Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, April 5, 2022

4,108 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.25/cwt +13.41 vs last sale · ≈ $1,069/hd at 617 lb · 316 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $178.63/cwt +13.63 vs last sale · ≈ $934/hd at 523 lb · 257 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $173.68/cwt +8.68 vs last sale · ≈ $1,002/hd at 577 lb · 198 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,108 786 5,649
Feeder cattle 3,939 593 5,491
Slaughter cattle 149 153 131
Replacement cattle 20 40 27

Market comments — USDA reporter

No trend available this week due to the lack of receipts from the prior week. Slaughter cows 1.00 to 3.00 lower full decline on breakers. Slaughter bulls mostly steady. 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
358 358 5 225.00 $225.00 $806 —
414–434 429 22 212.00–216.00 $214.95 $922 +6.95
460–497 481 62 206.00–213.00 $209.22 $1,006 +3.20
512 thin fleshed 512 9 219.00 $219.00 $1,121 —
503–542 517 186 204.00–216.00 $210.00 $1,086 +17.76
560–561 560 43 195.50–198.00 $197.19 $1,104 +14.69
600–634 613 93 180.00–187.50 $184.17 $1,129 -0.83
653 thin fleshed 653 19 181.50 $181.50 $1,185 —
655–679 670 136 170.00–174.00 $171.87 $1,152 —
700–712 707 76 163.50–168.00 $165.07 $1,167 -5.93
750–766 760 105 154.00–156.00 $155.32 $1,180 —
770 770 18 149.50 $149.50 $1,151 —
839 839 16 148.00 $148.00 $1,242 —
854–878 870 71 143.50–144.00 $143.67 $1,250 +2.87
907 907 56 141.00 $141.00 $1,279 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
324 324 13 219.00 $219.00 $710 —
396 396 22 207.00 $207.00 $820 —
438–441 440 16 206.00–207.50 $206.75 $910 —
452–472 465 53 201.00 $201.00 $935 +10.00
511–546 532 152 187.50–199.00 $192.40 $1,024 —
551–589 580 96 182.00–189.00 $185.75 $1,077 —
611–644 627 86 177.00–179.00 $178.45 $1,119 +4.78
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
508 508 31 189.75 $189.75 $964 —
572–581 577 56 180.50–185.00 $182.41 $1,053 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
334 334 25 203.00 $203.00 $678 —
360–396 370 21 188.00–193.00 $191.47 $708 —
403–446 426 65 178.50–187.50 $181.17 $772 —
450–494 480 141 171.00–178.00 $175.49 $842 -15.51
500–544 510 159 170.00–180.50 $174.71 $891 +9.71
544 fancy 544 98 185.00 $185.00 $1,006 —
550–595 575 136 165.00–171.00 $168.06 $966 +3.06
582 582 62 186.00 $186.00 $1,083 +21.00
611 fancy 611 32 178.00 $178.00 $1,088 —
600–636 618 284 169.00–176.00 $172.72 $1,067 +12.88
650–683 669 80 155.00–165.00 $161.72 $1,082 +9.16
700–738 713 73 147.00–151.00 $149.03 $1,063 +1.12
810–816 814 28 132.00–135.00 $133.07 $1,083 —
850–854 852 28 130.50–131.00 $130.80 $1,114 -2.20
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
468–486 481 20 167.50–169.00 $167.94 $808 -11.06
573–595 583 20 162.00–164.00 $162.92 $950 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145–1375 1252 80-85% 5 81.00–83.00 $82.42 $1,032 -3.82
1123–1445 1297 80-85% 20 84.00–87.50 $85.75 $1,112 -0.49
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
991–1070 1000 85-90% 10 63.00–65.00 $64.79 $648 —
1005–1260 1092 85-90% 3 70.00–75.00 $71.84 $784 -9.96
1070–1190 1132 85-90% 5 77.00–80.00 $78.82 $892 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1380–1550 1423 75-80% 4 82.00–84.00 $83.46 $1,188 -6.37
1350–1550 1492 75-80% 12 85.50–87.00 $86.26 $1,287 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1450–1975 1728 8 91.00–98.00 $95.21 $1,645 —
1550–1950 1741 8 95.00–103.50 $97.25 $1,693 —
1920–1970 1945 2 104.00–112.00 $108.05 $2,102 —
2345 2345 1 120.00 $120.00 $2,814 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
950–1000 fancy 976 (<2 yrs)Open 39 2,100.00–2,500.00 $2,333.90 —

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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.