Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 1, 2020

4,507 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Winter Livestock (Tuesday) report →

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $140.97/cwt +8.04 vs last sale · ≈ $739/hd at 524 lb · 344 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $174.30/cwt +11.79 vs last sale · ≈ $835/hd at 479 lb · 310 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $146.14/cwt +14.18 vs last sale · ≈ $907/hd at 621 lb · 266 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,507 1,719 4,475
Feeder cattle 3,500 950 3,850
Slaughter cattle 118 166 120
Replacement cattle 889 603 505

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with a couple of weeks ago: Calves uneven, steer calves under 650 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher except for 400 to 450 lbs and 500 to 550 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 lower. Heifer calves 300 to 400 lbs steady, 400 to 500 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 lower, over 500 lbs 1.00 to 2.00 higher. Yearling feeder steers over 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher. Yearling feeder heifers over 700 lbs steady to 3.00 higher advance on 800 to 850 lbs. Slaughter cows mostly steady. Slaughter bulls steady to 1.00 higher. Demand moderate to good.

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
276 276 6 215.00 $215.00 $593 —
332 332 3 210.00 $210.00 $697 —
361–376 370 23 201.00–210.00 $203.90 $754 +14.90
402 fancy 402 17 197.00 $197.00 $792 —
408–447 423 43 177.50–188.00 $183.58 $777 +12.58
460–488 479 238 166.00–178.50 $172.50 $826 +9.99
470–481 thin fleshed 479 72 180.00–182.00 $180.27 $863 —
504–548 536 169 155.00–167.50 $160.44 $860 +2.66
554–598 567 255 151.00–163.00 $157.51 $893 +9.65
600–643 617 207 142.50–153.00 $148.25 $915 —
626–641 unweaned 635 59 136.00–140.00 $138.72 $881 +6.76
650–695 677 91 136.00–147.00 $140.40 $951 +8.30
671–695 unweaned 684 56 132.00–135.00 $133.20 $911 —
700 700 8 146.00 $146.00 $1,022 +13.32
765–773 769 102 138.00–142.50 $141.16 $1,086 —
829–840 832 70 131.00–138.00 $135.78 $1,130 +12.78
921 fancy 921 51 139.00 $139.00 $1,280 —
971 971 36 131.35 $131.35 $1,275 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
543 543 40 151.50 $151.50 $823 —
629 629 30 131.00 $131.00 $824 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
527 527 11 152.00 $152.00 $801 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
312 312 5 185.00 $185.00 $577 —
367–398 380 32 159.00–167.50 $162.62 $618 +8.26
406–442 429 69 142.00–151.00 $145.24 $623 —
467 fancy 467 100 154.00 $154.00 $719 —
450–493 471 130 142.00–150.50 $145.40 $685 +6.99
500–545 524 344 136.00–146.00 $140.97 $739 +8.04
558–596 583 147 132.00–140.50 $136.70 $797 +6.70
610–637 fancy 619 51 141.00–144.00 $142.03 $879 —
600–646 628 146 130.00–137.00 $133.70 $840 +10.99
617–646 unweaned 635 51 128.00–129.00 $128.53 $816 —
669–693 684 50 126.00–130.00 $127.14 $870 —
744 unweaned 744 18 123.00 $123.00 $915 —
755 755 13 125.00 $125.00 $944 —
839 fancy 839 55 131.00 $131.00 $1,099 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
494 494 9 131.00 $131.00 $647 —
518–527 520 29 124.00–130.50 $125.36 $652 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
535–545 541 26 125.50–131.00 $128.70 $696 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
533 533 13 130.00 $130.00 $693 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
469–478 473 10 156.00 $156.00 $738 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1093–1385 1203 80-85% 25 53.50–56.00 $54.66 $658 —
1085–1485 1297 80-85% 18 48.00–53.00 $51.28 $665 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790–1230 1021 85-90% 11 34.50–41.00 $36.80 $376 -6.60
1050–1335 1138 85-90% 19 41.00–45.00 $42.75 $486 -3.55
975–1335 1157 85-90% 6 45.00–50.50 $47.47 $549 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1670 1478 75-80% 9 55.00–58.00 $55.89 $826 —
1335–1876 1503 75-80% 13 51.00–54.50 $52.97 $796 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–1630 1537 3 76.00 $76.00 $1,168 —
1660–2105 1766 11 77.00–83.00 $80.09 $1,414 —
1935–2065 2022 3 85.00 $85.00 $1,719 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1020–1650 1252 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 147 45.00–59.00 $53.85 $674

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1152–1540 1293 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 30 900.00–1,010.00 $919.61
1165–1535 1323 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 17 610.00–785.00 $718.85
1370 1370 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 7 1,125.01 $1,125.01

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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.