Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 17, 2021

680 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 $150.42/cwt +11.33 vs last sale · ≈ $969/hd at 644 lb · 97 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.62/cwt +5.59 vs last sale · ≈ $739/hd at 557 lb · 95 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $123.78/cwt +1.02 vs last sale · ≈ $816/hd at 659 lb · 81 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 680 1,380 466
Feeder cattle 641 1,306 437
Slaughter cattle 29 56 26
Replacement cattle 10 18 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers steady 1.00 higher,heifers steady 1.00 lower.Moderate supply of feeder calves with good demand.Slaughter cows and bulls 1.00 lower on a light test.

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
315–345 335 3 160.00–175.00 $167.45 $561 -0.93
335 fancy 335 1 200.00 $200.00 $670 +14.51
375–385 380 2 165.00–180.00 $172.40 $655 +0.94
380 fancy 380 1 212.00 $212.00 $806 +27.00
395 value added 395 2 187.00 $187.00 $739 -11.31
420 value added 420 4 177.00–180.00 $179.25 $753 -0.73
400–440 422 3 154.00–171.00 $162.06 $684 +4.45
455–470 465 4 149.00–172.00 $162.09 $754 +4.26
510–526 value added 522 6 158.00–172.00 $168.35 $879 +6.95
512–545 524 13 132.00–155.00 $147.14 $771 +0.13
565–590 579 18 130.00–151.00 $145.41 $842 -3.35
610–640 632 11 128.00–141.00 $137.23 $867 +0.54
605–648 value added 646 86 145.00–152.50 $152.11 $983 +7.67
660–680 669 15 127.00–138.50 $136.27 $912 -1.06
707–725 716 4 121.00–127.00 $124.47 $891 +4.41
744 value added 744 15 132.00 $132.00 $982 +2.00
750–752 751 3 129.00 $129.00 $969 +8.94
830 830 1 110.00 $110.00 $913 —
1140 1140 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,186 —
1170 1170 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,217 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–390 373 2 130.00–141.00 $135.76 $506 -11.79
445 445 1 128.00 $128.00 $570 -13.31
450–490 470 9 135.00–147.00 $140.65 $661 +5.41
520–540 530 3 122.00–126.00 $124.35 $659 +5.35
550–595 571 4 109.00–128.00 $114.03 $651 -11.97
685–697 693 3 115.00–120.00 $118.35 $820 +7.34

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
350–380 362 3 125.00–147.00 $136.39 $494 -2.34
400–445 419 15 128.00–143.00 $139.75 $586 +5.25
466 value added 466 40 143.00 $143.00 $666 —
450–495 482 37 127.00–137.50 $134.21 $647 +0.75
500–545 529 21 120.00–130.00 $123.13 $651 -5.72
552 value added 552 76 134.50 $134.50 $742 —
555–590 579 19 121.00–128.00 $125.10 $724 -1.93
610 value added 610 1 125.00 $125.00 $762 -3.75
632–646 640 7 107.00–115.00 $110.13 $705 -8.36
656 656 12 118.50 $118.50 $777 +1.33
660 value added 660 69 124.70 $124.70 $823 -0.10
705 value added 705 17 123.00 $123.00 $867 —
706 706 6 107.00 $107.00 $755 -2.14
763 value added 763 14 115.50 $115.50 $881 —
750–778 771 5 103.00–105.00 $103.59 $799 +3.26
850 850 1 106.00 $106.00 $901 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325 325 1 128.00 $128.00 $416 +4.33
360 360 1 126.00 $126.00 $454 +4.32
410–445 423 3 114.00–120.00 $117.90 $499 -2.43
530 530 1 110.00 $110.00 $583 -3.73
555–592 581 4 116.00–117.00 $116.49 $677 -0.18
697 697 2 91.00 $91.00 $634 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
360 360 2 161.00–166.00 $163.50 $589 +3.09
415 value added 415 1 173.00 $173.00 $718 +2.10
435–440 439 7 155.00–160.00 $155.71 $684 +0.26
460–497 484 5 146.00–158.00 $153.18 $741 -4.53
500–505 value added 504 4 151.00–155.00 $151.99 $766 -7.01
510–543 533 13 125.00–150.00 $139.04 $741 +1.00
560–595 570 13 130.00–146.00 $141.33 $806 +9.76
620 620 1 131.00 $131.00 $812 +2.50
660 660 1 133.00 $133.00 $878 +4.74
705 705 1 108.00 $108.00 $761 -4.00
765 765 1 110.00 $110.00 $842 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–345 335 2 137.50–139.00 $138.27 $463 +3.04
385 385 1 140.00 $140.00 $539 +0.75
448 448 3 141.00 $141.00 $632 +11.20
465–495 483 3 129.00–138.00 $133.58 $645 +1.06
525–540 533 3 121.00–124.00 $122.65 $654 +5.52
550 550 1 124.00 $124.00 $682 +4.59
695 695 1 116.00 $116.00 $806 +6.47

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
960 960 85-90% 1 55.00 $55.00 $528 +19.00
915–1080 1010 85-90% 4 41.00–48.00 $44.13 $446 -10.52
820–1280 1036 85-90% 5 32.00–39.00 $36.74 $381 -17.91
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135–1280 1185 80-85% 5 61.00–65.00 $62.78 $744 +7.35
1095–1330 1193 80-85% 4 52.00–56.00 $54.42 $649 -1.01
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400–1565 1500 75-80% 3 58.00 $58.00 $870 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1480 1425 3 69.00–77.00 $73.62 $1,049 —
1815–2365 2005 4 81.00–85.00 $84.09 $1,686 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1405 1405 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00

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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
1090 1090 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —
1210 1210 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 800.00 $800.00 —

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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.