Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, October 21, 2020

573 head sold ·Official USDA report

This is an archived report. See the latest Blue Grass Stockyards report →

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $126.05/cwt -6.72 vs last sale · ≈ $800/hd at 635 lb · 79 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $133.23/cwt -9.31 vs last sale · ≈ $722/hd at 542 lb · 27 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $108.72/cwt -9.22 vs last sale · ≈ $678/hd at 624 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 573 707 677
Feeder cattle 510 654 563
Slaughter cattle 54 39 103
Replacement cattle 9 14 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers 6.00-8.00 lower .Slaughter cows and bulls steady.Supply was moderate with weak demand on plain to average calves today.

New to these tables? Plain-English explainers ↓

Feeder Steers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315–345 337 8 145.00–158.00 $152.82 $515 -4.45
385–397 395 6 135.00–142.00 $140.86 $556 -11.93
410 410 2 140.00–141.00 $140.50 $576 -7.30
480–490 485 4 130.00–132.00 $130.50 $633 -17.50
520–545 542 27 124.00–135.00 $133.23 $722 -2.28
551–590 564 24 122.00–135.00 $130.92 $738 -4.90
618–647 635 79 115.00–126.75 $126.05 $800 -2.15
650–665 659 7 115.00–126.00 $121.43 $800 -7.05
712–745 727 5 111.00–119.00 $116.24 $845 -6.76
747 value added 747 2 125.00 $125.00 $934 -5.99
775 value added 775 1 125.00 $125.00 $969 -11.00
830–837 value added 834 4 121.00–125.00 $122.99 $1,026 -2.01
900–947 934 4 104.00–118.00 $108.88 $1,017 —
975 975 1 112.00 $112.00 $1,092 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–385 380 2 122.00–135.00 $128.41 $488 -2.59
400–440 418 4 115.00–121.00 $119.06 $498 -11.94
465–487 477 5 120.00–124.00 $122.81 $586 —
560–595 578 5 107.00–115.00 $109.37 $632 -12.63
655–672 666 4 111.00–114.00 $113.01 $753 +8.99
740 740 1 97.00 $97.00 $718 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 122.00 $122.00 $268 —
300–340 324 7 121.00–124.00 $122.61 $397 -4.39
360–380 375 9 117.00–120.00 $118.45 $444 -5.91
427 fancy 427 7 127.00 $127.00 $542 —
415–440 429 10 120.00–125.00 $120.59 $517 -4.26
460–495 479 15 114.00–120.00 $116.56 $558 -9.27
503–545 519 8 114.00–117.00 $114.89 $596 -5.83
550–595 564 9 112.00–120.00 $114.51 $646 -7.36
605–645 623 22 100.00–112.00 $108.24 $674 -6.65
635 fancy 635 2 114.00 $114.00 $724 —
657–683 674 6 104.00–109.00 $105.96 $714 -5.04
715 fancy 715 2 110.00 $110.00 $786 —
705–740 727 3 90.00–97.00 $93.28 $678 -10.76
750 750 1 90.00 $90.00 $675 -22.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–290 285 2 110.00–118.00 $114.07 $325 —
360–380 373 4 101.00–114.00 $109.21 $407 -9.64
400–435 412 5 106.00–112.00 $109.41 $451 +1.85
450–490 469 5 105.00–113.00 $109.85 $515 -5.36
510–535 525 3 99.00–105.00 $101.37 $532 —
565–590 578 8 98.00–108.00 $102.36 $592 -13.45
660–675 668 2 88.00–95.00 $91.54 $611 -6.85
710 710 1 86.00 $86.00 $611 -4.00
750 750 1 84.00 $84.00 $630 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 134.00 $134.00 $322 —
310–345 333 3 134.00–147.50 $139.90 $466 -14.81
355–390 369 5 132.00–140.00 $137.72 $508 -10.28
400–440 419 10 126.00–139.00 $131.68 $552 -13.79
450–485 471 15 125.00–130.00 $127.72 $602 -17.19
505–545 527 12 115.00–133.00 $122.36 $645 -9.80
562–585 571 5 115.00–122.00 $118.02 $674 -12.09
612–647 633 9 110.00–113.00 $112.14 $710 -4.52
650–693 677 5 107.00–112.00 $108.57 $735 -8.45
725–740 733 2 97.00–105.00 $101.04 $741 -7.70
780 780 1 96.00 $96.00 $749 -12.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 135.00 $135.00 $324 —
265–295 282 7 115.00–135.00 $122.39 $345 —
315–345 330 4 118.00–126.00 $123.72 $408 -2.80
365–380 373 2 125.00–128.00 $126.53 $472 +0.99
415–445 432 3 112.00–121.00 $116.05 $501 -6.61
485 485 2 123.00 $123.00 $597 -3.96
555–596 582 7 111.00–114.00 $113.01 $658 -1.99
665 665 1 104.00 $104.00 $692 -2.39

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1300 1149 80-85% 4 55.00–61.00 $57.77 $664 —
1150 1150 80-85% 1 41.00 $41.00 $472 -3.00
1095–1365 1197 80-85% 12 45.00–53.00 $47.59 $570 +3.59
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
790–1035 929 85-90% 4 25.00–30.00 $28.27 $263 —
885–1080 953 85-90% 4 46.00–48.00 $46.99 $448 +7.27
850–1145 984 85-90% 8 37.00–42.00 $39.19 $386 -0.53
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1430–1530 1495 75-80% 6 48.00–53.00 $49.67 $743 ±0.00

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–2255 1711 4 74.00–82.00 $76.64 $1,311 —
1445–2475 1880 3 69.00–72.00 $70.57 $1,327 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1105–1300 1212 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 725.00–1,040.00 $857.43
1410 1410 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 730.00 $730.00
1520 1520 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

↑ Back to top

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.