Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 21, 2021

1,566 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1 steers $164.05/cwt -1.09 vs last sale · ≈ $1,119/hd at 682 lb · 105 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $158.29/cwt -6.59 vs last sale · ≈ $992/hd at 627 lb · 68 head
heavy 6-weight L 1 steers $145.61/cwt -0.55 vs last sale · ≈ $983/hd at 675 lb · 60 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,566 7,071 631
Feeder cattle 1,220 6,531 586
Slaughter cattle 346 540 45

Market comments — USDA reporter

Feeder cattle lightly tested this week due to the upcoming holiday's, a few sales of weaned feeder's with quality and condition mostly steady. Slaughter cows mostly steady. Slaughter bulls steady to 1.00 higher. Trade and demand moderate.

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
584–589 588 54 170.00–179.50 $176.70 $1,039 -2.16
617 617 36 163.00 $163.00 $1,006 -5.39
638 unweaned 638 32 153.00 $153.00 $976 -5.54
653–696 682 105 163.00–164.50 $164.05 $1,119 -4.01
761 761 57 157.75 $157.75 $1,200 -2.93
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
524–544 535 35 166.00–167.00 $166.55 $891 -5.39
598 598 30 162.00 $162.00 $969 -1.24
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
657–687 unweaned 675 60 145.00–146.00 $145.61 $983 -0.55
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
927 927 14 136.00 $136.00 $1,261 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
510 fancy 510 31 166.00 $166.00 $847 —
540–543 543 28 154.00–158.00 $154.43 $839 -1.72
573 fancy 573 33 161.00 $161.00 $923 -12.00
646 646 40 158.00 $158.00 $1,021 +3.40
713 unweaned 713 10 134.50 $134.50 $959 -1.41
Medium 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517 517 16 150.00 $150.00 $776 —
557–573 569 50 150.00–152.00 $150.55 $857 +3.01
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
671–686 678 41 141.00–145.00 $141.97 $963 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
772 772 32 134.00 $134.00 $1,034 —
Medium 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 11 150.00 $150.00 $495 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1000–1255 1179 80-85% 50 54.50–58.00 $56.70 $668 +1.30
1035–1325 1205 80-85% 92 53.00–60.00 $56.67 $683 —
1213–1305 1247 80-85% 6 61.00–66.00 $62.56 $780 —
1185–1430 1280 80-85% 7 61.00–63.00 $61.87 $792 -1.34
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1028–1130 1041 85-90% 8 54.00–56.00 $54.27 $565 +14.59
1050 1050 85-90% 1 41.00 $41.00 $430 -12.43
985–1210 1077 85-90% 6 45.00–50.00 $48.36 $521 -5.07
895–1255 1093 85-90% 13 51.00–56.00 $53.81 $588 +0.38
910–1234 1171 85-90% 6 47.00–49.00 $47.43 $555 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1420–1480 1429 75-80% 11 60.00–64.50 $63.94 $914 —
1320–1550 1463 75-80% 5 54.50–61.00 $56.39 $825 -3.43
1385–1630 1508 75-80% 2 62.00–67.00 $64.70 $976 +0.11
1573 1573 75-80% 2 73.00 $73.00 $1,148 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1590–1675 1633 2 86.00 $86.00 $1,404 —
1585–2305 1849 10 88.00–95.00 $91.76 $1,697 —
1755–2245 2027 5 98.00–103.00 $100.48 $2,037 —

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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.