Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 9, 2020

1,272 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $121.40/cwt +11.71 vs last sale · ≈ $819/hd at 675 lb · 147 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $128.92/cwt +5.30 vs last sale · ≈ $616/hd at 478 lb · 93 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $137.30/cwt -2.30 vs last sale · ≈ $791/hd at 576 lb · 90 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,272 598 913
Feeder cattle 1,181 529 825
Slaughter cattle 72 66 74
Replacement cattle 19 3 14

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers 2.00-3.00 higher,heifers steady 2.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 lower.Supply was heavy with good demand.

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
272 272 2 160.00 $160.00 $435 —
321–347 333 15 150.00–167.50 $155.31 $517 -8.69
333 value added 333 7 180.00 $180.00 $599 —
360–390 370 6 162.50–175.00 $166.18 $615 +9.94
405–440 423 12 140.00–160.00 $149.12 $631 -3.56
412–447 value added 437 17 162.00–177.00 $170.09 $743 +0.10
462–486 value added 469 15 162.00–164.00 $163.06 $765 —
450–495 476 11 141.00–159.00 $146.40 $697 -7.13
500–545 523 13 128.00–145.00 $135.01 $706 -0.45
510–547 value added 537 33 146.00–155.50 $149.11 $801 -5.27
555–569 value added 566 16 146.00–148.00 $147.32 $834 -0.24
550–597 578 74 126.50–145.00 $135.13 $781 -1.06
606–635 value added 617 8 136.00–137.00 $136.39 $842 +4.55
600–645 628 25 122.00–133.00 $126.91 $797 +1.69
665–696 687 19 121.00–130.50 $128.40 $882 +6.91
701–742 718 8 112.00–126.00 $120.79 $867 +0.14
710–745 value added 721 4 125.00–130.00 $126.29 $911 —
750–790 765 6 116.00–125.00 $120.82 $924 -2.76
777–786 value added 784 9 127.50–130.00 $128.05 $1,004 —
800–840 820 2 115.00–117.00 $115.98 $951 -5.51
830–843 value added 837 6 120.00–125.00 $122.48 $1,025 -1.02
882 882 2 116.00 $116.00 $1,023 -4.00
900–930 911 6 105.00–112.00 $109.32 $996 -7.68
1065 1065 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,161 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 150.00 $150.00 $390 —
330 330 1 120.00 $120.00 $396 —
390 390 1 138.00 $138.00 $538 +7.03
410–440 427 3 127.00–132.00 $129.37 $552 —
450–490 473 6 121.00–137.00 $130.06 $615 -4.67
510 510 2 120.00–124.00 $122.00 $622 -3.00
570–595 586 4 110.00–122.00 $113.97 $668 -6.53
605–635 616 5 110.00–120.00 $116.14 $715 -3.86
687–690 688 3 108.00–120.00 $115.99 $798 +0.09

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250–278 272 6 130.00–141.00 $138.13 $376 +3.13
305–346 327 12 128.00–138.00 $132.93 $435 -4.44
355–395 370 24 126.00–136.00 $130.77 $484 -2.63
400–446 420 30 119.00–133.00 $125.91 $529 -0.35
450–497 472 53 118.00–131.00 $124.68 $588 +1.06
450–497 value added 485 40 134.00–137.00 $134.53 $652 —
505–545 523 39 115.00–123.00 $119.52 $625 -2.27
550–595 574 65 116.00–123.50 $120.68 $693 +0.24
575 value added 575 7 126.00 $126.00 $724 —
591 591 3 111.00 $111.00 $656 -9.44
605–648 629 44 104.00–120.00 $116.17 $731 +1.42
650–695 673 33 104.00–118.50 $112.71 $759 +3.02
654–687 value added 675 114 123.75–124.00 $123.92 $836 —
700–749 721 45 99.00–115.50 $112.97 $815 +1.56
753–785 763 6 102.00–116.00 $112.24 $856 +12.91
840 840 4 100.00–104.00 $102.00 $857 +1.00
935–945 940 2 94.00–96.00 $94.99 $893 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 117.50 $117.50 $341 ±0.00
300–345 325 6 110.00–124.00 $118.38 $385 —
385 385 2 108.00–120.00 $114.00 $439 +4.00
405–440 420 6 107.50–117.00 $112.64 $473 -3.36
450–495 470 20 107.00–117.00 $113.79 $535 -1.69
500–540 519 6 100.00–112.00 $106.16 $551 —
550–590 578 16 103.00–115.00 $109.57 $633 +2.04
600–625 608 6 97.00–115.00 $104.78 $637 +8.94
665–698 686 9 90.00–102.00 $96.73 $664 -4.27
715–745 733 3 85.00–93.00 $90.06 $660 +0.06

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 fancy 330 1 180.00 $180.00 $594 —
315–345 333 3 140.00–165.00 $149.95 $499 —
350–395 376 5 147.50–162.50 $155.32 $584 +10.00
405–415 value added 410 2 160.00–167.00 $163.54 $671 —
400–440 424 11 136.00–157.00 $142.99 $606 ±0.00
450–495 476 9 135.00–151.00 $142.44 $678 +2.44
505 value added 505 1 155.00 $155.00 $783 +6.00
500–545 514 21 120.00–141.00 $129.38 $665 -3.81
550–599 579 34 120.00–139.00 $128.30 $743 +5.31
602–625 610 9 114.00–122.00 $116.24 $709 -3.98
652–675 660 4 113.00–120.00 $116.23 $767 +0.93
722–740 728 3 100.00–103.00 $101.02 $735 -10.42
805 805 1 101.00 $101.00 $813 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–285 283 2 137.50–148.00 $142.70 $404 -4.80
390 390 1 131.00 $131.00 $511 —
415 415 1 135.00 $135.00 $560 —
450–495 481 9 120.00–135.00 $127.25 $612 +2.64
505–545 525 2 110.00–115.00 $112.60 $591 +6.05
550–595 572 11 100.00–119.00 $111.24 $636 —
600–630 618 3 108.00–110.00 $109.35 $676 +0.12
655–680 670 10 92.00–110.00 $105.46 $707 -5.54
755 755 1 90.00 $90.00 $680 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1335 1158 80-85% 6 55.00–59.00 $56.21 $651 +14.21
1100–1395 1253 80-85% 25 45.00–54.00 $49.19 $616 —
1190–1425 1258 80-85% 4 39.00–44.00 $41.96 $528 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
955 955 85-90% 1 34.00 $34.00 $325 -15.59
835–1090 992 85-90% 7 35.00–44.00 $40.74 $404 -8.85
955–1065 1032 85-90% 6 46.00–50.00 $47.62 $491 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1695 1528 75-80% 6 48.00–50.00 $48.70 $744 -5.08
1435–1735 1585 75-80% 2 55.00–60.00 $57.26 $908 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1160–1410 1285 2 74.00–79.00 $76.26 $980 —
1415–2150 1760 6 80.00–86.00 $82.91 $1,459 -1.89
2040 2040 1 95.00 $95.00 $1,938 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
975 975 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 660.00 $660.00
1170 1170 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 880.00 $880.00
1340–1390 1365 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 700.00–790.00 $745.82
1455–1490 1473 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 690.00–710.00 $699.88
1665 1665 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 830.00 $830.00
Small 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
930 930 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 570.00 $570.00

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Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1290 1290 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
1480 1480 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,000.00 $1,000.00 —

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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.