Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report, La Junta, CO

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, January 4, 2022

3,287 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 heifers $149.42/cwt ≈ $1,134/hd at 759 lb · 500 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $159.25/cwt -1.26 vs last sale · ≈ $847/hd at 532 lb · 153 head
light 4-weight M&L 1 steers $213.28/cwt ≈ $933/hd at 438 lb · 138 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 3,287 1,566 3,806
Feeder cattle 3,015 1,220 3,744
Slaughter cattle 272 346 62

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with a couple of weeks ago Tues 12/14/2021: Steer's under 550 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher except for 400 to 450 lbs steady, 550 to 700 lbs steady to 3.00 lower decline on 550 to 600 lbs, over 700 lbs steady to 2.00 lower. Heifer's under 500 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 higher, 500 to 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 lower, over 700 lbs steady to 1.00 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls steady to 1.00 lower. Trade 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
309 fancy 309 8 233.00 $233.00 $720 —
316–341 325 16 219.00–226.00 $222.04 $722 —
381 381 44 218.00 $218.00 $831 —
408–429 414 33 205.00–209.00 $207.39 $859 —
439–445 fancy 445 105 215.00–217.00 $215.13 $957 —
468–484 fancy 476 8 203.00–208.00 $205.46 $978 —
478–493 483 27 195.00–199.00 $196.48 $949 —
501–518 514 34 187.00–188.00 $187.77 $965 —
567–598 582 54 167.00–176.00 $172.02 $1,001 -4.68
586 fancy 586 55 180.00 $180.00 $1,055 —
600 fancy 600 13 177.00 $177.00 $1,062 —
619–624 622 34 165.00–168.00 $166.41 $1,035 +3.41
646–647 unweaned 647 22 162.00–163.00 $162.50 $1,051 +9.50
679–694 683 110 160.00–169.50 $166.46 $1,137 +2.41
740 740 87 164.60 $164.60 $1,218 —
780 780 15 155.00 $155.00 $1,209 -2.75
806–839 835 107 153.00 $153.00 $1,278 —
850 850 58 156.00 $156.00 $1,326 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
484–491 486 31 187.00 $187.00 $909 —
618 618 10 157.00 $157.00 $970 —
694 694 18 152.50 $152.50 $1,058 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
551–586 565 24 159.00–160.00 $159.74 $903 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302 302 12 190.00 $190.00 $574 —
363 fancy 363 4 202.00 $202.00 $733 —
370–397 378 52 189.00–199.00 $190.46 $720 —
403–446 441 111 186.00–187.00 $186.89 $824 —
461–478 471 38 174.00–177.00 $175.16 $825 —
500–546 532 153 158.00–161.00 $159.25 $847 +4.82
553–577 564 52 152.00–158.00 $154.98 $874 —
605–639 625 129 145.00–155.00 $151.14 $945 -6.86
657–688 666 134 146.00–152.50 $149.51 $996 —
732 732 9 150.00 $150.00 $1,098 —
759–772 759 500 146.00–149.75 $149.42 $1,134 —
803–821 807 56 139.50–145.00 $140.80 $1,136 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
491–493 492 17 160.00–165.00 $162.65 $800 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
423–430 427 34 203.00 $203.00 $867 —
552 552 12 149.00 $149.00 $822 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1120 1099 80-85% 5 63.50–68.00 $64.54 $709 —
1089–1250 1148 80-85% 13 55.00–61.00 $59.57 $684 —
1070–1345 1163 80-85% 42 55.00–60.75 $58.76 $683 +2.06
1160–1376 1294 80-85% 67 61.00–64.50 $62.84 $813 +0.97
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–1175 957 85-90% 3 43.00–44.00 $43.30 $414 —
890–1395 1033 85-90% 10 43.00–49.00 $44.76 $462 -9.51
890–1310 1175 85-90% 45 50.00–58.50 $55.33 $650 +7.90
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1345–1605 1423 75-80% 29 62.00–64.00 $63.53 $904 -0.41
1420–1465 1446 75-80% 5 57.00–61.50 $59.42 $859 -4.52
1448–1456 1450 75-80% 15 60.00–65.00 $63.66 $923 +7.27

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1510–2080 1695 11 84.00–90.50 $88.00 $1,492 —
1727–1930 1778 4 92.00–96.00 $93.09 $1,655 —
1510–2125 1779 7 81.00–83.50 $82.13 $1,461 —

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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.