Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 24, 2021

714 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $132.55/cwt -0.07 vs last sale · ≈ $768/hd at 580 lb · 80 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $139.07/cwt +0.30 vs last sale · ≈ $661/hd at 475 lb · 52 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.88/cwt +8.75 vs last sale · ≈ $685/hd at 519 lb · 45 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 714 680 314
Feeder cattle 637 641 261
Slaughter cattle 64 29 53
Replacement cattle 13 10 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers steady 3.00 higher,heifers 2.00-4.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 higher.Moderate 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
210 210 1 170.00 $170.00 $357 —
280 fancy 280 1 200.00 $200.00 $560 —
305 value added 305 1 200.00 $200.00 $610 —
330 330 3 180.00 $180.00 $594 +12.55
350–385 value added 357 5 204.00–205.00 $204.78 $731 —
375 375 1 185.00 $185.00 $694 +12.60
405–422 416 3 157.00–172.00 $167.14 $695 +5.08
403–439 value added 425 16 182.00–190.00 $186.46 $792 +7.21
450–490 468 20 150.00–173.00 $165.43 $774 +3.34
520–527 value added 525 12 159.00–165.00 $160.66 $843 -7.69
505–545 534 12 140.00–155.00 $147.12 $786 -0.02
550–595 567 24 131.00–154.00 $143.46 $813 -1.95
615–630 value added 628 6 144.00–145.00 $144.33 $906 -7.78
600–646 630 13 130.00–140.00 $136.46 $860 -0.77
656–685 666 12 127.00–135.00 $133.13 $887 -3.14
710 710 1 120.00 $120.00 $852 -4.47
725 value added 725 1 135.00 $135.00 $979 +3.00
752 value added 752 21 140.00 $140.00 $1,053 —
755–775 770 8 127.00–130.50 $130.01 $1,001 +1.01
800–845 815 4 114.00–120.00 $116.24 $947 +6.24
890 890 1 110.00 $110.00 $979 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205–235 220 2 145.00–152.50 $149.01 $328 —
385 385 1 138.00 $138.00 $531 +2.24
410–412 411 3 135.00–144.00 $141.01 $580 +13.01
465–495 480 2 135.00–141.00 $137.91 $662 -2.74
535 535 1 122.00 $122.00 $653 -2.35
570 570 1 117.00 $117.00 $667 +2.97
650–665 658 2 114.00–121.00 $117.54 $773 -0.81

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255–295 279 5 147.00–149.00 $148.27 $414 —
300–340 323 3 131.00–145.00 $139.93 $452 —
350–395 373 14 134.00–149.00 $140.80 $525 +4.41
402–446 429 30 126.00–144.00 $137.46 $590 -2.29
450–495 472 41 125.00–143.00 $136.81 $646 +2.60
488 value added 488 11 147.50 $147.50 $720 +4.50
507–515 value added 510 7 136.00–140.00 $137.14 $699 —
501–545 521 38 121.00–134.00 $130.91 $682 +7.78
550–597 577 26 120.00–129.00 $125.58 $725 +0.48
564–585 value added 581 54 135.50–136.00 $135.90 $790 +1.40
600–645 624 11 112.00–125.00 $117.92 $736 +7.79
635 value added 635 8 133.75 $133.75 $849 +8.75
665 value added 665 1 127.00 $127.00 $845 +2.30
650–695 673 11 108.00–118.00 $113.00 $760 -5.50
700–735 718 11 105.00–112.00 $108.61 $780 +1.61
732 value added 732 7 123.50 $123.50 $904 +0.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
325–330 328 2 124.00–128.00 $125.98 $413 -2.02
370 370 1 123.00 $123.00 $455 -3.00
435 435 1 120.00 $120.00 $522 +2.10
500 500 2 101.00–109.00 $105.00 $525 -5.00
555 555 1 110.00 $110.00 $610 -6.49
657–695 675 4 102.00–105.00 $103.72 $700 +12.72
700 700 1 97.00 $97.00 $679 —
785 785 1 94.00 $94.00 $738 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 fancy 270 1 200.00 $200.00 $540 —
290 290 3 183.00 $183.00 $531 —
300–345 329 4 158.00–179.00 $169.84 $559 —
360–397 385 3 157.00–165.00 $162.50 $626 -1.00
410–445 431 17 148.00–170.00 $160.92 $694 +5.21
470–485 474 13 145.00–165.00 $150.14 $712 -3.04
502–535 517 9 129.00–148.00 $139.18 $720 +0.14
520 value added 520 1 153.00 $153.00 $796 +1.01
550–585 565 10 130.00–147.00 $135.84 $767 -5.49
600–645 627 17 110.00–133.00 $126.41 $793 -4.59
660–663 662 10 120.00–129.00 $126.00 $834 -7.00
740 740 1 112.00 $112.00 $829 +4.00
805–820 813 2 103.00–104.00 $103.50 $841 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
395 395 1 143.00 $143.00 $565 +3.00
405–425 418 3 132.00–137.00 $133.69 $559 -7.31
470–495 485 6 130.00–137.00 $135.02 $655 +1.44
580 580 1 104.00 $104.00 $603 -20.00

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1145 1145 80-85% 1 46.00 $46.00 $527 —
1050–1385 1200 80-85% 12 62.00–67.00 $63.77 $765 —
1060–1385 1216 80-85% 17 40.00–61.00 $55.26 $672 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
875–1080 951 85-90% 5 44.00–51.00 $46.99 $447 -8.01
815–1045 957 85-90% 6 53.00–62.00 $58.63 $561 +3.63
1040 1040 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $416 +3.26
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320–1590 1455 75-80% 2 56.00–60.00 $58.19 $847 —
1435–1550 1493 75-80% 2 62.00–65.00 $63.56 $949 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1995 1710 5 82.00–88.00 $84.71 $1,449 —
1385–2460 1881 7 76.00–80.00 $78.39 $1,475 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
840–940 890 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 725.00–780.00 $754.04
960 960 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 680.00 $680.00
1285 1285 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 780.00 $780.00

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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
1110 1110 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 825.00 $825.00 —

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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.