Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, August 18, 2021

979 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 $164.58/cwt -0.69 vs last sale · ≈ $995/hd at 604 lb · 87 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $164.81/cwt +1.10 vs last sale · ≈ $928/hd at 563 lb · 55 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $152.37/cwt -9.86 vs last sale · ≈ $1,028/hd at 675 lb · 44 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 979 1,220 977
Feeder cattle 897 1,153 903
Slaughter cattle 48 48 65
Replacement cattle 34 19 9

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last Wednesday: Feeder and yearling steers and heifers steady, Good demand for feeder and yearling classes. Slaughter cows 1.00-3.00 higher, Slaughter bulls steady, Good demand for slaughter classes.

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
200–240 220 2 160.00–162.50 $161.14 $355 —
350–381 370 8 157.50–174.00 $162.27 $600 +12.97
380 fancy 380 5 183.00 $183.00 $695 —
401 fancy 401 3 183.00 $183.00 $734 -9.00
400–445 436 8 167.00–175.00 $168.91 $736 +15.69
450–495 472 13 155.00–174.00 $162.68 $768 +5.37
510–537 528 15 143.00–164.00 $157.05 $829 +7.49
559–575 value added 560 36 169.00–171.00 $170.83 $957 +2.83
550–597 568 19 144.00–163.00 $153.41 $871 +0.41
601–615 value added 601 72 156.00–168.50 $168.32 $1,012 +1.30
600–647 621 15 135.00–152.00 $146.65 $911 -4.97
657 value added 657 17 159.00 $159.00 $1,045 -3.84
670–695 686 27 140.00–152.00 $148.19 $1,017 +3.19
705–735 721 12 135.00–146.00 $143.59 $1,035 +8.26
755–790 766 10 138.00–149.00 $144.60 $1,108 +7.28
805–849 836 8 130.00–142.50 $139.65 $1,167 —
891–895 892 4 138.00–142.00 $139.00 $1,240 +17.00
945 945 1 128.00 $128.00 $1,210 +2.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
400 400 1 140.00 $140.00 $560 —
485 485 1 149.00 $149.00 $723 +24.00
540 540 1 137.00 $137.00 $740 —
550–570 560 2 130.00–135.00 $132.54 $742 —
790 790 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,019 —
870 870 1 117.00 $117.00 $1,018 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270–280 275 3 145.00–150.00 $146.67 $403 —
330 fancy 330 4 159.00 $159.00 $525 —
330–345 338 3 139.00–154.00 $145.72 $493 -2.39
350–370 fancy 360 2 156.00–159.00 $157.46 $567 —
355–397 380 7 134.00–149.00 $141.06 $536 -8.21
410–445 430 9 133.00–142.00 $138.11 $594 -4.77
450–495 468 28 132.00–147.00 $138.60 $649 -6.56
505–545 527 19 131.00–144.00 $137.33 $724 -1.93
550–596 570 38 128.00–144.00 $134.19 $765 +3.51
600–644 632 22 120.00–137.00 $130.58 $825 +3.21
650–695 667 19 117.00–131.00 $126.25 $842 -1.56
713 value added 713 25 140.50 $140.50 $1,002 —
710–725 718 2 111.00–114.00 $112.52 $808 -3.43
760–786 777 7 116.00–117.00 $116.29 $904 +0.71
820–831 827 5 104.00–113.00 $105.98 $876 -10.02
890 890 1 111.00 $111.00 $988 -1.99
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
305–335 320 2 130.00–131.00 $130.52 $418 —
415–425 420 2 126.00–128.00 $127.01 $533 —
495 495 1 124.00 $124.00 $614 -2.00
665–690 678 2 115.00–117.00 $116.02 $787 +2.02
705 705 1 94.00 $94.00 $663 —
755–790 773 2 102.00–106.00 $104.05 $804 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
245 245 1 150.00 $150.00 $368 —
365–395 380 2 160.00–178.00 $168.64 $641 +14.58
405 fancy 405 1 178.00 $178.00 $721 +2.31
400–430 421 5 151.00–161.00 $154.31 $650 -0.68
455–495 470 3 148.00–169.00 $161.10 $757 +10.60
510–545 521 13 149.00–159.00 $155.07 $808 +10.65
550–597 569 7 140.00–156.00 $149.89 $853 +7.79
600–635 614 4 137.00–143.00 $139.76 $858 +0.07
660–680 670 6 128.00–144.00 $135.60 $909 -1.40
700–745 727 3 120.00–124.00 $121.69 $885 +3.18
805 805 1 109.00 $109.00 $877 +6.50
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
445 445 1 147.00 $147.00 $654 —
485–490 488 2 135.00–145.00 $140.03 $683 +12.32
510–530 515 4 120.00–134.00 $128.48 $662 —
590 590 1 132.00 $132.00 $779 +5.29
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1445 1445 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 1,460.00 $1,460.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
825–1150 947 85-90% 6 49.00–58.00 $53.96 $511 —
925–1070 988 85-90% 5 60.00–64.00 $61.81 $611 —
975–1205 1113 85-90% 7 65.00–71.00 $67.62 $753 +6.30
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1230 1230 80-85% 1 60.00 $60.00 $738 —
1185–1485 1367 80-85% 12 67.00–76.00 $71.75 $981 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1580–1805 1693 75-80% 2 73.00–75.00 $74.07 $1,254 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1535–1750 1645 3 103.00–104.00 $103.67 $1,705 —
1365–2035 1765 3 92.00–97.00 $94.17 $1,662 -8.84

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
840 840 Young (2-4 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00
1005 1005 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 690.00 $690.00
1060–1155 1108 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 2 725.00–800.00 $764.11
1000–1345 1188 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 10 800.00–1,100.00 $937.14
1215 1215 Young (2-4 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1125–1345 1266 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 900.00–1,100.00 $1,005.55

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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
1200–1565 1351 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 8 1,060.00–1,525.00 $1,348.15 —
1205–1840 1515 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 5 1,250.00–1,570.00 $1,440.33 —

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Heifer Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
865 865 Young (2-4 yrs)Open 1 860.00 $860.00 —

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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.