Winter Livestock market report — October 20, 2026

La Junta, CO · Tuesday sale · USDA report published 10/20/2026 · Sale days

Head sold

934

Last week 597 (+337)
Last year —

5-wt steers (500–599 lb)

$367.17 /cwt

$2,038 per head · 15 hd
vs last week −52.46

7-wt steers (700–799 lb)

$356.20 /cwt

$2,618 per head · 15 hd
vs last week +19.50

Trade activity and demand was moderate. This is the first week of the split sales, therefore there is no accurate trend for yearlings. The breaker and boner slaughter cows of average dressing sold 2.00 lower while lean cows sold 3.00 lower. Slaughter bulls of average dressing sold 1.00 lower. The next yearling, replacement and slaughter cow sale will be next Tuesday October 27, 2026.
USDA Market News reporter, October 20, 2026

Feeder steers — Oct 20

Steers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 13. Last year = sale of Oct 21. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt
300–399 lb	—	—	—	—	—	—	$502.78 (9 hd)
400–499 lb	4	459 lb	$437.50†	$2,008	−33.81	—	$440.30 (31 hd)
500–599 lb	15	555 lb	$367.17	$2,038	−52.46	−82.83	—
600–699 lb	9	693 lb	$344.06	$2,386	−38.79	−4.01	—
700–799 lb	15	735 lb	$356.20	$2,618	+19.50	+12.71	—
900–999 lb	10	916 lb	$332.00	$3,041	+15.88	−2.91	—

Feeder heifers — Oct 20

Heifers, Medium and Large frame, No. 1 and 1–2 muscle, regular lots, head-weighted by 100-lb band. Last week = sale of Oct 13. Last year = sale of Oct 21. Unweaned = calves sold straight off the cow. These are kept out of the main price. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price.
Weight	Head	Avg wt	$/cwt	$/head	vs last week	vs last year	Unweaned $/cwt
300–399 lb	3	318 lb	$455.00†	$1,447	+5.84	—	$404.00 (20 hd)
400–499 lb	5	470 lb	$347.50	$1,633	−55.70	—	—
500–599 lb	2	513 lb	$370.00†	$1,898	+4.70	—	$342.50 (4 hd)†
600–699 lb	15	664 lb	$332.28	$2,206	—	−7.09	—
700–799 lb	22	771 lb	$322.27	$2,485	−8.73	−4.58	—
800–899 lb	2	845 lb	$332.50†	$2,810	+23.84	+27.50	—

Slaughter cows — Oct 20

Grade	Dressing	Head	Avg wt	Avg $/cwt	Range $/cwt
Boner 80-85%	High	73	1,368 lb	$143.45	$141.00–$159.00
Boner 80-85%	Average	26	1,452 lb	$134.34	$127.00–$137.00
Boner 80-85%	Low	5	1,316 lb	$119.60	$118.00–$122.00
Boner 80-85%	Very Low	7	1,349 lb	$111.71	$103.00–$117.00
Breaker 75-80%	High	2	1,550 lb	$141.00	$141.00–$141.00
Breaker 75-80%	Average	12	1,578 lb	$129.98	$128.00–$136.00
Breaker 75-80%	Low	1	1,510 lb	$113.00	$113.00–$113.00
Lean 85-90%	High	191	1,181 lb	$142.95	$139.00–$148.00
Lean 85-90%	Average	45	1,120 lb	$129.85	$126.00–$136.00
Lean 85-90%	Low	20	1,108 lb	$121.22	$117.00–$124.00
Lean 85-90%	Very Low	58	1,102 lb	$109.04	$101.00–$115.00

Price trends

Steers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $420.81/cwt
4-week average: $408.55
13-week average: $408.55
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $379.25high $508.84

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Steers 700–799 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $347.51/cwt
4-week average: $332.85
13-week average: $332.85
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $321.06high $386.14

Sales in 4 of the last 13 weeks.

Heifers 500–599 lb Steady

Latest (week of October 19, 2026): $370.39/cwt
4-week average: $354.47
13-week average: $354.47
4-week vs 13-week: 0.0%

52-wk low $332.93high $452.69

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	+2.6%	67%	6
Feb	+5.1%	100%	6
Mar	+9.2%	100%	5
Apr	+5.7%	100%	5
May	+2.5%	80%	5
Jun	—	—	1
Jul	—	—	1
Aug	—	—	2
Sep	−4.2%	20%	5
Oct	−8.0%	0%	6
Nov	−5.1%	0%	6
Dec	−1.6%	50%	6

7-weight steers

For 700–799 lb steers, prices since 2019 ran highest against their yearly average in Sep and Feb and lowest in May 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	+0.7%	50%	6
Feb	+2.2%	67%	6
Mar	+0.7%	60%	5
Apr	−0.7%	60%	5
May	−3.5%	20%	5
Jun	—	—	1
Jul	—	—	1
Aug	—	—	2
Sep	+2.9%	80%	5
Oct	+0.2%	50%	6
Nov	−1.0%	33%	6
Dec	+0.3%	50%	6

Recent sales

Last 13 weeks. † Based on fewer than 5 head; treat as a rough price. Download the weekly history as CSV.
Sale	Head sold	Steers 500–599 $/cwt	Steers 700–799 $/cwt	Heifers 500–599 $/cwt
Tue Oct 20	934	$367.17	$356.20	$370.00†
Mon Oct 19	3,560	$422.46	$344.17	$370.39
Tue Oct 13	3,428	$419.63	$336.70	$365.30
Tue Oct 6	1,983	$414.51	$323.33	$349.25
Tue Sep 29	2,286	$379.25	$323.84	$332.93

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
La Junta Livestock Commision, La Junta	0 mi	Oct 21	$407.93	$298.58
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
Tuesday	October 20, 2026	934	22	AMS_1901
Monday	October 19, 2026	3,560	5	AMS_1902

Source: USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News, “Winter Livestock (Tuesday) - La Junta, CO” (AMS_1901); “Winter Livestock Seasonal Feeder Cattle Sale (Monday) - La Junta, CO” (AMS_1902). 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.