Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 12, 2021

7,813 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $155.47/cwt -4.33 vs last sale · ≈ $895/hd at 576 lb · 618 head
light 7-weight M&L 1 steers $132.66/cwt -6.27 vs last sale · ≈ $955/hd at 720 lb · 557 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $140.34/cwt -1.98 vs last sale · ≈ $936/hd at 667 lb · 532 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,813 4,212 7,434
Feeder cattle 7,452 3,744 7,100
Slaughter cattle 55 62 64
Replacement cattle 306 406 270

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Steer calves under 500 lbs steady instances 9.00 higher on 400 to 450 lbs, 500 to 600 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 lower, 600 to 700 lbs 2.00 to 4.00 lower, 700 to 800 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 lower, over 800 lbs 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Heifer calves under 400 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher, 400 to 700 lbs 2.00 to 5.00 lower except for 500 to 600 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 lower, over 700 lbs mostly steady. 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
306 306 6 221.00 $221.00 $676 +1.85
363–397 385 29 202.50–209.00 $205.53 $791 ±0.00
420 thin fleshed 420 39 210.00 $210.00 $882 +9.00
435 435 13 190.00–200.00 $194.62 $847 +2.38
450–452 thin fleshed 450 93 187.50–189.00 $187.71 $845 —
457–494 470 117 175.00–184.00 $180.20 $847 -4.23
511–537 527 306 158.00–166.00 $162.04 $854 -12.17
554–573 thin fleshed 566 80 160.00–163.00 $161.94 $917 -5.56
550–595 577 538 150.00–159.00 $154.51 $892 -4.80
602–635 616 287 142.00–152.50 $148.89 $917 -5.76
650–695 667 532 134.00–146.50 $140.34 $936 -3.18
702–741 720 557 128.50–135.50 $132.66 $955 -4.62
750–792 773 237 127.00–130.75 $129.03 $997 -4.71
808–838 818 360 127.00–130.85 $128.32 $1,050 -2.59
854–885 876 102 125.00–127.50 $125.99 $1,104 -3.14
927–930 927 63 124.50–126.25 $126.03 $1,168 -0.97
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 39 169.00–172.00 $169.69 $837 -2.31
568–593 581 21 145.00–149.00 $147.14 $855 —
683–694 687 28 131.50–133.50 $132.71 $912 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 24 171.00 $171.00 $821 —
621–640 636 58 135.00–135.50 $135.10 $859 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
628–645 631 75 137.00–139.50 $138.99 $877 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
663 663 39 133.00 $133.00 $882 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
336 336 16 177.00 $177.00 $595 +14.00
351–375 363 42 173.00–180.00 $176.70 $641 +16.07
415–438 432 119 151.00–161.00 $157.87 $682 +0.48
454–493 478 230 145.00–156.00 $149.89 $716 -5.64
500–545 530 380 135.50–148.00 $140.96 $747 -12.05
560 thin fleshed 560 22 147.00 $147.00 $823 -3.50
552–587 575 323 132.00–142.50 $135.83 $781 -8.23
600–644 620 361 126.50–139.00 $130.84 $811 -6.21
650–694 664 307 123.00–131.50 $127.49 $847 -2.37
715–739 727 202 124.00–126.75 $125.89 $915 —
756–795 762 328 124.10–126.50 $125.32 $955 +2.22
843 843 15 123.00 $123.00 $1,037 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
572–593 582 56 130.00–131.00 $130.47 $759 -4.11
664–670 668 38 122.00–123.00 $122.34 $817 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
593 593 34 130.50 $130.50 $774 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
566 566 34 132.50 $132.50 $750 -3.50

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1020–1185 1069 80-85% 8 50.00–51.00 $50.14 $536 —
1115–1330 1183 80-85% 12 54.00–58.00 $54.87 $649 +5.17
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1305–1580 1426 75-80% 12 54.00–56.50 $54.86 $782 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1015–1100 1079 85-90% 5 47.50–52.50 $49.92 $539 —
985–1255 1120 85-90% 2 44.00–46.00 $44.88 $503 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1393–1910 1625 10 80.00–85.00 $81.78 $1,329 —
1585–1665 1635 3 73.50–78.00 $75.51 $1,235 —
1760–2450 2008 3 86.50–88.00 $87.26 $1,752 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
1050–1898 1218 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 234 47.50–60.00 $53.53 $652

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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.