Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 30, 2024

2,335 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $295.34/cwt -13.18 vs last sale · ≈ $1,678/hd at 568 lb · 170 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $268.31/cwt -2.55 vs last sale · ≈ $1,673/hd at 624 lb · 169 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $265.03/cwt -4.52 vs last sale · ≈ $1,778/hd at 671 lb · 125 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,335 1,802 1,795
Feeder cattle 2,143 1,802 1,674
Slaughter cattle 192 — 121

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was moderate to good. Feeder steers and heifers traded uneven. Feeder steers and heifers traded mostly steady, with some sharply lower due to coming right off the cow and not receiving fall vaccinations. No trend available on slaughter cows and bulls due to no recent sale with comparable receipts. Next available report will be Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

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
321 321 8 390.00 $390.00 $1,252 —
409 unweaned 409 17 385.00 $385.00 $1,575 +20.00
457–459 unweaned 459 46 337.50–345.00 $344.03 $1,579 —
505–510 unweaned 508 89 322.00–326.50 $323.78 $1,645 -11.75
560 560 43 297.00 $297.00 $1,663 -16.00
556–588 unweaned 571 127 294.00–299.00 $294.78 $1,683 -12.81
601–603 unweaned 602 19 280.00–292.50 $285.93 $1,721 +3.93
655–692 unweaned 669 79 267.50–275.00 $270.17 $1,807 +0.62
672–688 674 46 255.00–264.00 $256.20 $1,727 —
720 unweaned 720 24 248.00–252.00 $251.00 $1,807 -4.80
784 unweaned 784 8 251.00 $251.00 $1,968 +2.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345–346 unweaned 346 12 368.00–375.00 $369.75 $1,279 —
378–393 unweaned 388 6 362.50–365.00 $363.31 $1,410 —
396 396 24 378.00 $378.00 $1,497 —
413 unweaned 413 12 363.00 $363.00 $1,499 —
479–482 481 28 325.00–330.00 $326.07 $1,568 —
458–492 unweaned 483 35 332.00–337.50 $334.50 $1,616 +4.40
510–514 512 13 320.00–322.50 $321.16 $1,644 —
511–540 unweaned 527 43 295.00–301.00 $299.98 $1,581 -24.02
558–582 unweaned 567 77 272.00–289.00 $280.92 $1,593 -0.16
578–579 579 9 272.00–293.00 $278.99 $1,615 —
615 615 8 251.00 $251.00 $1,544 —
605–641 unweaned 624 146 263.00–274.00 $268.78 $1,677 -2.08
625 625 15 273.00 $273.00 $1,706 —
668–697 unweaned 686 43 253.00–260.00 $256.86 $1,762 -10.89
807 807 20 242.00 $242.00 $1,953 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
407 unweaned 407 5 275.00 $275.00 $1,119 -49.00
480 unweaned 480 10 312.50 $312.50 $1,500 —
500–537 unweaned 513 28 244.00–253.00 $249.30 $1,279 —
583 unweaned 583 3 228.00 $228.00 $1,329 —
600–612 unweaned 607 14 222.00–235.00 $227.51 $1,381 —
697 697 47 225.50 $225.50 $1,572 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378 378 4 352.50 $352.50 $1,332 —
417 417 11 355.00 $355.00 $1,480 —
467–495 unweaned 477 9 295.00–300.00 $298.37 $1,423 —
547 547 11 305.00 $305.00 $1,668 —
578 unweaned 578 5 265.00 $265.00 $1,532 -7.50
787 787 46 234.00 $234.00 $1,842 -5.62
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
581 581 18 250.00 $250.00 $1,452 —
643 643 17 245.00 $245.00 $1,575 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 unweaned 325 5 337.50 $337.50 $1,097 —
338 338 10 337.50 $337.50 $1,141 —
359 unweaned 359 17 332.50 $332.50 $1,194 —
385 385 25 340.00 $340.00 $1,309 —
412 unweaned 412 12 330.00 $330.00 $1,360 -9.82
454 454 29 320.00 $320.00 $1,453 —
477 fancy 477 14 341.50 $341.50 $1,629 —
518–537 unweaned 523 44 281.00–293.50 $288.61 $1,509 +7.64
568–594 unweaned 588 25 252.50–257.00 $253.54 $1,491 -16.46
619 unweaned 619 17 243.50 $243.50 $1,507 -30.02
627 627 5 242.00 $242.00 $1,517 -36.50
659–672 unweaned 665 20 233.00–237.50 $235.05 $1,563 —
666 666 16 254.00 $254.00 $1,692 -16.00
757 757 13 238.00 $238.00 $1,802 —
1004 1004 8 217.00 $217.00 $2,179 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
345 unweaned 345 3 327.50 $327.50 $1,130 -14.36
426–446 unweaned 437 23 317.50–319.00 $318.30 $1,391 —
459 459 7 290.00 $290.00 $1,331 —
451–498 unweaned 492 37 281.00–291.00 $288.88 $1,421 -4.85
509 509 15 285.00 $285.00 $1,451 +19.97
519–545 unweaned 540 40 270.00–274.50 $270.87 $1,463 +0.52
554–559 557 9 250.00–252.00 $251.12 $1,399 —
586–598 unweaned 588 11 246.00–250.00 $247.64 $1,456 -16.36
618–620 619 7 238.00–239.00 $238.29 $1,475 —
603–629 unweaned 621 82 233.00–241.00 $238.17 $1,479 -14.39
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
379 unweaned 379 6 311.00 $311.00 $1,179 —
468–490 unweaned 473 21 270.00–272.50 $271.94 $1,286 —
537–544 unweaned 540 20 259.00–266.00 $263.18 $1,421 —
571 unweaned 571 29 239.00 $239.00 $1,365 —
715 unweaned 715 12 199.00 $199.00 $1,423 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
428 428 25 295.00 $295.00 $1,263 —
493–497 unweaned 495 15 262.50–266.00 $264.14 $1,307 —
498 498 24 266.00 $266.00 $1,325 —
549 549 6 254.00 $254.00 $1,394 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
444 unweaned 444 4 302.00 $302.00 $1,341 —
485 unweaned 485 7 272.00 $272.00 $1,319 —
508–536 unweaned 520 17 258.50–272.50 $266.55 $1,386 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517–540 unweaned 535 13 257.00–263.00 $258.34 $1,382 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
382 382 3 285.00 $285.00 $1,089 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1450 1087 80-85% 12 137.00–187.50 $163.60 $1,778 —
1110 1110 80-85% 1 88.00 $88.00 $977 —
1125–1360 1293 80-85% 9 94.00–106.00 $101.69 $1,315 —
1300 1300 80-85% 1 50.00 $50.00 $650 —
1050–1565 1304 80-85% 82 115.00–135.00 $127.90 $1,668 —
1155–1436 1334 80-85% 18 112.00–116.00 $114.13 $1,522 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
938–982 969 85-90% 7 162.50–163.00 $162.86 $1,578 —
810–1180 1033 85-90% 7 50.00–81.00 $62.41 $645 —
895–1160 1043 85-90% 9 103.00–125.00 $107.64 $1,123 —
940–1195 1081 85-90% 13 101.00–111.00 $107.31 $1,160 —
1125 1125 85-90% 1 89.00 $89.00 $1,001 —
1040–1207 1149 85-90% 11 89.00–97.50 $95.22 $1,094 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485 1485 75-80% 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,901 —
1510–1633 1593 75-80% 4 132.00–134.00 $132.97 $2,118 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1030 1030 1 141.00 $141.00 $1,452 —
1415–1865 1710 3 114.00–125.00 $121.97 $2,086 —
1615–2195 1829 5 130.00–142.00 $135.44 $2,477 —

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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.