Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 3, 2021

738 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $148.57/cwt -4.23 vs last sale · ≈ $859/hd at 578 lb · 82 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $125.53/cwt +10.19 vs last sale · ≈ $801/hd at 638 lb · 71 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $130.71/cwt +2.46 vs last sale · ≈ $694/hd at 531 lb · 63 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 738 930 522
Feeder cattle 681 866 468
Slaughter cattle 53 62 47
Replacement cattle 4 2 7

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers 2.00-4.00 higher,with good demand.Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00-4.00 lower with weak 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
220–225 223 2 162.50–165.00 $163.74 $365 —
330–340 335 2 173.00–180.00 $176.45 $591 +14.78
350–390 377 8 168.00–180.00 $174.09 $656 +1.03
400–435 421 12 155.00–168.00 $159.59 $672 +1.08
415–433 value added 428 9 176.00–183.00 $179.45 $768 +9.72
452–465 value added 458 13 171.00–179.00 $174.83 $801 +6.07
450–495 477 8 157.00–168.00 $165.41 $789 +10.33
502–547 value added 520 23 154.00–160.00 $156.41 $813 -3.42
500–545 526 14 133.00–152.00 $147.17 $774 +1.26
552–585 value added 571 27 156.00–160.00 $157.85 $901 +0.61
550–596 582 55 130.00–152.00 $144.02 $838 -1.66
605–647 value added 620 14 141.00–150.00 $145.44 $902 -2.22
635–642 640 4 132.00–140.00 $138.00 $883 +1.98
662–693 680 28 126.00–140.00 $133.24 $906 +0.07
700–715 value added 710 52 131.75–134.00 $131.89 $936 -2.71
700–737 725 3 123.00 $123.00 $892 +7.41
775–790 783 3 120.00–126.00 $122.68 $961 -2.40
814 value added 814 16 128.00 $128.00 $1,042 —
815–824 823 9 117.00–121.00 $120.56 $992 +6.07
870 870 1 108.00 $108.00 $940 -11.00
935–940 938 2 111.00 $111.00 $1,041 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 1 150.00 $150.00 $540 +13.48
525 525 1 121.00 $121.00 $635 -5.00
580 580 1 117.00 $117.00 $679 -3.51
660–665 663 2 118.00–125.00 $121.51 $806 +7.51

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
317–345 328 10 131.00–146.00 $140.52 $461 +0.93
360–385 373 6 130.00–149.00 $141.28 $527 +5.59
403–445 value added 428 14 143.00–148.00 $144.44 $618 +2.11
415–437 428 8 138.00–141.00 $139.51 $597 +3.35
450–495 470 21 125.00–142.00 $135.06 $635 -0.93
450–480 value added 471 5 143.00–144.00 $143.19 $674 +3.19
505–540 value added 516 13 133.00–137.00 $135.07 $697 +2.46
505–546 535 50 121.00–131.00 $129.58 $693 +5.26
553–580 value added 564 17 133.00 $133.00 $750 +1.00
550–597 575 45 116.00–132.00 $123.93 $713 +0.21
600–645 620 13 109.00–122.00 $115.97 $719 +2.71
620–643 value added 642 58 124.00–127.90 $127.67 $820 +3.32
650–692 678 18 108.00–122.00 $117.17 $794 +2.15
716–740 726 21 104.00–115.00 $111.07 $806 +12.08
872 872 2 105.00 $105.00 $916 +13.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 135.00 $135.00 $277 —
395 395 1 129.00 $129.00 $510 —
465–495 480 2 120.00 $120.00 $576 +3.60
525 525 1 119.00 $119.00 $625 +1.50
550–575 559 4 112.00–118.00 $116.50 $651 +3.42
650 650 1 97.00 $97.00 $630 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355 355 1 161.00 $161.00 $572 +4.79
415 415 1 145.00 $145.00 $602 -7.02
473–475 474 5 151.00–156.00 $153.99 $730 +9.10
510 510 1 136.00 $136.00 $694 -5.00
570–575 573 3 129.00–141.00 $133.31 $764 -1.41
600–635 621 4 127.00–130.00 $129.28 $803 +9.78
680 680 2 124.00 $124.00 $843 +10.01
700 700 2 110.00–114.00 $112.00 $784 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
295 295 1 142.50 $142.50 $420 —
325 325 1 151.00 $151.00 $491 +16.04
390 390 1 145.00 $145.00 $566 —
400–435 418 2 133.00–136.00 $134.56 $562 +5.56
450–490 470 2 130.00–136.00 $132.87 $624 +3.87

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1130–1240 1173 80-85% 3 43.00–45.00 $44.01 $516 —
1055–1390 1246 80-85% 9 51.00–60.00 $55.32 $689 -8.53
1070–1440 1310 80-85% 3 63.00–64.00 $63.37 $830 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
885–1035 930 85-90% 4 52.00–62.00 $55.24 $514 —
895–1095 992 85-90% 6 43.00–49.00 $47.09 $467 -1.74
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1495–1695 1587 75-80% 3 60.00 $60.00 $952 —
1495–1745 1607 75-80% 3 61.00–63.00 $62.03 $997 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1810–2270 2033 3 80.00–84.00 $81.92 $1,665 —
2060 2060 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,772 -15.86
1995–2505 2250 2 100.00–101.00 $100.56 $2,263 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1200 1200 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 1,150.00 $1,150.00
1350 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 870.00 $870.00

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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.