Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, October 12, 2021

2,171 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $151.74/cwt +5.50 vs last sale · ≈ $941/hd at 620 lb · 170 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $165.01/cwt -7.82 vs last sale · ≈ $868/hd at 526 lb · 139 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $158.67/cwt +8.13 vs last sale · ≈ $911/hd at 574 lb · 139 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 2,171 1,770 5,196
Feeder cattle 1,967 1,595 4,672
Slaughter cattle 100 175 275
Replacement cattle 104 — 249

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Steer calves under 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher, over 700 lbs steady. Heifer calves under 700 lbs steady to 1.00 higher, except for 500 to 600 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher, over 700 lbs mostly steady. Slaughter cows 3.00 to 5.00 lower, Slaughter bulls steady to 2.00 lower. Trade and demand moderate to good for calves, moderate for slaughter cows.

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
323–327 326 12 206.00–212.00 $211.01 $688 —
354–360 355 16 201.00–208.00 $206.67 $734 +8.07
412–439 429 46 185.00–192.00 $187.70 $805 +1.70
463 463 27 188.50 $188.50 $873 +3.90
500–548 526 139 163.00–172.50 $165.01 $868 -3.47
556–591 574 139 156.00–160.00 $158.67 $911 +8.13
600–643 unweaned 620 170 145.00–155.00 $151.74 $941 +5.50
671–677 unweaned 673 46 142.50–150.75 $149.02 $1,003 +8.64
700–748 unweaned 715 82 138.00–145.50 $144.67 $1,034 +4.30
750–789 unweaned 767 28 141.50–143.50 $142.38 $1,092 +6.56
877–898 885 88 141.35–148.35 $145.53 $1,288 —
925 925 20 140.35 $140.35 $1,298 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436–443 439 36 173.00–179.00 $176.41 $774 —
478–492 485 25 169.50–170.00 $169.76 $823 —
526 526 12 160.50 $160.50 $844 +3.41
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
492 492 23 169.50 $169.50 $834 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–331 325 16 162.50–165.00 $164.57 $535 —
375–380 377 9 158.00–164.00 $161.31 $608 +6.31
402–440 411 36 145.00–155.00 $149.25 $613 -0.35
461–466 fancy 465 17 157.00 $157.00 $730 —
481–496 490 58 142.00–146.00 $144.08 $706 -7.17
500–546 535 89 135.00–140.75 $138.54 $741 +3.71
551–596 565 95 134.00–142.00 $138.03 $780 +3.67
613–638 unweaned 630 65 134.00–138.00 $136.78 $862 +1.38
657–695 unweaned 670 96 133.50–137.00 $134.94 $904 +0.88
713–718 unweaned 716 16 133.00–140.00 $135.61 $971 —
754 unweaned 754 8 133.00 $133.00 $1,003 —
781 781 20 140.99 $140.99 $1,101 +9.99
887–888 887 18 133.00–134.50 $133.58 $1,185 —
930 930 6 129.50 $129.50 $1,204 +0.75
954 954 11 128.35 $128.35 $1,224 +0.35
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 20 136.00 $136.00 $639 —
538 538 6 133.00 $133.00 $716 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
706 unweaned 706 4 133.00 $133.00 $939 —
981 981 9 106.50 $106.50 $1,045 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1360–1445 1390 75-80% 6 53.00–58.00 $56.19 $781 —
1400–1584 1552 75-80% 19 59.50–64.50 $62.90 $976 —
1750 1750 75-80% 1 73.00 $73.00 $1,278 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955–1250 1115 85-90% 12 45.00–49.50 $47.03 $524 —
1075–1207 1158 85-90% 9 50.00–55.00 $52.64 $610 -4.89
915–1295 1163 85-90% 4 40.00–43.00 $41.54 $483 -15.99
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1240–1375 1301 80-85% 13 56.00–61.50 $58.05 $755 -8.63
1215–1350 1302 80-85% 9 50.00–54.00 $52.56 $684 -14.12

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1485–1780 1550 13 71.00–78.00 $74.59 $1,156 —
1590–2035 1814 10 81.50–87.00 $84.87 $1,540 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
955–1440 1220 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 86 50.00–59.00 $55.29 $675

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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.