Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 18, 2021

658 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $135.21/cwt -1.79 vs last sale · ≈ $780/hd at 577 lb · 22 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $139.02/cwt ≈ $589/hd at 424 lb · 21 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $173.47/cwt +8.47 vs last sale · ≈ $793/hd at 457 lb · 17 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 658 1,276 1,245
Feeder cattle 279 461 700
Slaughter cattle 254 125 175
Replacement cattle 125 690 370

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Feed steers and heifers lightly tested. Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady. Trade activity and 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
453–461 457 17 173.00–174.00 $173.47 $793 +8.47
556–576 565 14 153.00 $153.00 $864 —
705 705 10 140.00 $140.00 $987 +8.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350 350 2 165.00 $165.00 $578 —
410–444 438 16 163.00–168.00 $167.12 $732 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
415–437 424 21 138.00–140.00 $139.02 $589 —
513 513 6 137.00 $137.00 $703 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
550–584 577 22 132.50–139.00 $135.21 $780 -1.79
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
155–173 167 3 250.00–285.00 $274.17 -16.89
226–228 227 9 310.00–385.00 $351.50 +53.89
255 255 1 335.00 $335.00 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
459 459 5 140.00 $140.00 $643 —

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Feeder Bulls

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
719 719 6 110.50 $110.50 $794 —
867 867 10 101.00 $101.00 $876 —
942 942 10 101.00 $101.00 $951 —
Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
194 194 5 385.00 $385.00 +79.92
260 260 1 410.00 $410.00 +25.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1005–1425 1224 80-85% 58 64.50–67.00 $65.45 $801 —
1005–1380 1234 80-85% 67 58.00–64.00 $62.05 $766 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1330–1490 1369 75-80% 34 60.00–64.00 $63.61 $871 —
1205–1573 1418 75-80% 22 65.00–69.00 $66.90 $949 +4.26
1678 1678 75-80% 3 71.00 $71.00 $1,191 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1010 943 85-90% 2 47.00 $47.00 $443 -2.38
790–1275 971 85-90% 14 58.00–64.00 $59.96 $582 —
935–1190 1110 85-90% 17 52.00–57.00 $54.70 $607 +0.43

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1440–2505 1869 21 78.00–86.50 $83.15 $1,554 —
1465–2400 1886 12 87.00–91.00 $89.27 $1,684 —
1880–2230 2050 4 92.25–94.00 $93.05 $1,908 —

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Stock Cows

Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
925–1500 1174 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 34 57.00–67.00 $63.38 $744

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
920–1050 1006 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 7 1,325.00–1,400.00 $1,366.97 —
1450 1450 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 6 1,225.00 $1,225.00 —

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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.