Cattle Market Pulse

Winter Livestock (Tuesday) Market Report, La Junta, CO

La Junta, Colorado · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Tuesday, December 3, 2024

4,791 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1 steers $307.87/cwt +9.21 vs last sale · ≈ $1,764/hd at 573 lb · 329 head
light 6-weight M&L 1 steers $291.67/cwt +13.73 vs last sale · ≈ $1,826/hd at 626 lb · 298 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1 steers $360.89/cwt +23.96 vs last sale · ≈ $1,726/hd at 478 lb · 292 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 4,791 1,820 5,188
Feeder cattle 4,050 1,091 4,676
Slaughter cattle 480 504 316
Replacement cattle 261 225 196

Market comments — USDA reporter

Trade activity and demand was good. Feeder steers sold 5.00 to 9.00 higher with instances of sharply higher across all weight classes. Feeder heifers sold mostly sharply higher across all weight classes. Breaker slaughter cows of average dressing sold 6.00 higher. Boner cows of average dressing sold 3.00 higher and lean cows sold 1.00 higher. Slaughter bulls of average dressing sold 2.00 lower. The next feeder calf and slaughter cow sale will be next Tuesday December 10, 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
270–290 274 10 425.00–435.00 $427.12 $1,170 —
329 fancy 329 7 462.50 $462.50 $1,522 —
340–345 343 6 410.00–420.00 $413.30 $1,418 —
370 fancy 370 6 443.00 $443.00 $1,639 —
355–399 382 75 405.00–437.50 $414.17 $1,582 +12.40
402–424 418 34 389.00–402.50 $391.60 $1,637 +10.60
457–482 fancy 468 62 381.00–393.50 $387.69 $1,814 —
453–498 481 230 331.00–372.50 $353.67 $1,701 +16.74
504–522 fancy 513 60 351.00–365.00 $357.65 $1,835 —
500–548 531 224 300.00–345.00 $329.56 $1,750 +4.84
552–597 573 329 284.00–322.00 $307.87 $1,764 +9.21
605–649 626 298 274.00–302.00 $291.67 $1,826 +13.73
655–697 669 117 261.00–279.50 $272.23 $1,821 —
700–749 721 254 250.00–273.00 $264.79 $1,909 +13.79
753–782 763 12 246.00–251.00 $248.76 $1,898 +15.76
788 thin fleshed 788 8 266.00 $266.00 $2,096 —
823–838 827 80 237.00–256.00 $254.07 $2,101 +13.87
905 905 50 242.00 $242.00 $2,190 —
955 955 2 212.00 $212.00 $2,025 +2.00
1016 1016 7 204.00 $204.00 $2,073 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
402–410 408 17 395.00–396.00 $395.77 $1,615 —
455 455 6 331.00 $331.00 $1,506 —
510–535 513 44 292.50–308.00 $306.16 $1,571 -1.34
562–596 585 56 290.50–305.00 $295.95 $1,731 +13.45
605–623 622 61 281.00–294.00 $293.59 $1,826 —
661–686 678 56 250.00–271.00 $267.39 $1,813 +13.47
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 2 392.50 $392.50 $1,040 -18.50
305–338 319 6 367.50–406.00 $384.20 $1,226 -18.98
377 377 3 382.50 $382.50 $1,442 -1.54
412–443 431 93 365.00–388.00 $381.74 $1,645 +15.12
479–499 493 27 304.00–317.00 $307.09 $1,514 -10.41
508–530 523 6 244.00–288.00 $273.74 $1,432 -23.90
557–570 567 14 237.50–275.00 $267.11 $1,515 -5.63
641–648 644 5 260.00–267.00 $262.82 $1,693 -2.44
660–696 691 59 243.00–258.00 $248.96 $1,720 +5.10
705–722 714 6 221.00–240.00 $230.61 $1,647 -12.91

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
335–345 338 8 374.00–382.50 $376.17 $1,271 —
350–377 fancy 359 21 395.00–405.00 $398.58 $1,431 —
351–397 372 86 345.00–389.00 $368.99 $1,373 —
406–424 fancy 416 38 357.50–365.00 $361.89 $1,505 —
403–446 427 119 300.00–354.00 $340.11 $1,452 +33.39
450–498 478 186 305.00–337.50 $320.30 $1,531 +29.23
501–549 528 214 279.00–307.50 $293.79 $1,551 +27.87
553–573 fancy 568 63 280.00–289.00 $282.09 $1,602 —
553–599 580 194 254.00–275.00 $269.21 $1,561 +18.67
620 fancy 620 19 277.50 $277.50 $1,720 —
600–627 621 68 241.00–252.50 $244.05 $1,516 -1.29
651–679 668 132 228.00–248.00 $240.37 $1,606 —
713–717 716 7 230.00–233.00 $230.85 $1,653 -4.15
761–796 786 83 225.50–238.75 $235.20 $1,849 —
Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
436 436 11 313.00 $313.00 $1,365 —
450–486 474 26 282.50–294.00 $292.63 $1,387 —
563–594 591 66 231.00–280.00 $276.48 $1,634 +31.48
645 645 2 237.50 $237.50 $1,532 -0.50
657 657 5 237.00 $237.00 $1,557 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
258–280 267 5 342.50–351.00 $347.43 $928 +17.43
301–344 330 20 342.50–365.00 $357.28 $1,179 +37.19
443 443 3 285.00 $285.00 $1,263 -6.65
468–496 485 47 280.00–289.00 $287.73 $1,395 +9.66
515–548 527 8 257.50–260.00 $258.47 $1,362 —
607–643 634 24 236.00–238.00 $237.52 $1,506 +0.66
683 683 3 215.00 $215.00 $1,468 —
Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
424 424 4 272.50 $272.50 $1,155 —
492–495 494 7 236.00–255.00 $249.59 $1,233 —
539 539 20 261.00 $261.00 $1,407 +14.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
297 297 3 402.50 $402.50 $1,195 —
373–380 377 5 400.00–430.00 $418.13 $1,576 —
428 428 5 370.00 $370.00 $1,584 —
475 475 2 337.50 $337.50 $1,603 +4.70
532–540 535 5 284.00–292.50 $287.43 $1,538 —
573 573 2 282.50 $282.50 $1,619 -6.50
705–728 714 8 221.00–232.50 $228.10 $1,629 +8.10
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
483 483 2 283.00 $283.00 $1,367 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
715–1230 938 85-90% 14 52.00–89.00 $81.85 $768 —
1005 1005 85-90% 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,075 —
730–1335 1051 85-90% 92 90.00–109.00 $104.28 $1,096 +2.93
989–1263 1065 85-90% 27 120.00–125.00 $122.05 $1,300 +20.70
1077–1192 1130 85-90% 75 112.00–117.75 $115.40 $1,304 +0.87
826–1298 1145 85-90% 182 110.00–119.00 $115.23 $1,319 +0.70
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1315–1460 1365 80-85% 12 95.00–109.00 $103.53 $1,413 -18.47
1345–1385 1365 80-85% 2 50.00–88.00 $68.72 $938 -53.28
1300–1485 1374 80-85% 43 112.00–119.00 $117.17 $1,610 +45.17
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1500 1500 75-80% 1 106.00 $106.00 $1,590 —
1510–1560 1548 75-80% 4 115.00–117.50 $116.89 $1,809 +13.16
1560 1560 75-80% 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,903 +10.48

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1095–1720 1347 6 120.00–132.50 $126.60 $1,705 —
1420–1575 1498 2 117.00–118.00 $117.47 $1,760 —
945–2225 1666 14 137.00–152.50 $144.68 $2,410 +16.91

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
645–685 thin fleshed 665 (<2 yrs)Open 2 212.50–217.00 $214.82 $1,429
680 680 (<2 yrs)Open 1 187.50 $187.50 $1,275
703–1088 thin fleshed 857 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 40 205.00–225.00 $213.01 $1,825
805–1025 889 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 53 170.00–192.50 $181.31 $1,612
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
785–953 918 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 15 160.00–163.00 $161.79 $1,485
Medium and Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
785–995 926 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 7 122.50–147.50 $139.24 $1,289

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
995–1440 1158 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 2,150.00–2,275.00 $2,211.16
1180 1180 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 2,100.00 $2,100.00
1235 1235 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd/3rd Stage (4-9 mo) 1 2,050.00 $2,050.00
1252–1515 1260 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 32 1,725.00–1,800.00 $1,797.18
1140–1590 1281 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 1,925.00–2,150.00 $2,073.79
1223–1515 1384 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 30 1,875.00–2,100.00 $1,945.99
1460 1460 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st/2nd Stage (1-6 mo) 1 2,125.00 $2,125.00
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
925 925 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,725.00 $1,725.00
1165 1165 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,575.00 $1,575.00
1146–1405 1192 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 35 1,475.00–1,675.00 $1,633.25
1207 1207 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 3 1,685.00 $1,685.00
1100–1492 1223 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 11 1,525.00–1,785.00 $1,623.79

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1306 1306 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 12 2,825.00 $2,825.00 —
1340 1340 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 4 2,850.00 $2,850.00 —

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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.