Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 9, 2021

7,327 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $162.52/cwt +12.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,011/hd at 622 lb · 628 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $156.67/cwt +9.27 vs last sale · ≈ $822/hd at 525 lb · 505 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $173.17/cwt +16.39 vs last sale · ≈ $985/hd at 569 lb · 445 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 7,327 2,315 7,336
Feeder cattle 7,154 2,130 7,267
Slaughter cattle 84 135 27
Replacement cattle 89 50 42

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Feeder steers under 700 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 instances 10.00 higher, 700 to 800 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher, over 800 lbs steady to 2.00 higher. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 higher, 600 to 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher, over 700 lbs steady to 3.00 higher advance on 700 to 750 lbs. Slaughter cows 2.00 lower. Slaughter bulls steady. Demand 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
231 231 32 222.00 $222.00 $513 —
375–396 383 29 215.00–217.50 $215.98 $827 —
400–431 423 138 202.50–209.50 $206.19 $872 +13.14
474 fancy 474 60 199.00 $199.00 $943 —
450–496 476 95 189.00–193.00 $190.56 $907 +11.22
515–520 fancy 519 122 190.00–194.00 $191.04 $991 —
500–544 522 299 178.00–187.00 $181.51 $947 +11.56
551–594 569 445 169.00–178.00 $173.17 $985 +16.39
616 thin fleshed 616 85 168.50 $168.50 $1,038 —
602–647 623 543 156.50–165.25 $161.58 $1,007 +11.09
660–685 673 309 143.00–152.25 $147.25 $991 +4.25
705–721 thin fleshed 708 103 142.00–143.00 $142.19 $1,007 —
707–733 718 164 135.00–137.50 $136.36 $979 +0.68
770–790 782 145 133.75–136.50 $135.44 $1,059 +4.14
806–846 826 194 129.00–132.25 $130.78 $1,080 -1.22
853–890 864 109 125.00–129.50 $127.81 $1,104 -2.19
908 908 18 121.00 $121.00 $1,099 -2.89
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
538 538 62 173.00 $173.00 $931 —
582–585 584 83 160.00–164.00 $161.73 $945 —
619 619 12 150.00 $150.00 $928 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
638 638 69 146.00 $146.00 $931 —
650–684 664 43 138.50–141.50 $139.80 $928 —
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
805 805 25 125.00 $125.00 $1,006 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–394 387 52 174.50–177.50 $176.43 $683 +13.36
400–444 429 66 164.00–171.00 $166.50 $714 +6.50
450–497 475 230 155.00–164.00 $158.91 $755 +6.11
513 fancy 513 43 162.50 $162.50 $834 —
502–547 526 462 152.00–159.00 $156.13 $821 +8.73
556–598 575 260 147.00–157.00 $151.44 $871 +7.18
613–646 629 398 135.00–143.50 $137.40 $864 +0.78
614–637 fancy 629 30 145.00–146.50 $145.49 $915 +3.99
669 fancy 669 22 141.00 $141.00 $943 —
650–689 672 284 131.00–139.00 $133.67 $898 -1.33
700–747 723 256 126.50–131.75 $128.89 $932 +0.91
753–797 778 245 123.00–128.25 $126.55 $985 +1.22
838 838 7 120.00 $120.00 $1,006 -3.16
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
458 458 35 152.00 $152.00 $696 —
564–585 573 91 140.50–143.00 $141.57 $811 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
576–588 579 95 141.00–143.00 $142.59 $826 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1280 1202 80-85% 10 61.00–64.50 $61.98 $745 +4.26
1090–1257 1229 80-85% 21 54.50–60.00 $57.59 $708 -0.13
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–1060 874 85-90% 7 39.00–43.00 $41.90 $366 —
875–1175 997 85-90% 21 47.00–54.00 $48.57 $484 -1.47
1175 1175 85-90% 1 56.00 $56.00 $658 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1265–1505 1403 75-80% 4 64.00–66.00 $64.51 $905 -1.96
1585 1585 75-80% 2 62.00 $62.00 $983 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510–1940 1692 10 76.00–81.00 $78.53 $1,329 —
1615–2095 1926 6 82.00–87.00 $84.23 $1,622 —
2045–2130 2088 2 88.00–89.50 $88.77 $1,854 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
750–1680 1143 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 51 48.00–60.00 $53.69 $614

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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.