Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 11, 2021

1,276 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $147.79/cwt +11.25 vs last sale · ≈ $783/hd at 530 lb · 56 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $158.00/cwt +5.56 vs last sale · ≈ $860/hd at 544 lb · 47 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $136.00/cwt -7.00 vs last sale · ≈ $925/hd at 680 lb · 32 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,276 1,148 1,727
Feeder cattle 461 831 1,027
Slaughter cattle 125 152 250
Replacement cattle 690 165 450

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Feeder steers and heifers in a light test mostly steady. Slaughter cows and bulls steady. Trading activity and demand for feeder cattle moderate, moderate to good for cow-calf pairs.

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
315 315 13 173.00 $173.00 $545 —
465–473 469 27 165.00 $165.00 $774 +2.00
525–548 544 47 158.00 $158.00 $860 +5.56
634 634 10 143.00 $143.00 $907 -6.50
680 680 32 136.00 $136.00 $925 -7.00
706 706 5 132.00 $132.00 $932 —
753–778 767 7 120.00–122.00 $120.84 $927 —
803 803 5 120.00 $120.00 $964 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510–538 530 56 146.00–148.00 $147.79 $783 +11.25
596 596 6 137.00 $137.00 $817 —
653–696 663 27 131.00–133.50 $132.92 $881 —
709 709 7 126.00 $126.00 $893 +6.00
815 815 9 122.00 $122.00 $994 +6.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
313 313 7 145.00 $145.00 $454 —
470–475 472 20 133.00–140.50 $138.06 $652 +2.06
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
115 115 1 200.00 $200.00 -113.11
160–190 178 4 225.00–350.00 $291.06 -63.41
210–248 235 4 260.00–325.00 $297.61 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
172–190 177 7 285.00–375.00 $305.08 -87.95
240 240 1 360.00 $360.00 —
257 257 3 385.00 $385.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–1325 1155 80-85% 34 59.00–64.50 $62.55 $722 —
1259–1375 1272 80-85% 9 66.00–70.00 $66.48 $846 +1.05
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
704–1295 936 85-90% 13 47.00–51.00 $49.38 $462 —
825–1250 1026 85-90% 10 57.00–61.00 $57.68 $592 +2.51
980–1325 1103 85-90% 17 52.00–56.00 $54.27 $599 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1334–1600 1408 75-80% 7 66.00–70.00 $67.28 $947 +1.11
1320–1545 1410 75-80% 5 61.00–64.00 $62.64 $883 -3.53
1640 1640 75-80% 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,197 +1.00

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500–1925 1641 4 75.50–81.00 $78.70 $1,291 —
1515–2140 1815 9 85.00–91.00 $88.17 $1,600 —
2035–2150 2093 2 95.50–98.50 $97.04 $2,031 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
930–1635 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 32 58.50–67.00 $62.56 $813

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1100–1525 1249 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 62 1,600.00–1,775.00 $1,678.03 —
1125–1300 1260 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 91 1,060.00–1,200.00 $1,161.02 —
1150–1457 1331 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 43 1,735.00–1,850.00 $1,824.00 —
1150–1500 1348 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 100 1,400.00–1,560.00 $1,504.20 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1050–1245 1143 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 69 900.00–1,025.00 $993.12 —
Medium 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1125–1200 1166 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 22 1,335.00–1,375.00 $1,352.54 —

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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.