Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 20, 2021

753 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 $122.60/cwt +1.64 vs last sale · ≈ $641/hd at 522 lb · 62 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $131.38/cwt +2.29 vs last sale · ≈ $837/hd at 637 lb · 58 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $153.24/cwt +3.18 vs last sale · ≈ $797/hd at 520 lb · 56 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 753 1,061 709
Feeder cattle 719 982 647
Slaughter cattle 23 71 59
Replacement cattle 11 8 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers mostly steady,heifers steady,1.00 lower.Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 lower on a limited test.Good supply 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
295 295 2 177.50–180.00 $178.75 $527 —
310–335 value added 329 4 182.00–197.00 $189.90 $625 —
355–375 366 9 163.00–172.00 $166.05 $608 -3.41
402–435 421 7 149.00–160.00 $154.90 $652 -2.21
415–444 value added 440 19 168.00–176.00 $173.33 $763 -0.62
452–488 473 9 140.00–165.00 $159.15 $753 +11.26
500–545 value added 517 46 152.00–161.00 $155.62 $805 -1.24
505–547 533 10 130.00–151.00 $142.29 $758 +2.42
555–573 value added 564 14 154.00–155.00 $154.21 $870 -0.79
560–595 576 16 132.00–145.00 $138.02 $795 +1.11
605–646 637 58 124.00–132.50 $131.38 $837 +2.68
650–687 669 14 120.00–129.50 $126.05 $843 -1.62
705–735 714 4 111.00–119.00 $115.99 $828 -2.73
720 value added 720 1 123.00 $123.00 $886 -3.00
825 825 1 115.00 $115.00 $949 +10.00
875 875 1 111.00 $111.00 $971 -0.90
930 930 1 108.00 $108.00 $1,004 —
1149 1149 6 104.00 $104.00 $1,195 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 151.00 $151.00 $483 —
380–390 385 2 148.00 $148.00 $570 +7.00
475–485 480 2 126.00–134.00 $130.04 $624 +2.45
500–515 505 3 120.00–121.00 $120.66 $609 -3.34
590 590 1 122.00 $122.00 $720 +3.00
630–645 638 2 108.00–116.00 $111.95 $714 +5.34

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 133.00 $133.00 $286 -3.50
285 285 1 130.00 $130.00 $370 —
310–343 333 14 128.00–140.00 $135.19 $450 +2.22
350–388 372 15 127.00–140.00 $134.59 $501 +1.44
412 value added 412 7 138.00 $138.00 $569 —
407–449 427 45 119.00–133.00 $126.96 $542 +2.28
452–498 479 44 117.00–130.00 $123.47 $591 -2.09
500–545 521 44 113.00–123.00 $119.68 $624 +0.20
526 value added 526 18 129.75 $129.75 $682 +3.96
552–595 578 24 112.00–119.00 $116.55 $674 -0.71
605–645 617 51 105.00–118.00 $113.25 $699 +2.44
660–695 668 7 103.00–110.00 $105.56 $705 -2.16
725–730 value added 727 3 115.00–116.00 $115.33 $838 —
705–745 728 20 95.00–110.50 $107.05 $779 -1.46
817 817 2 111.00 $111.00 $907 +6.34
870 870 1 95.00 $95.00 $826 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260–275 268 2 119.00–123.00 $120.94 $324 +0.94
305–345 330 5 123.00–126.00 $124.56 $411 —
350–392 381 5 117.50–125.00 $121.99 $465 +4.47
415 415 1 115.00 $115.00 $477 —
470–475 473 3 112.00–118.00 $113.99 $539 +1.92
502–540 517 4 108.00–112.00 $110.20 $570 -1.52
565–595 581 5 100.00–111.00 $106.19 $617 -1.04
625 625 1 90.00 $90.00 $562 -8.99
695 695 1 97.00 $97.00 $674 -2.00
730 730 1 94.00 $94.00 $686 —
790 790 1 91.00 $91.00 $719 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 152.50 $152.50 $366 —
363–375 366 4 160.00–166.00 $161.54 $591 +1.66
425–440 431 4 147.00–159.00 $154.21 $665 +7.28
463–497 481 15 140.00–158.00 $151.31 $728 -1.16
510 510 1 141.00 $141.00 $719 +3.81
553–597 581 19 120.00–141.00 $132.68 $771 +6.94
600–645 629 12 113.00–120.00 $116.41 $732 -3.43
690 690 1 111.00 $111.00 $766 -3.00
700 700 1 116.00 $116.00 $812 +7.67
830 830 1 96.00 $96.00 $797 -0.46
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305 305 1 138.00 $138.00 $421 -2.00
410 410 1 134.00 $134.00 $549 +6.43
500–540 520 2 100.00–108.00 $104.15 $542 -5.85
627 627 4 104.00–106.00 $105.00 $658 —
695 695 1 108.00 $108.00 $751 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1005 973 85-90% 4 40.00–44.00 $41.74 $406 —
950–995 973 85-90% 2 46.00 $46.00 $448 —
1015–1020 1018 85-90% 2 32.00–33.00 $32.50 $331 -16.00
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1180–1185 1183 80-85% 2 42.00 $42.00 $497 -15.40
1160–1320 1240 80-85% 2 55.00–56.00 $55.47 $688 —
1170–1340 1257 80-85% 3 46.00–48.00 $46.95 $590 -2.57

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1740–2135 1917 3 81.00–86.00 $84.00 $1,610 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
810–970 890 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 530.00–680.00 $611.74
915 915 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 710.00 $710.00
1005 1005 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 940.00 $940.00

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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
775 775 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —
850 850 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —
925 925 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 730.00 $730.00 —
1060–1065 1063 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 975.00–1,125.00 $1,050.18 —

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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.