Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 4, 2020

723 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $126.11/cwt +7.97 vs last sale · ≈ $671/hd at 532 lb · 36 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $137.94/cwt +10.58 vs last sale · ≈ $779/hd at 565 lb · 18 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $127.30/cwt +7.66 vs last sale · ≈ $593/hd at 466 lb · 15 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 723 417 1,035
Feeder cattle 670 348 936
Slaughter cattle 50 61 94
Replacement cattle 3 8 5

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder steers under 400 lbs steady, over 400 lbs 3.00-5.00 higher, Feeder heifers 2.00-4.00 higher, Good demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 higher, Slaughter bulls steady, Good demand for slaughter classes.

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
255 255 1 140.00 $140.00 $357 —
350–385 373 3 143.00–148.00 $146.44 $546 -10.56
415 fancy 415 2 155.00 $155.00 $643 +2.00
405–445 421 5 136.00–147.00 $142.43 $600 —
460–475 464 4 135.00–149.00 $145.53 $675 +4.28
470–476 fancy 475 4 152.00 $152.00 $722 ±0.00
526 value added 526 3 152.00 $152.00 $800 +9.43
515–545 530 9 131.00–141.00 $137.85 $731 +9.79
562 value added 562 6 148.00 $148.00 $832 +14.00
555–585 566 12 125.00–136.00 $132.91 $752 +6.21
600–645 628 7 119.00–129.00 $124.97 $785 +6.95
610–641 value added 628 7 133.00–134.00 $133.72 $840 +7.13
650–695 673 2 119.00–124.00 $121.58 $818 +1.58
725–735 728 6 122.00–128.00 $126.32 $920 +10.19
750–790 770 2 118.00–123.00 $120.44 $927 —
814 value added 814 6 132.00 $132.00 $1,074 —
825 825 2 128.00 $128.00 $1,056 —
940 940 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,100 +1.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470–485 478 2 115.00–124.00 $119.57 $572 +9.57
540 540 2 116.00–120.00 $118.00 $637 —
610–635 623 2 110.00–116.00 $113.06 $704 +2.06
655–670 663 2 115.00 $115.00 $762 +3.00
740 740 1 107.00 $107.00 $792 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 125.00 $125.00 $331 +3.72
320 320 1 125.00 $125.00 $400 +5.98
390–395 392 3 121.00–124.00 $122.01 $478 +1.65
405–445 431 7 118.00–129.00 $122.75 $529 +2.76
452–491 466 15 123.00–130.00 $127.30 $593 +7.66
520–547 value added 531 24 127.00–128.00 $127.09 $675 +5.84
505–545 533 12 122.00–125.00 $124.16 $662 +10.17
555–597 587 9 120.00–124.00 $123.24 $723 +8.86
600–640 614 11 114.00–120.00 $117.78 $723 +11.00
650–670 659 9 109.00–116.00 $112.08 $739 +9.10
700–725 705 9 104.00–113.00 $111.53 $786 —
750 750 1 107.00 $107.00 $802 —
767 value added 767 5 116.00 $116.00 $890 —
857 857 2 99.00 $99.00 $848 ±0.00
900 900 1 86.00 $86.00 $774 —
1070 1070 1 93.00 $93.00 $995 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–385 375 3 110.00–115.00 $113.42 $425 +2.42
485 485 1 115.00 $115.00 $558 —
595 595 1 114.00 $114.00 $678 —
615 615 1 106.00 $106.00 $652 —
730 730 1 93.00 $93.00 $679 —
835–840 838 2 69.00–83.00 $76.02 $637 —
865 865 1 67.00 $67.00 $580 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
275 275 1 140.00 $140.00 $385 —
402–420 fancy 408 3 153.00–154.00 $153.34 $626 +9.34
420–425 423 2 132.00–150.00 $141.05 $597 +2.00
465 465 1 129.00 $129.00 $600 +4.00
490 fancy 490 3 152.00 $152.00 $745 +4.00
500–530 515 3 130.00–138.00 $133.31 $687 +11.31
550–580 562 5 129.00–132.00 $130.98 $736 +7.83
615–635 627 5 117.00–126.00 $122.38 $767 +10.33
675–690 679 7 115.00–120.00 $117.00 $794 —
720–730 725 2 104.00–111.00 $107.48 $779 +0.48
765 765 1 111.00 $111.00 $849 —
805 805 1 97.00 $97.00 $781 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360–380 370 2 110.00–129.00 $119.24 $441 -0.76
430–440 435 3 105.00–118.00 $112.72 $490 —
485 485 1 94.00 $94.00 $456 -23.41
585–595 592 3 102.00–110.00 $104.64 $619 -0.90
645 645 1 109.00 $109.00 $703 +1.00
685 685 1 100.00 $100.00 $685 ±0.00
955 955 1 60.00 $60.00 $573 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
880 880 85-90% 1 34.00 $34.00 $299 —
930–1145 1030 85-90% 11 52.00–60.00 $56.09 $578 —
895–1245 1077 85-90% 6 44.00–51.00 $47.57 $512 —
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1210–1260 1235 80-85% 2 47.00–49.00 $48.02 $593 -9.70
1180–1505 1367 80-85% 13 52.00–59.00 $55.48 $758 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1515–1740 1620 75-80% 7 53.00–61.00 $56.10 $909 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1385–1540 1463 2 69.00–70.00 $69.53 $1,017 —
1410–2190 1728 3 74.00–80.00 $76.81 $1,327 —
1775–1870 1823 2 83.00–84.00 $83.49 $1,522 —

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Stock Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hd
735 735 (<2 yrs)Open 1 85.00 $85.00 $625
915 915 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 65.00 $65.00 $595

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1225 1225 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00

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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.