Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 5, 2023

5,188 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $283.33/cwt +21.35 vs last sale · ≈ $1,496/hd at 528 lb · 297 head

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $246.38/cwt +13.69 vs last sale · ≈ $1,530/hd at 621 lb · 248 head

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $263.21/cwt +13.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,527/hd at 580 lb · 182 head

Receipts

Head	This sale	Last sale	Last year
Total receipts	5,188	2,058	7,060
Feeder cattle	4,676	1,478	6,736
Slaughter cattle	316	502	324
Replacement cattle	196	78	0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers across all weight classes sold 2.00 to 17.00 higher. Feeder heifers did not have enough comparable trades for an accurate trend. Slaughter cows of average dressing sold mostly 1.00 lower while slaughter bulls sold 1.00 higher. The next feeder calf and slaughter cow sale will be next Tuesday December 12, 2023.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
332–348	338	5	320.00–330.00	$324.11	$1,095	—
355–379	375	18	327.50–337.50	$329.08	$1,234	—
408–425	415	16	307.00–311.00	$309.52	$1,285	—
459–495	485	132	297.00–306.00	$299.50	$1,453	+2.00
502–545	528	297	270.00–289.00	$283.33	$1,496	+21.35
563–594	580	182	259.00–268.00	$263.21	$1,527	+13.21
603–631	621	248	240.00–253.00	$246.38	$1,530	+13.69
650–682	656	41	229.00–236.00	$234.73	$1,540	+14.73
711–733	726	127	210.00–217.00	$215.47	$1,564	-0.53
757–764	760	16	202.50–204.00	$203.34	$1,545	-20.66
824	824	4	196.00	$196.00	$1,615	+9.00

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
263	263	2	341.00	$341.00	$897	—
305–343	325	15	342.00–348.00	$344.40	$1,119	—
350	350	11	351.00	$351.00	$1,228	—
404–441	421	32	323.00–330.00	$326.57	$1,375	+16.57
451–483	475	25	307.50–317.50	$314.74	$1,495	+8.74
507–512	511	73	294.50–302.50	$294.89	$1,507	—
574–588	580	144	271.00–273.00	$271.85	$1,577	—
601–612	609	125	255.00–269.00	$262.97	$1,601	—
651–661	658	79	244.00–253.00	$246.37	$1,621	+14.37
700–713	705	100	222.00–224.00	$222.83	$1,571	—
762	762	24	214.50	$214.50	$1,634	—
815–822	821	35	201.00–209.00	$208.09	$1,708	+2.09
852–878	874	137	203.00–209.00	$208.19	$1,820	+11.19
937	937	56	203.50	$203.50	$1,907	—

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
320–336	334	13	300.00–315.00	$312.79	$1,045	+35.47
375	375	3	317.50	$317.50	$1,191	+13.82
418–446	426	57	247.50–280.00	$273.16	$1,164	-10.04
457–498	492	34	261.00–290.00	$270.40	$1,330	+0.87
509–546	535	94	240.00–269.00	$251.34	$1,345	+13.19
585–595	592	89	224.00–246.00	$243.77	$1,443	+12.01
602–638	624	143	210.00–235.00	$230.36	$1,437	+6.10
650–694	677	65	196.00–223.00	$214.21	$1,450	+1.63
710–748	742	109	194.00–201.00	$198.13	$1,470	+0.23
778	778	2	190.00	$190.00	$1,478	-21.17
929	929	17	180.00	$180.00	$1,672	—

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
395	395	2	282.50	$282.50	$1,116	—
429–438	435	11	277.00–288.00	$280.95	$1,222	+79.95
462–470	468	14	261.00–270.00	$262.90	$1,230	—
511–533	519	11	216.00–220.00	$218.51	$1,134	—
572	572	16	239.00	$239.00	$1,367	—
648	648	2	195.00	$195.00	$1,264	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
369	369	6	315.00	$315.00	$1,162	—
404	404	4	317.50	$317.50	$1,283	—
484	484	15	293.00	$293.00	$1,418	—
552	552	16	258.00	$258.00	$1,424	+37.45
633	633	3	214.00	$214.00	$1,355	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
459–479	468	16	246.00–247.50	$246.83	$1,155	—
535	535	2	194.00	$194.00	$1,038	—
587	587	6	229.00	$229.00	$1,344	—
735	735	2	176.00	$176.00	$1,294	—

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
273	273	2	251.00	$251.00	$685	—
313–345	338	27	257.50–277.50	$271.94	$919	—
358–382	374	23	257.00–285.50	$262.41	$981	+11.59
405–443	423	56	231.00–256.00	$243.90	$1,032	+0.02
455–495	469	86	220.00–238.00	$230.14	$1,079	+11.29
511–531	525	63	220.00–230.00	$223.28	$1,172	+12.13
550–598	581	154	192.00–218.00	$212.79	$1,236	-0.52
603–648	622	121	186.00–212.50	$203.36	$1,265	-0.74
658–697	689	123	182.50–203.00	$197.93	$1,364	+22.93

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
419	419	18	270.00	$270.00	$1,131	+14.00
453–499	483	163	240.00–255.00	$247.74	$1,197	—
503–534	522	45	235.00–237.50	$236.70	$1,236	—
558–584	571	116	222.00–231.00	$226.09	$1,291	—
603–609	608	64	216.00–223.00	$218.80	$1,330	—
653–674	659	64	210.00–212.00	$211.35	$1,393	—
722–725	724	6	181.00–185.00	$183.00	$1,325	-17.15
755–796	775	38	184.00–189.00	$187.28	$1,451	—
867–897	887	61	180.00–191.00	$183.42	$1,627	—

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
327–338	334	14	305.00–310.00	$306.75	$1,025	—
360 fancy	360	10	333.00	$333.00	$1,199	—
382–393	387	18	302.50	$302.50	$1,171	—
405–434	425	19	275.00–285.00	$279.43	$1,188	—
457–488	482	73	258.00–263.00	$258.97	$1,248	—
510–544	527	73	240.00–252.00	$246.59	$1,300	—
552	552	23	234.00	$234.00	$1,292	—
614	614	30	224.00	$224.00	$1,375	—
715	715	13	192.00	$192.00	$1,373	—
761–774	763	83	192.00–200.00	$198.63	$1,516	—
808	808	22	196.00	$196.00	$1,584	—

Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
367	367	3	262.50	$262.50	$963	—
421	421	10	270.00	$270.00	$1,137	—
468–489	483	18	236.00–240.00	$238.92	$1,154	—
510	510	16	238.00	$238.00	$1,214	—
593	593	13	212.00	$212.00	$1,257	+10.28

Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
318	318	4	230.00	$230.00	$731	—
420–444	437	32	242.00–244.00	$242.54	$1,060	—
468	468	8	221.00	$221.00	$1,034	—
570	570	2	186.00	$186.00	$1,060	—

Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
475	475	5	206.00	$206.00	$978	—

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
710–1160	907	85-90%	5	47.50–60.00	$54.56	$495	—
867–1245	1071	85-90%	58	63.00–83.00	$77.59	$831	+0.67
1043–1240	1107	85-90%	6	92.00–93.00	$92.34	$1,022	+37.06
1065–1273	1175	85-90%	60	84.00–89.00	$86.09	$1,012	-15.91

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1350	1350	80-85%	1	100.00	$100.00	$1,350	+16.38
1358	1358	80-85%	2	58.00	$58.00	$788	-25.62
1295–1455	1365	80-85%	56	86.00–91.00	$88.44	$1,207	+4.82
1328–1483	1379	80-85%	19	92.00–94.50	$92.92	$1,281	+9.30
1313–1445	1385	80-85%	22	73.00–85.00	$82.23	$1,139	-1.39

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1500–1560	1519	75-80%	4	77.00–84.00	$80.78	$1,227	—
1516–1526	1524	75-80%	13	92.00–92.50	$92.11	$1,404	—
1570	1570	75-80%	1	108.00	$108.00	$1,696	+20.90
1520–1645	1572	75-80%	3	86.00–89.00	$87.05	$1,368	-0.05

N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Dressing	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
1715–1850	1763	65-75%	3	95.00–96.00	$95.67	$1,687	+0.67

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd	Δ last sale
968–1570	1256	6	95.00–99.00	$96.80	$1,216	—
1435–2180	1770	18	101.00–110.00	$105.99	$1,876	—
1610–2305	1947	27	111.00–117.00	$113.04	$2,201	—

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
700–805	735	(<2 yrs)	Open	3	183.00–190.00	$185.56	$1,364
813–1040	910	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	46	160.00–181.00	$177.41	$1,614

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
728–825	760	(<2 yrs)	Open	9	145.00–155.00	$148.24	$1,127
840–1110	989	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	24	140.00–157.50	$151.36	$1,497

Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $	≈ $/hd
770–810	790	(<2 yrs)	Open	2	107.50–130.00	$118.47	$936
970–1210	1078	Young (2-4 yrs)	Open	8	102.50–130.00	$122.97	$1,326

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1040	1040	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	1,035.00	$1,035.00
1010–1136	1111	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	5	1,225.00–1,250.00	$1,245.45
1164	1164	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	1,125.00	$1,125.00
1130–1380	1191	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	14	1,025.00–1,285.00	$1,152.72
1220	1220	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	1,050.00	$1,050.00
1249	1249	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo)	9	1,100.00	$1,100.00
1265	1265	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	1	1,075.00	$1,075.00
1130–1420	1278	Aged (>8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	52	1,010.00–1,285.00	$1,221.49

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
885	885	Young (2-4 yrs)	1st Stage (1-3 mo)	2	910.00	$910.00
950	950	Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)	3rd Stage (7-9 mo)	1	750.00	$750.00
865–1120	993	Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	2	710.00–1,000.00	$873.63
1073–1145	1097	Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	3	860.00–925.00	$882.61

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
855–963	934	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	4	1,300.00–1,525.00	$1,473.51

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
1030	1030	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	1,275.00	$1,275.00

Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb)	Avg wt	Age	Stage	Head	Price range	Avg $
860	860	Young (2-4 yrs)	2nd Stage (4-6 mo)	1	575.00	$575.00

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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.