Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, February 28, 2023

1,511 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1 steers $185.19/cwt +1.13 vs last sale · ≈ $1,413/hd at 763 lb · 167 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $190.23/cwt +7.82 vs last sale · ≈ $1,088/hd at 572 lb · 116 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $207.26/cwt ≈ $1,305/hd at 630 lb · 106 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,511 989 1,340
Feeder cattle 1,397 854 1,202
Slaughter cattle 86 120 138
Replacement cattle 28 15 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Steers calves under 650 lbs steady except for 500 to 550 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 instances 10.00 higher, 650 to 700 lbs 2.00 to 3.00 higher, over 700 lbs steady to 1.00 higher. Heifer calves under 500 lbs steady, 500 to 600 lbs 3.00 to 5.00 higher, over 600 lbs steady to 1.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls mostly steady.

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
327 327 2 300.00 $300.00 $981 —
374 374 7 290.00 $290.00 $1,085 +43.00
450–466 461 31 242.00–249.00 $243.36 $1,122 +13.36
505 value added 505 21 241.00 $241.00 $1,217 —
522–525 524 16 229.00–233.00 $230.25 $1,207 +11.32
553 fancy 553 4 230.00 $230.00 $1,272 —
582–590 584 39 210.00–219.50 $216.55 $1,265 +5.55
603 fancy 603 3 204.00 $204.00 $1,230 —
600–633 value added 629 92 209.50–210.00 $209.56 $1,318 —
640–644 643 11 187.00–190.00 $188.91 $1,215 —
660–677 670 58 183.00–194.00 $188.21 $1,261 -1.54
705 value added 705 35 193.25 $193.25 $1,362 —
712–744 737 71 185.00–189.75 $188.17 $1,387 +1.89
757–770 763 167 184.50–186.25 $185.19 $1,413 +1.13
861–867 865 54 172.00–177.50 $176.30 $1,525 +0.30
938 938 12 167.50 $167.50 $1,571 +1.50
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 7 231.00 $231.00 $1,086 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
302 fancy 302 7 243.00 $243.00 $734 —
370 370 8 217.00 $217.00 $803 —
373 fancy 373 24 232.00 $232.00 $865 —
422–427 426 14 208.00–209.00 $208.28 $887 -6.21
465–466 value added 465 45 215.00–220.00 $218.44 $1,016 —
540 540 36 206.00–209.00 $207.92 $1,123 +7.46
561 value added 561 8 204.00 $204.00 $1,144 —
550–583 571 97 185.00–193.00 $188.48 $1,076 +6.07
578–593 fancy 586 11 194.50–196.50 $195.60 $1,146 —
628–631 630 8 184.00–187.00 $185.88 $1,171 +0.88
653–697 673 88 178.00–183.50 $180.83 $1,217 +6.26
702 702 19 176.00 $176.00 $1,236 +1.58
768 768 28 174.00 $174.00 $1,336 -0.15
805–838 816 23 158.00–164.00 $160.39 $1,309 -2.99

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
435 435 3 247.50 $247.50 $1,077 —
516 516 5 201.00 $201.00 $1,037 +3.00
600 600 14 191.00 $191.00 $1,146 —
709 709 22 170.50 $170.50 $1,209 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1407–1460 1439 75-80% 6 92.00–95.00 $93.14 $1,340 —
1540 1540 75-80% 1 79.00 $79.00 $1,217 —
1305–1677 1570 75-80% 22 86.00–91.00 $87.50 $1,374 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
900–1040 969 85-90% 5 76.00–77.00 $76.29 $739 —
900–1250 1075 85-90% 2 61.00–68.00 $63.93 $687 -7.99
1060–1090 1075 85-90% 2 85.00–86.00 $85.51 $919 +13.59
960–1266 1166 85-90% 13 78.00–82.00 $79.80 $930 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1036 1036 80-85% 3 82.00 $82.00 $850 —
1121 1121 80-85% 7 89.00 $89.00 $998 —
1160–1365 1263 80-85% 4 86.00–90.50 $88.36 $1,116 +2.78
1255–1347 1294 80-85% 3 95.00–97.00 $96.34 $1,247 +10.76

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1685–2043 1904 10 96.00–101.00 $99.64 $1,897 —
1725–2305 2015 4 106.00–111.00 $108.81 $2,193 -8.69
2080 2080 1 114.00 $114.00 $2,371 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1001–1452 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 7 1,675.00–1,750.00 $1,705.35
1224 1224 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 12 1,350.00 $1,350.00
1360 1360 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,600.00 $1,600.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995 995 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 1,600.00 $1,600.00

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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.