Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, July 21, 2021

741 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $143.02/cwt +0.23 vs last sale · ≈ $1,246/hd at 871 lb · 67 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $156.09/cwt -0.01 vs last sale · ≈ $886/hd at 568 lb · 66 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $145.42/cwt -3.98 vs last sale · ≈ $837/hd at 576 lb · 44 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 741 1,043 713
Feeder cattle 673 965 647
Slaughter cattle 63 72 63
Replacement cattle 5 6 3

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers and heifers under 500 lbs. 1.00-3.00 lower,over 500 lbs.steady. Slaughter cows and bulls steady.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
375–380 378 2 159.00–161.00 $160.01 $605 -10.29
400–430 413 3 155.00–162.00 $157.31 $650 -1.43
473–474 474 9 149.00–155.00 $153.00 $725 -12.85
508–512 value added 509 6 165.00–166.00 $165.34 $842 +1.09
500–536 524 13 135.00–162.00 $148.88 $780 -5.51
563–572 value added 565 10 163.00–164.00 $163.80 $925 —
550–597 568 56 135.00–159.50 $154.71 $879 -1.39
600–642 619 8 134.00–143.00 $140.01 $867 -2.56
601–642 value added 622 25 146.00–162.00 $154.93 $964 -8.94
654–695 value added 664 30 145.00–150.50 $147.10 $977 -7.65
675 675 1 134.00 $134.00 $904 -6.71
700 700 1 131.00 $131.00 $917 -1.00
700–742 value added 722 38 136.00–147.00 $141.17 $1,019 +0.60
765–797 value added 790 5 135.00–143.00 $136.95 $1,082 -8.27
800 value added 800 1 136.00 $136.00 $1,088 —
805–840 823 4 120.00–125.00 $123.50 $1,016 +0.50
871 value added 871 61 145.10 $145.10 $1,264 +2.10
865–880 873 6 119.00–125.00 $121.83 $1,064 -8.17
922 922 2 125.00 $125.00 $1,152 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
390 390 3 146.00–152.00 $149.67 $584 -1.33
420 420 1 136.00 $136.00 $571 -6.28
455–487 475 7 137.00–150.00 $143.19 $680 -5.81
525–535 530 2 119.00–130.00 $124.45 $660 —
560–575 568 2 125.00–129.00 $126.97 $721 -7.51
670 670 1 120.00 $120.00 $804 —
707 707 2 116.00 $116.00 $820 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 150.00 $150.00 $338 —
337 337 2 139.00 $139.00 $468 —
390 390 1 135.00 $135.00 $526 —
400–435 418 20 135.00–143.00 $139.58 $583 +2.60
450–480 462 9 134.00–142.00 $138.91 $642 -6.55
465–497 value added 491 18 144.00–155.00 $148.32 $728 -10.94
500–540 519 14 129.00–140.00 $134.09 $696 -6.51
537 value added 537 5 146.00 $146.00 $784 —
555–590 570 9 129.00–141.00 $137.45 $783 -0.05
550–598 value added 577 35 145.50–149.50 $147.47 $851 -8.96
600–625 value added 622 30 134.00–145.25 $144.64 $900 +11.76
610–628 622 9 125.00–130.00 $128.46 $799 +4.09
655–690 669 4 123.00–131.00 $126.73 $848 —
669–683 value added 678 40 136.50–142.50 $141.31 $958 +6.36
705 value added 705 1 124.00 $124.00 $874 —
715–735 725 2 108.00–118.00 $113.07 $820 -5.46
782 value added 782 11 122.25 $122.25 $956 -5.97
815–823 value added 817 12 120.00–124.50 $123.37 $1,008 —
955 955 1 101.00 $101.00 $965 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
240 240 1 135.00 $135.00 $324 —
265–275 272 3 126.00–138.00 $131.74 $358 -10.76
340 340 1 133.00 $133.00 $452 -2.00
365–390 379 5 130.00–134.00 $131.80 $500 +3.15
400–445 423 2 130.00–133.00 $131.42 $556 -2.09
460–490 473 3 130.00–134.00 $131.32 $621 +7.42
510–540 518 7 118.00–126.00 $122.88 $637 +2.34
550 550 1 115.00 $115.00 $632 -3.99
650–690 675 4 110.00–120.00 $112.56 $760 -7.45
700 700 1 100.00 $100.00 $700 —
810 810 1 103.00 $103.00 $834 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–380 369 4 156.00–166.00 $163.35 $603 +5.80
420–445 430 3 144.00–147.00 $145.31 $625 -19.69
450–485 472 10 145.00–164.00 $154.49 $729 -1.17
500–548 524 14 135.00–145.00 $140.25 $735 -7.62
550–585 565 12 134.00–146.00 $140.77 $795 +4.77
650 650 2 136.00–141.00 $138.50 $900 +5.77
700–715 710 3 115.00–119.00 $117.69 $836 -5.31
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 130.00 $130.00 $344 —
335 335 1 152.00 $152.00 $509 —
390 390 1 146.00 $146.00 $569 -1.99
470–480 475 2 137.00–140.00 $138.52 $658 +3.00
545 545 1 129.00 $129.00 $703 —
600–620 612 3 116.00–120.00 $118.69 $726 +8.69

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1140–1250 1182 80-85% 6 53.00–60.00 $57.37 $678 —
1065–1380 1183 80-85% 18 61.00–70.00 $65.89 $779 —
1065–1320 1193 80-85% 2 71.00–79.00 $74.57 $890 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–985 963 85-90% 2 45.00–49.00 $47.05 $453 -17.32
750–1085 980 85-90% 10 52.00–60.00 $57.36 $562 +8.36
970–1045 1017 85-90% 5 62.00–67.00 $64.20 $653 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1640 1498 75-80% 3 72.00–77.00 $74.12 $1,110 +8.00
1510 1510 75-80% 1 66.00 $66.00 $997 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1595 1493 3 81.00–88.00 $84.97 $1,269 —
1475–1900 1618 4 91.00–102.00 $95.91 $1,552 —
1885 1885 1 108.00 $108.00 $2,036 +11.37

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1210 1210 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 650.00 $650.00
1230 1230 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00

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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
1365 1365 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,085.00 $1,085.00 —

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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.