Sale reports / Colorado / Sterling / 2024-03-06

Sterling

Name: Sterling livestock auction prices — 2024-03-06
Creator: RaisedBeef
Published: 2024-03-06

Feeder Cattle · Slaughter Cattle · Sterling, Colorado · Wed, Mar 6

● Final78 lots reportedUSDA AMS · slug 1900

← Feb 14Mar 6Apr 10 →

Feeder Cattle receipts

1,706 head

▲ 988 vs last sale 718▲ 1,706 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Slaughter Cattle receipts

290 head

▲ 290 vs last sale 0▲ 290 vs year ago 0 · no sale a year ago

Also sold hereStock Show SpecialSat Jan 17, 2026

View

Reporter comment USDA

As filed

Trade activity and demand was very good. No trends available as last report was 3 weeks ago. Feeder steers and heifers had strong upward tones. Slaughter cows and bulls also had sharply higher tones from three weeks ago. 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 500–600 lb

Weighted average of every reported lot

500–600 lb steers averaged $334.27/cwt on 174 head. That ranks 1 of 4 comparable sales and sits −96.22 against this barn's trailing median of $430.49.

Average price

$334.27

174 head · 546 lb average

Value per head Derived

$1,824

Price × average weight ÷ 100

Grade differential Derived

$130

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

$51.66/cwt at this weight

vs the market

+17.02

vs CO average

+21.27 vs national

What quality paid 500–600 lb

Frame and muscle grade

Frame / muscle	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	Head
Medium and Large 1	537	341.66	1,836	111
Medium and Large 1-2	558	324.54	1,810	57
Medium and Large 2	588	290.00	1,705	6thin

One grade step is worth $51.66/cwt here — about $130 a head. Across this sale the premium is widest at 600–700 lb. USDA reports each grade on its own line and never publishes the spread.

How it compared 500–600 lb

Same class and week · spot auction only

This sale174 hd

334.27

—

CO average3 barns · 449 hd

317.25

+17.02

National average178 barns · 13,961 hd

313.00

+21.27

This barn, trailing median4 sales

430.49

−96.22

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

This barn's trailing prices 500–600 lb

4 sales

Steers 500–600 lb: high $445.30, low $396.50, median $430.49 across 4 sales. Sales under 10 head in this class are excluded, so a thin day cannot swing the median or the ranking.

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	1,709	142.53	2,436	8thin
Cows	Breaker 75-80%	Average	1,520	126.41	1,921	35
Cows	Boner 80-85%	Average	1,327	126.38	1,677	213
Cows	Lean 85-90%	Low	1,142	113.51	1,296	32

Every lot, as filed

78 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 · Steers30 lots · lightest first
Steers	300–350	Medium and Large 1	314	402.50/cwt	402.50–402.50	1,264	4
Steers	350–400	Medium and Large 1	393	357.50/cwt	357.50–357.50	1,405	3
Steers	400–450	Medium and Large 1	427	363.39/cwt	360.00–369.00	1,552	19
Steers	400–450	Medium and Large 1-2	432	345.98/cwt	335.00–355.00	1,495	13
Steers	450–500	Medium and Large 1	474	370.00/cwt	370.00–370.00	1,754	4
Steers	450–500	Medium and Large 1-2	494	330.00/cwt	330.00–330.00	1,630	9
Steers	500–550	Medium and Large 1	521	348.75/cwt	345.00–357.50	1,817	69
Steers	500–550	Medium and Large 1-2	540	333.18/cwt	322.50–342.50	1,799	33
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1	564	330.01/cwt	322.50–335.00	1,861	42
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 1-2	582	312.65/cwt	310.00–317.00	1,820	24
Steers	550–600	Medium and Large 2	588	290.00/cwt	290.00–290.00	1,705	6
Steers	600–650	Medium 1	600	205.00/cwt	205.00–205.00	1,230	4
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Fancy	620	315.00/cwt	315.00–315.00	1,953	29
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1	631	299.84/cwt	294.00–307.50	1,892	127
Steers	600–650	Medium and Large 1-2	641	278.00/cwt	278.00–278.00	1,782	9
Steers	650–700	Medium and Large 1Fancy	661	291.00/cwt	291.00–291.00	1,924	10
Steers	650–700	Medium and Large 1-2	663	262.00/cwt	262.00–262.00	1,737	3
Steers	650–700	Medium and Large 1	681	284.32/cwt	279.00–288.00	1,936	37
Steers	700–750	Medium and Large 1	719	266.98/cwt	260.00–271.00	1,920	100
Steers	750–800	Medium and Large 1	788	257.80/cwt	251.00–261.00	2,031	116
Steers	800–850	Medium and Large 1	814	243.23/cwt	232.00–247.00	1,980	56
Steers	800–850	Medium and Large 1-2	817	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	1,716	5
Steers	850–900	Medium and Large 1-2	852	211.00/cwt	211.00–211.00	1,798	7
Steers	850–900	Medium and Large 1	861	232.00/cwt	232.00–232.00	1,998	5
Steers	900–950	Medium and Large 1	912	232.91/cwt	230.00–237.50	2,124	61
Steers	900–950	Medium and Large 1-2	928	210.00/cwt	210.00–210.00	1,949	4
Steers	900–950	Large 1	939	205.50/cwt	205.50–205.50	1,930	8
Steers	1000–1050	Large 1	1,013	193.50/cwt	193.50–193.50	1,960	3
Steers	1000–1050	Medium and Large 1	1,020	195.00/cwt	195.00–195.00	1,989	1
Steers	1100–1150	Medium and Large 1	1,143	181.00/cwt	181.00–181.00	2,069	2
Feeder Cattle · Heifers28 lots · lightest first
Heifers	350–400	Medium and Large 1	377	335.19/cwt	331.00–340.00	1,264	36
Heifers	400–450	Medium and Large 1	427	328.41/cwt	320.00–333.00	1,402	14
Heifers	450–500	Medium 1	473	281.00/cwt	281.00–281.00	1,329	4
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 1-2	480	299.46/cwt	295.00–305.00	1,437	13
Heifers	450–500	Medium and Large 1	494	315.22/cwt	310.00–318.00	1,557	29
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1Fancy	506	318.00/cwt	318.00–318.00	1,609	7
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1-2	515	272.51/cwt	270.00–277.50	1,403	9
Heifers	500–550	Medium and Large 1	516	300.76/cwt	297.00–307.50	1,552	51
Heifers	500–550	Medium 1	523	232.00/cwt	232.00–232.00	1,213	9
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1Fancy	566	296.00/cwt	296.00–296.00	1,675	16
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1-2	577	269.80/cwt	264.00–272.00	1,557	63
Heifers	550–600	Medium and Large 1	586	278.63/cwt	277.00–287.00	1,633	46
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1Fancy	615	275.50/cwt	275.50–275.50	1,694	36
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1	631	262.67/cwt	259.00–265.00	1,657	39
Heifers	600–650	Medium and Large 1-2	631	245.00/cwt	244.00–245.50	1,546	12
Heifers	650–700	Medium and Large 1	667	249.11/cwt	244.00–254.00	1,662	77
Heifers	650–700	Large 1	682	240.00/cwt	240.00–240.00	1,637	3
Heifers	650–700	Medium and Large 1-2	686	234.98/cwt	232.00–237.00	1,612	22
Heifers	650–700	Medium 1	689	230.00/cwt	230.00–230.00	1,585	4
Heifers	700–750	Medium and Large 1	731	231.08/cwt	222.00–237.00	1,689	28
Heifers	700–750	Medium and Large 1Fancy	744	243.00/cwt	243.00–243.00	1,808	45
Heifers	750–800	Medium and Large 1	772	235.14/cwt	230.50–241.00	1,815	62
Heifers	750–800	Medium and Large 1-2	795	222.00/cwt	222.00–222.00	1,765	30
Heifers	800–850	Medium and Large 1Fancy	803	243.00/cwt	243.00–243.00	1,951	28
Heifers	850–900	Medium and Large 1-2	853	219.00/cwt	219.00–219.00	1,868	13
Heifers	850–900	Medium 1-2	865	141.00/cwt	141.00–141.00	1,220	2
Heifers	850–900	Medium and Large 2	880	177.00/cwt	177.00–177.00	1,558	6
Heifers	1050–1100	Medium and Large 1-2	1,085	166.00/cwt	166.00–166.00	1,801	3
Feeder Cattle · Dairy Heifers9 lots · lightest first
Dairy Heifers	700–750	Small 3	720	110.00/cwt	110.00–110.00	792	1
Dairy Heifers	800–850	Small 3	810	107.50/cwt	107.50–107.50	871	2
Dairy Heifers	900–950	Large 3	920	130.00/cwt	130.00–130.00	1,196	2
Dairy Heifers	1100–1150	Large 2-3	1,105	155.00/cwt	155.00–155.00	1,713	2
Dairy Heifers	1150–1200	Large 3	1,173	150.00/cwt	150.00–150.00	1,760	2
Dairy Heifers	1200–1250	Large 3	1,200	152.00/cwt	152.00–152.00	1,824	1
Dairy Heifers	1250–1300	Large 2-3	1,292	160.00/cwt	160.00–160.00	2,067	15
Dairy Heifers	1300–1350	Large 2-3	1,345	157.00/cwt	157.00–157.00	2,112	1
Dairy Heifers	1350–1400	Large 2-3	1,365	159.00/cwt	159.00–159.00	2,170	1
Feeder Cattle · Dairy Steers1 lot · lightest first
Dairy Steers	700–750	Large 3	724	109.00/cwt	109.00–109.00	789	11
Slaughter Cattle · Bulls3 lots · lightest first
Bulls	—	—	1,641	149.24/cwt	144.00–152.00	2,449	5
Bulls	—	—	1,670	115.00/cwt	115.00–115.00	1,921	1
Bulls	—	—	1,900	139.52/cwt	138.00–141.00	2,651	2
Slaughter Cattle · Cows7 lots · lightest first
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%Return to Feed	1,064	119.76/cwt	117.00–126.00	1,274	6
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,154	112.55/cwt	109.00–119.00	1,299	25
Cows	—	Lean 85-90%	1,300	100.00/cwt	100.00–100.00	1,300	1
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%Return to Feed	1,316	125.94/cwt	123.00–127.00	1,657	11
Cows	—	Boner 80-85%	1,328	126.40/cwt	120.00–128.00	1,679	202
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,516	127.00/cwt	127.00–127.00	1,925	33
Cows	—	Breaker 75-80%	1,585	116.72/cwt	111.00–123.00	1,850	2

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 Mar 6, 2024

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

Feeder CattleReceipts 1,706Last week 718Year ago 0

Slaughter CattleReceipts 290Last week 0Year ago 0

Feeder Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	400–450	432	335.00–355.00	345.98
9	450–500	494	330.00	330.00
33	500–550	540	322.50–342.50	333.18
24	550–600	582	310.00–317.00	312.65
9	600–650	641	278.00	278.00
3	650–700	663	262.00	262.00
5	800–850	817	210.00	210.00
7	850–900	852	211.00	211.00
4	900–950	928	210.00	210.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	300–350	314	402.50	402.50
3	350–400	393	357.50	357.50
19	400–450	427	360.00–369.00	363.39
4	450–500	474	370.00	370.00
69	500–550	521	345.00–357.50	348.75
42	550–600	564	322.50–335.00	330.01
127	600–650	631	294.00–307.50	299.84
37	650–700	681	279.00–288.00	284.32
100	700–750	719	260.00–271.00	266.98
116	750–800	788	251.00–261.00	257.80
56	800–850	814	232.00–247.00	243.23
5	850–900	861	232.00	232.00
61	900–950	912	230.00–237.50	232.91
1	1000–1050	1,020	195.00	195.00
2	1100–1150	1,143	181.00	181.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
8	900–950	939	205.50	205.50
3	1000–1050	1,013	193.50	193.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
29	600–650	620	315.00	315.00
10	650–700	661	291.00	291.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	600–650	600	205.00	205.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Steers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	550–600	588	290.00	290.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
36	350–400	377	331.00–340.00	335.19
14	400–450	427	320.00–333.00	328.41
29	450–500	494	310.00–318.00	315.22
51	500–550	516	297.00–307.50	300.76
46	550–600	586	277.00–287.00	278.63
39	600–650	631	259.00–265.00	262.67
77	650–700	667	244.00–254.00	249.11
28	700–750	731	222.00–237.00	231.08
62	750–800	772	230.50–241.00	235.14

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
13	450–500	480	295.00–305.00	299.46
9	500–550	515	270.00–277.50	272.51
63	550–600	577	264.00–272.00	269.80
12	600–650	631	244.00–245.50	245.00
22	650–700	686	232.00–237.00	234.98
30	750–800	795	222.00	222.00
13	850–900	853	219.00	219.00
3	1050–1100	1,085	166.00	166.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 1 · Fancy$ per cwt · actual wt
7	500–550	506	318.00	318.00
16	550–600	566	296.00	296.00
36	600–650	615	275.50	275.50
45	700–750	744	243.00	243.00
28	800–850	803	243.00	243.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Large 1$ per cwt · actual wt
3	650–700	682	240.00	240.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1$ per cwt · actual wt
4	450–500	473	281.00	281.00
9	500–550	523	232.00	232.00
4	650–700	689	230.00	230.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium 1-2$ per cwt · actual wt
2	850–900	865	141.00	141.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Heifers — Medium and Large 2$ per cwt · actual wt
6	850–900	880	177.00	177.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Heifers — Small 3$ per cwt · actual wt
1	700–750	720	110.00	110.00
2	800–850	810	107.50	107.50

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Heifers — Large 3$ per cwt · actual wt
2	900–950	920	130.00	130.00
2	1150–1200	1,173	150.00	150.00
1	1200–1250	1,200	152.00	152.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Heifers — Large 2-3$ per cwt · actual wt
2	1100–1150	1,105	155.00	155.00
15	1250–1300	1,292	160.00	160.00
1	1300–1350	1,345	157.00	157.00
1	1350–1400	1,365	159.00	159.00

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Dairy Steers — Large 3$ per cwt · actual wt
11	700–750	724	109.00	109.00

Slaughter Cattle

As reported

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
11	—	1,316	123.00–127.00	125.94

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90%$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,300	100.00	100.00
25	—	1,154	109.00–119.00	112.55

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Lean 85-90% · Return to Feed$ per cwt · actual wt
6	—	1,064	117.00–126.00	119.76

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Breaker 75-80%$ per cwt · actual wt
33	—	1,516	127.00	127.00
2	—	1,585	111.00–123.00	116.72

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Cows — Boner 80-85%$ per cwt · actual wt
202	—	1,328	120.00–128.00	126.40

Head	Wt range	Avg wt	Price range	Avg price
Bulls$ per cwt · actual wt
1	—	1,670	115.00	115.00
5	—	1,641	144.00–152.00	149.24
2	—	1,900	138.00–141.00	139.52

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.