Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 8, 2020

9,099 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $157.67/cwt +0.16 vs last sale · ≈ $917/hd at 581 lb · 524 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $141.98/cwt +5.28 vs last sale · ≈ $811/hd at 571 lb · 521 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $139.03/cwt +4.68 vs last sale · ≈ $865/hd at 622 lb · 519 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 9,099 4,507 5,879
Feeder cattle 8,402 3,500 5,329
Slaughter cattle 90 118 100
Replacement cattle 607 889 450

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Steer calves 2.00 to 3.00 higher instances 5.00 higher on 600 to 700 lbs. Heifer calves 2.00 to 3.00 higher except for 500 to 600 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 higher. Yearling feeder steers over 700 lbs steady to 2.00 lower. Yearling feeder heifers over 700 lbs steady to 3.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls steady. 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
300 300 13 207.00 $207.00 $621 -3.00
374–397 381 91 194.00–203.00 $196.42 $748 -7.48
417 thin fleshed 417 19 193.00 $193.00 $805 —
400–445 437 120 183.00–190.00 $185.62 $811 +2.04
461–486 469 52 179.00–186.00 $183.64 $861 +11.14
513–532 thin fleshed 523 61 172.00–174.00 $172.93 $904 —
500–547 524 217 160.00–169.00 $163.69 $858 +3.25
561–596 580 375 151.00–158.00 $154.58 $897 -2.93
553–588 thin fleshed 585 149 165.25–168.00 $165.46 $968 —
600 thin fleshed 600 31 160.00 $160.00 $960 —
600–630 unweaned 619 57 143.00–149.00 $146.66 $908 +7.94
600–637 624 284 150.00–156.50 $153.43 $957 +5.18
651–696 665 262 143.00–150.50 $147.13 $978 +6.73
665 thin fleshed 665 122 154.50 $154.50 $1,027 —
668 unweaned 668 22 139.00 $139.00 $929 +5.80
708–713 unweaned 709 122 133.00–137.00 $136.12 $965 —
700–744 716 394 138.50–145.00 $142.47 $1,020 -3.53
750–796 787 265 135.00–138.00 $135.57 $1,067 -5.59
800–847 817 215 133.50–138.00 $135.79 $1,109 +0.01
850–894 877 246 132.25–134.75 $133.75 $1,173 —
904–935 922 221 131.75–135.00 $133.10 $1,227 —
972 972 54 127.00 $127.00 $1,234 -4.35
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
472–494 489 84 165.00–171.00 $168.08 $822 —
580–590 583 29 144.00–149.00 $145.74 $850 —
609–629 619 24 141.50–142.00 $141.75 $877 —
657–675 666 21 140.00 $140.00 $932 —
712 712 9 134.00 $134.00 $954 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
568–585 576 100 143.00 $143.00 $824 —
694 694 21 134.00 $134.00 $930 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
482–487 484 42 161.00–162.00 $161.52 $782 —
600 600 34 149.50 $149.50 $897 —
677 677 24 139.50 $139.50 $944 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
369–394 385 30 167.00–170.00 $168.11 $647 +5.49
406 406 6 156.00 $156.00 $633 +10.76
453–496 477 170 150.00–154.50 $152.17 $726 +6.77
503–546 521 190 142.00–152.50 $145.82 $760 +4.85
536 fancy 536 42 159.50 $159.50 $855 —
550–596 571 521 137.50–148.00 $141.98 $811 +5.28
604–636 621 398 136.00–146.00 $141.04 $876 +7.34
604–644 unweaned 626 121 130.00–134.00 $132.41 $829 +3.88
650–695 660 351 127.00–137.00 $130.88 $864 +3.74
669–691 unweaned 686 54 124.50–126.00 $125.37 $860 —
713 713 190 130.60 $130.60 $931 —
762–763 762 187 130.00 $130.00 $991 +5.00
816 fancy 816 25 136.00 $136.00 $1,110 +5.00
803–848 833 204 126.00–129.75 $128.94 $1,074 —
858 858 121 128.00 $128.00 $1,098 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
366–371 369 19 155.00–158.00 $156.25 $577 —
400–442 416 84 146.00–151.00 $149.08 $620 —
451–493 470 55 139.00–140.50 $139.72 $657 —
516–543 530 70 130.00–139.00 $133.82 $709 +5.12
569–592 582 37 131.00–134.00 $132.28 $770 —
616 616 17 129.00 $129.00 $795 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
368 368 31 151.00 $151.00 $556 —
518 518 24 134.00 $134.00 $694 +8.64
555 555 30 133.00 $133.00 $738 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
523–529 525 44 137.50–139.00 $138.62 $728 +8.62
628–631 630 35 126.00–126.50 $126.19 $795 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
870–1285 1164 80-85% 10 52.00–54.00 $52.30 $609 —
1120–1435 1298 80-85% 20 55.00–60.00 $57.24 $743 +5.96
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1125–1718 1476 75-80% 23 56.00–61.00 $58.20 $859 +2.31
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
990–1195 1066 85-90% 6 44.00–48.00 $46.07 $491 —
980–1235 1104 85-90% 10 47.00–52.00 $48.94 $540 +6.19

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1455–1950 1721 6 74.00–79.00 $76.56 $1,318 —
1575–2290 1859 10 80.00–85.00 $82.51 $1,534 —
1975–2280 2128 4 87.00–90.00 $88.82 $1,890 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1013–1652 1202 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 167 47.00–61.00 $55.75 $670

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1211 1211 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 10 1,010.00 $1,010.00
1230–1331 1294 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 16 800.00–810.00 $802.38
1339 1339 Aged (>8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 38 785.00 $785.00
1323–1527 1393 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 29 885.00–900.00 $890.67

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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.