Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, May 14, 2024

1,089 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 heifers $273.71/cwt +1.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,584/hd at 579 lb · 29 head
light 9-weight M&L 1 steers $218.00/cwt ≈ $1,986/hd at 911 lb · 20 head
light 5-weight M&L 1 steers $309.47/cwt -35.88 vs last sale · ≈ $1,563/hd at 505 lb · 19 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,089 1,989 0
Feeder cattle 497 1,618 0
Slaughter cattle 214 181 0
Replacement cattle 378 190 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers sold 6.00 to 8.00 lower across all weight classes on a light test and feeder heifers were too light for an accurate trend. Slaughter breaker cows sold 9.00 higher, boner cows sold 7.00 higher and lean cows sold 4.00 higher. Slaughter bulls sold 9.00 higher. Bred heifers had a higher trend noticeable along with cow calf pairs. The next feeder calf and slaughter cow sale will be next Tuesday May 21, 2024.

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
464 464 8 342.50 $342.50 $1,589 -7.69
505 505 13 300.00 $300.00 $1,515 -35.91
505 thin fleshed 505 6 330.00 $330.00 $1,666 —
560 560 3 290.00 $290.00 $1,624 -15.20
654 654 5 273.00 $273.00 $1,785 -6.58
911 911 20 218.00 $218.00 $1,986 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
393 393 3 347.50 $347.50 $1,366 —
533 533 2 287.50 $287.50 $1,532 -3.50
593 593 8 282.00 $282.00 $1,672 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
553 553 2 295.00 $295.00 $1,631 -9.00
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
493 493 2 297.50 $297.50 $1,467 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
388 388 2 330.00 $330.00 $1,280 -11.00
410 thin fleshed 410 4 327.50 $327.50 $1,343 —
513–522 520 8 285.00–290.00 $286.23 $1,488 -0.02
553–579 573 17 265.00–270.00 $268.57 $1,539 -3.78
587 thin fleshed 587 12 281.00 $281.00 $1,649 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375 375 2 277.50 $277.50 $1,041 —
465 465 2 247.50 $247.50 $1,151 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
548 548 2 302.50 $302.50 $1,658 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
835–925 880 85-90% 2 92.00–98.00 $94.85 $835 —
860–1285 1127 85-90% 97 101.00–150.00 $128.52 $1,448 +3.82
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1300–1481 1398 80-85% 64 125.50–145.00 $136.51 $1,908 +6.46
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1505–1615 1573 75-80% 17 129.00–144.00 $140.32 $2,207 —
N/N/A ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1725 1725 65-75% 1 153.00 $153.00 $2,639 +19.96

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1190–2190 1736 24 134.00–167.00 $148.33 $2,575 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
778–868 thin fleshed 822 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 9 201.00–223.00 $212.03 $1,743
866–1073 957 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 22 160.00–186.00 $170.41 $1,631
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
865–1100 1025 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 19 147.50–158.00 $153.91 $1,578

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1063 1063 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 2,075.00 $2,075.00
1098 1098 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 2,500.00 $2,500.00
1095–1210 1160 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 2,000.00–2,150.00 $2,088.54
1285–1365 1316 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 5 2,050.00–2,200.00 $2,165.52
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1130 1130 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1000–1420 1210 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,600.00–1,825.00 $1,732.02
1263 1263 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 1,625.00 $1,625.00
1265–1345 1305 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 1,550.00–1,850.00 $1,704.60
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1105 1105 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,400.00 $1,400.00
1125 1125 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
788 788 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,900.00 $1,900.00
1000 1000 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,950.00 $1,950.00
1352 fancy 1352 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 3 2,750.00 $2,750.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1110 1110 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00 -100.00
998–1460 1278 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 38 2,000.00–2,900.00 $2,463.30 +163.30
1070–1385 1285 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 4 1,800.00–2,100.00 $2,011.44 -288.56
1105–1440 1300 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 3 1,900.00–2,050.00 $1,990.13 —
1133–1443 1301 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 10 1,900.00–2,150.00 $2,043.61 —
1255–1318 1302 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 2,550.00–2,900.00 $2,634.33 —
1480 1480 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
840 840 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,650.00 $1,650.00 —
1015–1140 1078 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 2 1,625.00–1,650.00 $1,636.77 —
1110 1110 Middle Aged/Aged (>5 yrs)Open 1 1,600.00 $1,600.00 —
1245–1475 1398 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 3 1,475.00–1,525.00 $1,489.84 —
1415 1415 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 8 1,350.00 $1,350.00 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
838–1175 1044 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 199 2,800.00–3,150.00 $3,033.01 —
1340 1340 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 3,100.00 $3,100.00 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
895 895 (<2 yrs)Open 1 2,400.00 $2,400.00 —
1139–1230 1166 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 11 2,100.00–2,600.00 $2,464.73 —
Medium and Large 2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
615 615 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 1,110.00 $1,110.00 —

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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.