Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, March 14, 2023

5,953 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $225.94/cwt +10.25 vs last sale · ≈ $1,406/hd at 622 lb · 545 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $214.60/cwt +11.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,228/hd at 572 lb · 513 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 heifers $196.33/cwt -5.03 vs last sale · ≈ $1,229/hd at 626 lb · 404 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 5,953 1,679 2,728
Feeder cattle 5,842 1,564 2,648
Slaughter cattle 111 115 80

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared with last Tuesday: Steers under 400 lbs mostly steady, 400 to 600 lbs 10.00 to 12.00 instances 15.00 to 20.00 higher, 600 to 700 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 instances 10.00 higher, 700 to 750 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 higher, over 750 lbs steady to 1.00 higher. Heifers 350 to 650 lbs 5.00 to 8.00 higher instances 10.00 to 15.00 higher on 400 to 500 lbs over 650 lbs steady to 2.00 higher. Slaughter cows and bulls steady. Demand good to very 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
378 378 19 292.00 $292.00 $1,104 +33.00
413 value added 413 14 292.00 $292.00 $1,206 —
405–439 426 26 267.00–277.00 $270.66 $1,153 +12.19
469–492 472 83 268.00–271.00 $270.62 $1,277 +13.95
474–478 value added 477 78 288.00–291.00 $290.24 $1,384 —
500–548 524 205 246.00–258.00 $252.53 $1,323 +16.04
500–538 value added 533 112 263.00–267.00 $263.47 $1,404 +20.47
568 value added 568 19 247.50 $247.50 $1,406 +11.18
553–596 577 114 230.00–240.00 $235.29 $1,358 +14.08
612 value added 612 78 237.00 $237.00 $1,450 —
601–617 fancy 614 103 230.00–233.00 $231.97 $1,424 +10.97
600–643 627 364 218.00–227.50 $221.87 $1,391 +7.22
657–667 663 66 201.00–210.00 $204.93 $1,359 +6.92
663 fancy 663 12 222.00 $222.00 $1,472 —
701 value added 701 22 206.00 $206.00 $1,444 —
703–723 fancy 706 84 195.00–197.00 $195.34 $1,379 —
716–745 734 193 185.00–193.00 $188.96 $1,387 +0.46
752–787 776 41 183.00–189.50 $184.66 $1,433 +0.43
808–842 819 208 177.00–182.50 $180.51 $1,478 —
865–877 874 56 177.00–178.00 $177.18 $1,549 —
906–938 927 79 173.50 $173.50 $1,608 -4.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
443 443 29 264.00 $264.00 $1,170 —
452–473 458 26 254.00–259.00 $256.76 $1,176 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
563 563 17 228.00 $228.00 $1,284 —
694 694 14 196.00 $196.00 $1,360 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
354–394 378 30 231.00–235.00 $232.50 $879 +8.50
412 fancy 412 20 240.00 $240.00 $989 —
426–445 434 54 228.00–238.00 $232.91 $1,011 +18.53
451–474 464 221 225.00–237.00 $232.02 $1,077 +19.02
501–545 526 180 213.50–222.50 $217.21 $1,143 -0.15
557–581 value added 569 198 221.00–225.00 $222.62 $1,267 +15.41
572 unweaned 572 85 204.50 $204.50 $1,170 —
552–597 575 230 206.00–217.00 $211.43 $1,216 +11.62
605–615 612 47 214.00–215.00 $214.25 $1,311 +10.76
604–648 628 357 190.00–200.00 $193.97 $1,218 -9.52
668 668 58 179.25 $179.25 $1,197 -19.81
665–696 688 158 181.00–190.00 $184.60 $1,270 -4.02
704–745 723 148 177.50–184.00 $181.52 $1,312 -7.48
753–771 764 90 173.00–180.50 $178.89 $1,367 -5.11
812–835 824 36 170.00–171.00 $170.53 $1,405 -0.02
893 893 17 164.00 $164.00 $1,465 —
914 914 15 156.00 $156.00 $1,426 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–394 381 17 220.00–224.00 $222.78 $849 —
535 535 31 202.50 $202.50 $1,083 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1413–1695 1481 75-80% 25 90.00–96.50 $95.21 $1,410 +7.65
1487 1487 75-80% 2 88.00 $88.00 $1,309 +0.44
1583 1583 75-80% 4 97.50 $97.50 $1,543 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1070–1340 1209 80-85% 4 82.00–86.00 $84.06 $1,016 —
865–1390 1275 80-85% 12 88.00–91.00 $89.43 $1,140 -9.57
1360 1360 80-85% 1 96.00 $96.00 $1,306 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1086 1086 85-90% 3 71.00 $71.00 $771 -12.80
1140 1140 85-90% 1 83.00 $83.00 $946 —
1100–1165 1159 85-90% 10 77.00–79.00 $77.19 $895 —
1045–1340 1242 85-90% 3 75.00–80.00 $77.64 $964 -12.86

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1547–2095 1730 14 104.00–111.00 $106.48 $1,842 +8.05
1520–2010 1850 4 93.00–100.00 $96.27 $1,781 -9.55

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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.