50–241.00 $235.14 $1,815 —
803 fancy 803 28 243.00 $243.00 $1,951 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
464–494 480 13 295.00–305.00 $299.46 $1,437 —
514–517 515 9 270.00–277.50 $272.51 $1,403 -3.22
570–583 577 63 264.00–272.00 $269.80 $1,557 —
630–632 631 12 244.00–245.50 $245.00 $1,546 —
679–691 686 22 232.00–237.00 $234.98 $1,612 —
795 795 30 222.00 $222.00 $1,765 —
853 853 13 219.00 $219.00 $1,868 —
1085 1085 3 166.00 $166.00 $1,801 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
473 473 4 281.00 $281.00 $1,329 —
523 523 9 232.00 $232.00 $1,213 —
689 689 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,585 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 6 177.00 $177.00 $1,558 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
682 682 3 240.00 $240.00 $1,637 +21.00
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
865 865 2 141.00 $141.00 $1,220 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1398 1316 80-85% 11 123.00–127.00 $125.94 $1,657 —
845–1525 1328 80-85% 202 120.00–128.00 $126.40 $1,679 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1516 1516 75-80% 33 127.00 $127.00 $1,925 —
1510–1660 1585 75-80% 2 111.00–123.00 $116.72 $1,850 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1195 1064 85-90% 6 117.00–126.00 $119.76 $1,274 —
895–1245 1154 85-90% 25 109.00–119.00 $112.55 $1,299 —
1300 1300 85-90% 1 100.00 $100.00 $1,300 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1835 1641 5 144.00–152.00 $149.24 $2,449 —
1670 1670 1 115.00 $115.00 $1,920 —
1875–1925 1900 2 138.00–141.00 $139.52 $2,651 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1105 1105 2 155.00 $155.00 $1,713 +4.00
1292 1292 15 160.00 $160.00 $2,067 —
1345 1345 1 157.00 $157.00 $2,112 +2.09
1365 1365 1 159.00 $159.00 $2,170 —
Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
920 920 2 130.00 $130.00 $1,196 —
1173 1173 2 150.00 $150.00 $1,760 —
1200 1200 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,824 +3.00
Small 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
720 720 1 110.00 $110.00 $792 —
810 810 2 107.50 $107.50 $871 —

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
724 724 11 109.00 $109.00 $789 —

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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.