Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 4, 2021

1,198 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.63/cwt +14.71 vs last sale · ≈ $1,186/hd at 762 lb · 144 head
heavy 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $147.46/cwt +20.46 vs last sale · ≈ $1,269/hd at 860 lb · 130 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.60/cwt +13.37 vs last sale · ≈ $679/hd at 439 lb · 69 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,198 478 649
Feeder cattle 1,139 444 547
Slaughter cattle 47 34 96
Replacement cattle 12 — 6

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week:Steers 2.00-3.00 higher.heifers 1.00-3.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls steady.Heavy 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
320–345 333 2 159.00–161.00 $160.04 $533 -18.63
360–396 387 4 166.00–182.00 $178.28 $690 —
410–440 425 2 152.00–166.00 $158.75 $675 +3.81
400–445 value added 432 12 172.00–183.00 $174.83 $755 +0.83
455–495 475 20 150.00–168.00 $162.85 $774 +4.68
500–545 527 10 137.00–157.00 $150.99 $796 -5.59
531–533 value added 532 12 164.00–172.00 $169.33 $901 +4.33
567–595 584 27 146.00–163.00 $155.11 $906 -0.70
615 615 1 144.00 $144.00 $886 +2.79
600–640 value added 624 29 149.00–164.00 $156.44 $976 +0.61
650–681 value added 670 18 147.00–153.00 $151.19 $1,013 -1.97
650–695 673 2 134.00–145.00 $139.32 $938 —
708–742 value added 730 43 141.00–153.00 $148.62 $1,085 +7.10
725–745 735 2 130.00–132.00 $131.01 $963 -0.35
751–795 value added 762 143 141.50–158.75 $155.75 $1,187 +14.83
765 765 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,056 —
815–845 830 4 123.00–133.00 $129.51 $1,075 —
810–840 value added 831 16 140.00 $140.00 $1,163 +2.00
851–869 value added 860 126 146.30–149.50 $147.93 $1,272 —
850–890 870 4 128.00–134.00 $132.51 $1,153 +5.51
909 value added 909 11 134.50 $134.50 $1,223 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280 280 1 158.00 $158.00 $442 —
340–345 343 2 145.00–155.00 $150.04 $515 +8.04
370–390 380 2 151.00–154.00 $152.54 $580 —
405–445 426 4 130.00–146.00 $139.23 $593 —
470–490 480 3 139.00–143.00 $141.31 $678 —
530 530 1 125.00 $125.00 $662 -4.00
605 605 1 111.00 $111.00 $672 -13.00
685 685 1 125.00 $125.00 $856 -3.00
725 725 1 119.00 $119.00 $863 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
375–395 382 3 141.00–145.00 $142.38 $544 +1.38
405–445 425 20 132.00–146.00 $139.54 $593 -0.63
445 value added 445 49 160.75 $160.75 $715 +6.75
450–495 470 16 132.00–149.00 $141.47 $665 -0.42
500–545 528 15 130.00–145.00 $137.36 $725 -2.65
511–539 value added 535 36 153.00–155.00 $154.51 $827 +2.93
550–586 570 37 130.00–143.00 $136.55 $778 -1.77
600–649 value added 630 19 137.00–142.50 $139.33 $878 -2.89
605–645 632 14 121.00–135.00 $128.75 $814 +4.06
669 value added 669 14 136.00 $136.00 $910 —
670–689 685 12 120.00–129.50 $127.17 $871 -3.97
708 value added 708 4 135.00 $135.00 $956 +7.00
705–747 731 6 114.00–123.00 $118.50 $866 +1.59
750–780 value added 762 5 133.00–133.50 $133.30 $1,016 —
835 835 1 113.00 $113.00 $944 —
925 925 1 110.00 $110.00 $1,018 +6.00
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 136.00 $136.00 $394 —
310–345 328 3 130.00–137.00 $133.95 $439 —
350–390 371 6 129.00–137.00 $133.52 $495 —
495 495 1 132.00 $132.00 $653 —
500–515 509 4 119.00–125.00 $122.27 $622 +0.22
555–580 572 4 120.00–125.00 $123.79 $708 +0.52
610 610 1 101.00 $101.00 $616 -17.00
650–660 655 2 108.00–116.00 $111.97 $733 -6.49

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
200 200 1 165.00 $165.00 $330 —
295 295 1 163.00 $163.00 $481 —
340–345 343 2 159.00–164.00 $161.52 $554 +5.52
350–395 375 9 155.00–179.00 $169.67 $636 -9.33
375 fancy 375 1 183.00 $183.00 $686 —
410–440 425 9 148.00–161.00 $154.02 $655 +3.02
465–490 481 12 150.00–166.00 $154.81 $745 —
505–545 520 19 131.00–159.00 $148.63 $773 +6.83
550–590 571 14 135.00–157.00 $142.32 $813 +2.43
600–610 603 4 130.00–143.00 $134.98 $814 -1.99
650–655 651 4 125.00–138.00 $131.49 $856 -1.02
700–745 720 4 117.00–124.00 $119.71 $862 -9.29
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
380 380 1 140.00 $140.00 $532 —
425–430 428 3 136.00–143.00 $138.98 $595 +2.61
460–495 479 6 129.00–145.00 $138.87 $665 +2.23

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1165 1165 80-85% 1 51.00 $51.00 $594 —
1080–1365 1230 80-85% 12 61.00–69.00 $66.24 $815 -0.67
1100–1375 1238 80-85% 2 73.00–74.00 $73.44 $909 +6.53
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
970–1020 990 85-90% 3 60.00 $60.00 $594 +0.52
960–1055 1001 85-90% 4 63.00–69.00 $65.82 $659 +2.82
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445–1605 1495 75-80% 4 65.00–70.00 $67.45 $1,008 -5.24
1430–1605 1508 75-80% 3 75.00–77.00 $75.99 $1,146 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1445–2135 1739 4 86.00–90.00 $88.07 $1,532 —
1385–2145 1862 3 91.00–96.00 $93.34 $1,738 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
895 895 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 875.00 $875.00
890–1415 1234 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 610.00–900.00 $833.59

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Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
715 715 (<2 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 750.00 $750.00
955 955 (<2 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 900.00 $900.00

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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.