Cattle Market Pulse

Sterling Livestock Commission Market Report

Sterling, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 6, 2024

1,283 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $299.56/cwt +4.22 vs last sale · ≈ $1,723/hd at 575 lb · 121 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $273.50/cwt -15.11 vs last sale · ≈ $1,468/hd at 537 lb · 92 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $269.81/cwt -16.12 vs last sale · ≈ $1,700/hd at 630 lb · 90 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,283 2,335 2,272
Feeder cattle 1,183 2,143 2,027
Slaughter cattle 100 192 245

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was moderate to good, despite a moderate snow storm. Feeder steers and heifers traded mostly steady to 3.00 lower. A few fancy feeder steers and heifers with good vaccination programs traded 3.00 to 5.00 higher. Average dress slaughter cows traded steady to 3.00 lower, while average dress slaughter bulls traded 5.00 to 6.00 higher. Next available report will be Wednesday, November 13, 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
365 unweaned 365 6 405.00 $405.00 $1,478 —
400–438 unweaned 431 48 369.00–380.00 $372.37 $1,605 -12.63
473 unweaned 473 34 345.00 $345.00 $1,632 +0.97
517 unweaned 517 50 322.00 $322.00 $1,665 -1.78
527 527 36 338.00 $338.00 $1,781 —
550 fancy 550 47 305.00 $305.00 $1,678 —
554–558 unweaned 556 9 290.00–294.00 $291.77 $1,622 -3.01
553–599 596 65 292.00–297.00 $296.71 $1,768 —
614–633 unweaned 630 90 268.50–276.00 $269.81 $1,700 -16.12
654 unweaned 654 6 262.00 $262.00 $1,713 -8.17
656 fancy 656 4 295.00 $295.00 $1,935 —
701–729 unweaned 715 39 241.00–250.00 $245.30 $1,754 -5.70
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
341 unweaned 341 8 385.00 $385.00 $1,313 +15.25
407–435 unweaned 423 17 345.00–352.00 $347.77 $1,471 -15.23
472 472 6 345.00 $345.00 $1,628 +18.93
538–549 unweaned 545 82 299.00–310.00 $302.11 $1,646 +2.13
564–569 567 12 289.00–290.00 $289.33 $1,641 +10.34
570–597 unweaned 589 40 269.00–283.00 $278.50 $1,640 -2.42
629–634 unweaned 632 16 260.00–262.00 $261.25 $1,651 -7.53
629–637 636 22 266.00–270.00 $266.72 $1,696 -6.28
650–680 662 13 268.00–276.00 $272.84 $1,806 —
655–697 unweaned 671 24 239.00–251.00 $248.47 $1,667 -8.39
717 unweaned 717 7 241.50 $241.50 $1,732 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
323 unweaned 323 8 355.00 $355.00 $1,147 —
498 498 3 285.00 $285.00 $1,419 —
540 540 5 272.00 $272.00 $1,469 -33.00
584–593 unweaned 590 14 252.00–264.00 $259.76 $1,533 -5.24
649 649 6 260.00 $260.00 $1,687 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
387 unweaned 387 9 357.50 $357.50 $1,384 —
504 unweaned 504 11 297.50 $297.50 $1,499 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
478 478 2 277.00 $277.00 $1,324 —
631 631 5 246.00 $246.00 $1,552 +1.00
663 unweaned 663 5 238.00 $238.00 $1,578 —
706 unweaned 706 4 222.00 $222.00 $1,567 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–387 unweaned 382 10 328.00–330.00 $328.58 $1,255 -3.92
406–419 unweaned 413 17 320.00–330.00 $325.66 $1,345 -4.34
478 unweaned 478 5 295.00 $295.00 $1,410 —
528–548 unweaned 536 65 267.50–273.00 $270.59 $1,450 -18.02
526–544 539 27 279.00–281.00 $280.49 $1,512 —
550–587 unweaned 572 24 254.00–263.00 $258.79 $1,480 +5.25
600 600 2 251.00 $251.00 $1,506 +9.00
648 unweaned 648 2 240.00 $240.00 $1,555 -3.50
663 unweaned 663 12 234.00 $234.00 $1,551 -1.05
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 unweaned 445 16 315.00 $315.00 $1,402 -3.30
479 unweaned 479 14 276.00 $276.00 $1,322 -12.88
474–493 484 20 283.00–286.00 $284.53 $1,377 -5.47
511 511 5 262.00 $262.00 $1,339 -23.00
533–542 unweaned 540 16 257.50–267.50 $259.35 $1,400 -11.52
587–590 589 12 248.00–250.00 $248.83 $1,466 -2.29
587–596 unweaned 592 13 245.00–248.00 $247.01 $1,462 -0.63
600–618 611 8 240.00–246.00 $242.21 $1,480 +3.92
637 unweaned 637 3 238.00 $238.00 $1,516 -0.17
677 677 11 231.00–232.00 $231.73 $1,569 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 unweaned 330 3 287.50 $287.50 $949 —
562–582 unweaned 572 6 232.00–236.00 $233.97 $1,338 —
799 799 4 209.00 $209.00 $1,670 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
649 649 4 224.00 $224.00 $1,454 —
652 unweaned 652 5 222.00 $222.00 $1,447 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020 1020 80-85% 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,326 —
1160–1198 1179 80-85% 4 157.50–167.50 $162.42 $1,915 —
1035–1570 1245 80-85% 14 110.00–119.00 $115.13 $1,433 —
1200–1500 1340 80-85% 3 100.00–108.00 $104.36 $1,398 -9.77
1115–1645 1362 80-85% 39 110.00–130.00 $125.14 $1,704 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
910–971 959 85-90% 5 162.00–170.00 $168.48 $1,616 +5.62
930–1060 1002 85-90% 3 91.00–97.00 $93.96 $941 +31.55
897–1090 1007 85-90% 11 112.00–114.00 $112.39 $1,132 +49.98
955–1080 1032 85-90% 3 103.00–109.00 $105.20 $1,086 +42.79
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1553–1622 1594 75-80% 5 128.00–129.00 $128.39 $2,047 -4.58
1595–1600 1598 75-80% 2 123.00–126.00 $124.50 $1,990 -8.47
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
2000–2080 2040 65-75% 2 120.00–122.00 $121.02 $2,469 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1630–1825 1728 2 138.00–147.00 $142.25 $2,458 +20.28
1605–2000 1803 2 128.00–129.00 $128.55 $2,318 -6.89
2155 2155 1 160.00 $160.00 $3,448 —

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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.