Sale reports / Colorado / Sterling / 2023-12-13

Sterling

Name: Sterling livestock auction prices — 2023-12-13
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2023-12-13

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Sterling, Colorado · Wed, Dec 13

● Final64 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1900

← Dec 6Dec 13Dec 20 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,405 head

▼ 229 vs last sale 1,634▲ 1,405 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

149 head

▼ 75 vs last sale 224▲ 149 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereStock Show SpecialSat Jan 17, 2026

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Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Trade activity and demand today was moderate. Today's feeder offering was primarily weaned 30 to 60 days with a few coming off the cow. Most of the calves were preconditioned and on a vaccination program. Compared to last week feeder steers traded mostly 1.00 to 7.00 higher while feeder heifers traded mostly 2.00 to 10.00 higher. The only exception was the 600 to 700 pound heifers traded 1.00 to 7.00 lower. Slaughter cows traded steady to 2.00 higher and slaughter bulls traded 3.00 lower. Next available report will be as receipts warrant.

Weight class — the figures below change to match

Weight classPick one — the panels below update

Steers · summary 0–100 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

0–100 lb steers averaged $271.54/cwt on 683 head.

Average price

$271.54

683 head · 587 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,594

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$265

per head · Medium and Large 1 over Medium 1-2

$73.18/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+14.94

vs CO average

What quality paid 0–100 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	588	275.18	1,618	571
Medium and Large 1-2	588	256.09	1,506	93
Medium 1	517	247.50	1,280	15thin
Medium 1-2	670	202.00	1,353	4thin

One grade step is worth $73.18/cwt here — about $265 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 0–100 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 0–100 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale683 hd

271.54

—

CO average4 barns · 4,813 hd

256.60

+14.94

A barn can sit above the state average at one weight and below it at another — check the class you actually sell.

Slaughter cattle

By class and quality grade · $/cwt

Cull cows and bulls are graded, not weight-classed — grade is what moves the money here.

Class	Grade	Dressing	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Bulls	—	Low	1,783	105.60	1,882	17
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,622	95.47	1,548	6thin
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Low	1,283	87.11	1,118	81
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Very Low	1,147	75.16	862	44

Every lot, as filed

64 lots · USDA AMS · Sterling Livestock Commission - Sterling, CO

Nothing removed and nothing rounded — the same lots as the USDA report, with per-head values added. Grouped by class and set lightest first; USDA files them in sale-ring order.

Class	Weight	Grade / description	Avg wt	Price	Range	Per head	Head
Feeder Cattle · Steers21 lots · lightest first
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	296	700.00/head	700.00–700.00	700	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	432	317.23/cwt	310.00–320.00	1,370	40
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	435	282.50/cwt	282.50–282.50	1,229	3
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	467	306.87/cwt	304.00–310.00	1,433	34
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	467	286.86/cwt	284.00–294.00	1,340	7
Steers	—	Medium 1	484	242.50/cwt	242.50–242.50	1,174	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	491	271.00/cwt	271.00–271.00	1,331	5
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	511	299.60/cwt	290.00–302.00	1,531	109
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	517	266.79/cwt	263.00–270.00	1,379	11
Steers	—	Medium 1	534	250.00/cwt	250.00–250.00	1,335	10
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	562	257.50/cwt	257.50–257.50	1,447	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	569	282.18/cwt	267.50–288.50	1,606	163
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	583	256.76/cwt	255.00–264.00	1,497	36
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	615	270.00/cwt	270.00–270.00	1,661	38
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	643	248.71/cwt	240.00–257.00	1,599	28
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	666	246.36/cwt	239.00–248.50	1,641	105
Steers	—	Medium 1-2	670	202.00/cwt	202.00–202.00	1,353	4
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	714	218.54/cwt	216.00–221.00	1,560	6
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	715	229.55/cwt	228.00–230.00	1,641	9
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	787	229.88/cwt	228.00–230.50	1,809	59
Steers	—	Medium and Large 1	845	216.00/cwt	216.00–216.00	1,825	2
Feeder Cattle · Heifers26 lots · lightest first
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	335	255.00/cwt	255.00–255.00	854	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	336	277.50/cwt	277.50–277.50	932	11
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	353	262.50/cwt	262.50–262.50	927	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	373	287.50/cwt	287.50–287.50	1,072	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	400	258.00/cwt	258.00–258.00	1,032	4
Heifers	—	Medium 1-2	413	217.00/cwt	217.00–217.00	896	6
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	421	260.00/cwt	260.00–260.00	1,095	8
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Fancy	423	286.00/cwt	286.00–286.00	1,210	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	424	272.38/cwt	265.00–276.00	1,155	67
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	429	248.00/cwt	248.00–248.00	1,064	4
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	457	276.09/cwt	265.00–278.00	1,262	21
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1Unweaned	481	253.00/cwt	253.00–253.00	1,217	7
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	485	258.21/cwt	244.00–265.00	1,252	81
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	519	258.80/cwt	253.00–264.00	1,343	63
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	522	226.00/cwt	226.00–226.00	1,180	5
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	532	241.14/cwt	236.00–247.50	1,283	103
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	567	231.60/cwt	227.00–237.00	1,313	37
Heifers	—	Medium 1	572	193.00/cwt	193.00–193.00	1,104	3
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	590	215.24/cwt	211.00–222.00	1,270	14
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	612	215.64/cwt	214.00–219.00	1,320	20
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2Unweaned	616	206.00/cwt	206.00–206.00	1,269	10
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	622	217.66/cwt	212.00–224.00	1,354	22
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	658	210.99/cwt	210.00–212.50	1,388	43
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1-2	663	204.00/cwt	204.00–204.00	1,353	2
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	710	207.05/cwt	192.00–213.00	1,470	45
Heifers	—	Medium and Large 1	1,155	161.00/cwt	161.00–161.00	1,860	3
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls4 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—Return to Feed	1,203	116.48/cwt	109.00–127.50	1,401	3
Bulls	—	—	1,685	91.02/cwt	87.00–96.00	1,534	3
Bulls	—	—	1,859	102.80/cwt	100.00–106.00	1,911	6
Bulls	—	—	2,097	111.18/cwt	109.00–114.00	2,331	5
Slaughter Cattle · Cows13 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	880	105.00/cwt	105.00–105.00	924	1
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,005	54.16/cwt	50.00–65.00	544	5
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,050	90.00/cwt	90.00–90.00	945	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,055	116.55/cwt	107.00–125.00	1,230	2
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,065	67.38/cwt	67.00–69.00	718	5
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,182	78.76/cwt	71.00–82.00	931	31
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,205	84.00/cwt	84.00–84.00	1,012	2
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,259	76.71/cwt	74.00–79.00	966	4
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,294	86.54/cwt	81.00–93.00	1,120	69
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,310	51.00/cwt	51.00–51.00	668	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,328	97.21/cwt	95.00–100.00	1,291	4
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,582	97.36/cwt	96.00–101.00	1,540	5
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,820	86.00/cwt	86.00–86.00	1,565	1

How this sale compares

Colorado weighted averages

One sale is one barn on one day. The state ladder is every Colorado auction USDA reported that week, weighted by head — the fairer test of whether a lot sold well.

Colorado feeder prices, every weight →Every state and region →

Sterling Livestock Commission - Sterling, CO

Wed Dec 13, 2023

USDA Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News · Federal-State Market News Service, Greeley, CO (LS-GL)

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,405Last week 1,634Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 149Last week 224Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	400	258.00	258.00
7	—	481	253.00	253.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	616	206.00	206.00
4	—	429	248.00	248.00
5	—	522	226.00	226.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
20	—	612	214.00–219.00	215.64
3	—	335	255.00	255.00
2	—	663	204.00	204.00
81	—	485	244.00–265.00	258.21
3	—	353	262.50	262.50
14	—	590	211.00–222.00	215.24
8	—	421	260.00	260.00
103	—	532	236.00–247.50	241.14

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	413	217.00	217.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	373	287.50	287.50
43	—	658	210.00–212.50	210.99
11	—	336	277.50	277.50
63	—	519	253.00–264.00	258.80
45	—	710	192.00–213.00	207.05
22	—	622	212.00–224.00	217.66
3	—	1,155	161.00	161.00
21	—	457	265.00–278.00	276.09
67	—	424	265.00–276.00	272.38
37	—	567	227.00–237.00	231.60

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	572	193.00	193.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	423	286.00	286.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
59	—	787	228.00–230.50	229.88
9	—	715	228.00–230.00	229.55
38	—	615	270.00	270.00
105	—	666	239.00–248.50	246.36
163	—	569	267.50–288.50	282.18
109	—	511	290.00–302.00	299.60
40	—	432	310.00–320.00	317.23
34	—	467	304.00–310.00	306.87
2	—	845	216.00	216.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
10	—	534	250.00	250.00
5	—	484	242.50	242.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	491	271.00	271.00
4	—	296	700.00	700.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
7	—	467	284.00–294.00	286.86
11	—	517	263.00–270.00	266.79
6	—	714	216.00–221.00	218.54
28	—	643	240.00–257.00	248.71
36	—	583	255.00–264.00	256.76

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	670	202.00	202.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Unweaned$ per cwt · actual wt
9	—	562	257.50	257.50
3	—	435	282.50	282.50

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
4	—	1,259	74.00–79.00	76.71
4	—	1,328	95.00–100.00	97.21
69	—	1,294	81.00–93.00	86.54
1	—	1,310	51.00	51.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,005	50.00–65.00	54.16
5	—	1,065	67.00–69.00	67.38
31	—	1,182	71.00–82.00	78.76
2	—	1,205	84.00	84.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
5	—	1,582	96.00–101.00	97.36
1	—	1,820	86.00	86.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
2	—	1,055	107.00–125.00	116.55
1	—	880	105.00	105.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,050	90.00	90.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,685	87.00–96.00	91.02
5	—	2,097	109.00–114.00	111.18
6	—	1,859	100.00–106.00	102.80

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls — Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
3	—	1,203	109.00–127.50	116.48

Head, weight ranges, average weights and price ranges are exactly as USDA AMS filed them — nothing recomputed, nothing rounded — in USDA's own reporting structure. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of that data, not a copy of USDA's document.