La Junta Livestock Commision market report — October 21, 2026

La Junta, CO · Wednesday sale · USDA report published 10/21/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

2,207

Last week 1,757 (+450)
Last year 2,999

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$407.93 /cwt

$2,271 per head · 199 hd
vs last week +4.45

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$298.58 /cwt

$2,234 per head · 22 hd
vs last week −38.44

Trade activity and demand was moderate. Feeder steers sold mostly lower to sharply lower across all weight classes. Feeder heifers under 550 sold mostly sharply higher. Heifers over 550 sold 2.00 to 4.00 lower with instances of sharply lower. The next feeder calf sale will be next Wednesday October 28, 2026.
USDA Market News reporter, October 21, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 21

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 14. Last year = sale of Oct 22. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. These are kept out of the main price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt
300–399 lb	36	348 lb	$482.09	$1,676	−68.99	−102.91	$485.73 (63 hd)
400–499 lb	112	454 lb	$443.56	$2,014	−12.38	−53.91	$448.13 (74 hd)
500–599 lb	199	557 lb	$407.93	$2,271	+4.45	−5.26	$375.83 (173 hd)
600–699 lb	107	640 lb	$343.46	$2,197	−26.48	−16.40	$320.37 (66 hd)
700–799 lb	22	748 lb	$298.58	$2,234	−38.44	−42.23	—
800–899 lb	10	842 lb	$288.50	$2,429	—	−31.57	—
900–999 lb	10	979 lb	$297.39	$2,911	−15.28	−2.61	—

Feeder heifers — Oct 21

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 14. Last year = sale of Oct 22. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. These are kept out of the main price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt
300–399 lb	52	360 lb	$414.85	$1,492	−33.62	−100.65	$415.05 (24 hd)
400–499 lb	101	442 lb	$380.73	$1,683	−14.64	−26.49	$376.08 (92 hd)
500–599 lb	187	561 lb	$333.64	$1,872	+0.35	−26.33	$333.03 (98 hd)
600–699 lb	60	625 lb	$299.03	$1,868	−14.36	−40.30	$286.36 (25 hd)
700–799 lb	20	751 lb	$279.56	$2,099	−33.19	−45.00	—
800–899 lb	20	869 lb	$281.50	$2,446	−11.00	+8.45	—
900–999 lb	6	960 lb	$270.00	$2,593	—	+6.25	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 7

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	High	17	1,322 lb	$151.00	$151.00–$151.00
Boner 80-85%	Average	16	1,414 lb	$140.93	$140.00–$143.00
Boner 80-85%	Low	6	1,377 lb	$134.21	$130.00–$136.00
Boner 80-85%	Very Low	1	1,330 lb	$113.00	$113.00–$113.00
Breaker 75-80%	High	6	1,512 lb	$151.00	$151.00–$151.00
Breaker 75-80%	Average	5	1,596 lb	$140.79	$140.00–$141.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	6	1,551 lb	$136.00	$136.00–$136.00
Lean 85-90%	High	111	1,189 lb	$151.55	$150.00–$155.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	58	1,211 lb	$146.03	$141.00–$149.00
Lean 85-90%	Low	60	1,080 lb	$127.93	$121.00–$136.00
Lean 85-90%	Very Low	27	1,103 lb	$109.91	$101.00–$119.00
Premium White 65-75%	Low	2	1,728 lb	$133.00	$133.00–$133.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $407.93/cwt
4-week average: $410.68
13-week average: $409.62
4-week vs 13-week: +0.3%

52-wk low $403.47high $521.49

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $298.58/cwt
4-week average: $321.73
13-week average: $320.41
4-week vs 13-week: +0.4%

52-wk low $298.58high $387.00

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Rising

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $333.64/cwt
4-week average: $339.92
13-week average: $330.79
4-week vs 13-week: +2.8%

52-wk low $303.41high $466.60

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Direction compares the 4-week average with the 13-week average: Rising +1% or more, Steady within ±1%, Easing −1% to −3%, Falling −3% or more. Weekly prices are head-weighted averages of Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 feeder cattle, regular lots.

The label describes recent prices; it is not a forecast. In our backtest of every barn since 2019 (about 35,000 barn-weeks), barns labeled Falling went on to beat other barns' average move over the next 13 weeks 61% of the time, and barns labeled Rising trailed it 56% of the time.

Last 52 weeks

Weekly average $/cwt4-week average

Price history since 2019

Weekly average $/cwt

When to sell: the seasonal pattern

5-weight steers

For 500–599 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Mar and Apr and lowest in Oct and Nov.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	+1.9%	80%	5
Feb	+5.2%	83%	6
Mar	+13.0%	100%	5
Apr	+5.4%	100%	5
May	−0.4%	75%	4
Jun	—	—	0
Jul	—	—	1
Aug	—	—	2
Sep	−4.4%	20%	5
Oct	−6.9%	17%	6
Nov	−5.2%	0%	6
Dec	−3.8%	0%	5

7-weight steers

For 700–799 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Mar and Feb and lowest in May and Oct.

Each month's head-weighted average price compared with the centered 12-month average around it, then averaged across years. Past patterns are not a forecast.
Month	vs year avg	Years above	Years
Jan	+1.5%	60%	5
Feb	+1.9%	80%	5
Mar	+2.7%	100%	4
Apr	−1.4%	50%	4
May	−2.8%	25%	4
Jun	—	—	0
Jul	—	—	1
Aug	—	—	2
Sep	+0.6%	50%	4
Oct	−2.4%	0%	4
Nov	−1.8%	25%	4
Dec	−1.6%	60%	5

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Wed Oct 21	2,207	$407.93	$298.58	$333.64
Wed Oct 14	1,757	$403.47	$337.02	$333.29
Wed Oct 7	1,470	$420.62	$329.59	$352.83
Wed Sep 23	1,227	$406.45	$316.46	$303.41

Special and graded sales

The last 12 months of this barn's special and graded sales, $/cwt, Medium and Large No. 1 and 1–2 regular lots (value-added lots where a sale has only those). A sale counts in the weekly trend only when it is a regular feeder sale: a plain special where feeder steers and heifers are most of the head. Graded, replacement, cow-and-pair, preconditioned and Holstein sales stay out.
Sale	Type	Head	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799	Heifers 500–599	In trend
Oct 22, 2026	Stock Cow and Pair Specialspecial	655	—	—	—	No
Oct 15, 2026	Stock Cow and Pair Specialspecial	608	—	—	—	No

Nearby barns this week

Straight-line distance between towns. Barns tagged unweaned show unweaned-calf prices. Every Colorado sale this week.
Barn	Distance	Sale	Steers 500–599	Steers 700–799
Winter Livestock, La Junta	0 mi	Oct 20	$367.17	$356.20
Livestock Exchange, Brush	158 mi	Oct 22	—	—
Sterling Livestock Commission, Sterlingunweaned	183 mi	Oct 21	$455.52	$345.09

Sale days

Sale	Latest report	Head	Sales in 52 weeks	USDA report
Wednesday	October 21, 2026	2,207	23	AMS_1903
Stock Cow and Pair Special special	October 22, 2026	655	2	AMS_1897

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “La Junta Livestock Commision - La Junta, CO” (AMS_1903); “La Junta Livestock Stock Cow and Pair Special - La Junta, CO” (AMS_1897). See something wrong? Report a correction. Feeder prices are Medium and Large frame No. 1 and 1–2 cattle, $/cwt, grouped into 100-lb bands by average weight and weighted by head count. Value-added, unweaned and No. 2 lots are shown in their own columns; other lot types (fancy, fleshy, thin-fleshed, spayed, replacement) are left out. $/head = $/cwt × average weight ÷ 100.