Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, April 10, 2024

1,200 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1 heifers $322.42/cwt +7.20 vs last sale · ≈ $1,544/hd at 479 lb · 85 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $355.47/cwt +6.72 vs last sale · ≈ $1,840/hd at 518 lb · 76 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $324.95/cwt -5.06 vs last sale · ≈ $1,885/hd at 580 lb · 48 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,200 1,996 1,814
Feeder cattle 942 1,706 1,533
Slaughter cattle 258 290 281

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was moderate to good. No trends available as last report was four weeks ago. Feeder steers and heifers had strong tones, as well did slaughter cows and bulls. 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
285 285 7 407.50 $407.50 $1,161 —
330 330 10 387.50 $387.50 $1,279 -15.00
355–380 365 14 370.00–381.00 $378.14 $1,380 +20.64
400–433 427 35 357.00–369.00 $359.18 $1,534 -4.21
459–471 463 29 342.50–355.00 $349.11 $1,616 -20.89
516 fancy 516 62 362.00 $362.00 $1,868 —
508–530 525 14 325.00–332.50 $326.55 $1,714 -22.20
550–599 580 48 320.00–329.00 $324.95 $1,885 -5.06
628 628 2 304.00 $304.00 $1,909 +4.16
705–711 709 28 265.00–280.00 $270.86 $1,920 +3.88
768 768 5 245.00 $245.00 $1,882 -12.80
805 805 2 235.00 $235.00 $1,892 -8.23
1018 1018 9 193.50 $193.50 $1,970 -1.50
1277 1277 5 172.50 $172.50 $2,203 —
1335 1335 2 171.00 $171.00 $2,283 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
409–448 428 35 345.00–350.00 $347.82 $1,489 +1.84
472 472 13 322.50 $322.50 $1,522 -7.50
518–540 527 11 310.00–320.00 $314.14 $1,656 -19.04
588–598 590 18 307.50–311.00 $310.21 $1,830 -2.44
705 705 10 245.00 $245.00 $1,727 —
816 816 6 213.00 $213.00 $1,738 +3.00
863 863 4 212.50 $212.50 $1,834 +1.50
923 923 4 192.00 $192.00 $1,772 -18.00
1210–1245 1233 3 160.00–167.00 $164.71 $2,031 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
373–393 385 12 319.00–332.50 $324.45 $1,249 —
442 442 3 320.00 $320.00 $1,414 —
1080–1090 1085 2 137.00–139.00 $138.00 $1,497 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
621 621 4 225.50 $225.50 $1,400 —
694 694 7 236.00 $236.00 $1,638 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
843 843 9 218.00 $218.00 $1,838 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323–348 338 25 339.00–350.00 $343.20 $1,160 —
355–395 381 23 331.00–342.50 $333.90 $1,272 -1.29
403–425 417 37 320.00–333.00 $327.48 $1,366 -0.93
450–497 479 85 319.00–331.00 $322.42 $1,544 +7.20
516–535 525 25 314.00–320.00 $317.07 $1,665 +16.31
560–587 568 10 281.00–284.00 $281.93 $1,601 +3.30
603–605 604 7 269.00–283.00 $278.99 $1,685 +16.32
704 704 8 252.50 $252.50 $1,778 +21.42
830–842 837 12 197.00–199.00 $197.83 $1,656 —
888 888 2 183.00 $183.00 $1,625 —
912–920 914 9 186.00–196.00 $193.76 $1,771 —
1145 1145 3 171.00 $171.00 $1,958 —
1298 1298 2 154.00 $154.00 $1,999 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
351–357 354 6 312.50–325.00 $318.70 $1,128 —
432 432 11 314.00 $314.00 $1,356 —
471–499 480 15 305.00 $305.00 $1,464 +5.54
520–548 541 21 278.00–289.00 $283.25 $1,532 +10.74
565 565 2 262.00 $262.00 $1,480 -7.80
645 645 10 237.50 $237.50 $1,532 -7.50
693–697 695 15 227.50–239.00 $234.42 $1,629 -0.56
748 748 3 222.00 $222.00 $1,661 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
452 452 10 282.00–285.00 $282.90 $1,279 +1.90
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
265–278 274 10 850.00–975.00 $938.74 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 4 322.00 $322.00 $1,185 —
714 714 4 204.00 $204.00 $1,457 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482 482 3 230.00 $230.00 $1,109 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1055–1510 1296 80-85% 22 137.50–141.00 $138.87 $1,800 —
975–1559 1335 80-85% 73 126.00–136.50 $132.59 $1,770 +6.19
965–1447 1352 80-85% 28 133.50–145.00 $137.89 $1,864 —
1360 1360 80-85% 1 120.00 $120.00 $1,632 —
1130–1585 1418 80-85% 5 114.00–123.00 $118.82 $1,685 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
895–1135 1015 85-90% 2 52.50–92.50 $74.86 $760 —
1005–1065 1035 85-90% 2 127.00–128.00 $127.51 $1,320 —
870–1290 1114 85-90% 7 109.00–111.00 $110.34 $1,229 —
865–1375 1144 85-90% 25 112.00–124.00 $118.82 $1,359 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1498–1678 1583 75-80% 5 132.00–134.00 $132.95 $2,105 +16.23
1725 1725 75-80% 1 119.00 $119.00 $2,053 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1085–2040 1495 10 121.00–142.00 $138.52 $2,071 —
1245–2075 1756 17 145.00–155.00 $150.43 $2,642 —
1720–2115 1874 10 156.00–168.00 $162.71 $3,049 —

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Beef Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1110 1110 2 175.00 $175.00 $1,942 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
725 725 2 170.00 $170.00 $1,232 —
993–995 994 3 169.00–170.00 $169.67 $1,687 —
1137 1137 5 170.00 $170.00 $1,933 +15.00
1168 1168 4 171.00 $171.00 $1,997 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1003 1003 3 174.00 $174.00 $1,745 —

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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.