Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 8, 2021

657 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 $146.57/cwt ≈ $1,269/hd at 866 lb · 64 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $136.29/cwt +0.90 vs last sale · ≈ $716/hd at 525 lb · 33 head
light 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $144.28/cwt -0.47 vs last sale · ≈ $623/hd at 432 lb · 28 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 657 456 399
Feeder cattle 601 432 354
Slaughter cattle 46 24 37
Replacement cattle 10 — 8

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: steers and heifers mostly steady.Slaughter cows 3.00-4.00 lower.No comparison on bulls,no test last week.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
331 331 3 175.00 $175.00 $579 +4.05
355–390 375 7 152.50–175.00 $166.05 $623 -11.95
402–430 value added 417 10 175.00–178.00 $176.90 $738 -3.10
420–448 437 9 149.00–173.00 $167.14 $730 +3.20
455–490 480 17 150.00–173.00 $162.07 $778 -10.25
510–521 value added 515 7 163.00–166.00 $164.57 $848 —
500–540 517 6 143.00–161.00 $154.89 $801 -0.26
550–567 value added 561 9 163.00–164.00 $163.22 $916 —
555–595 572 19 137.00–160.00 $152.10 $870 +6.43
610–620 615 2 137.00–144.00 $140.53 $864 -1.80
610–643 value added 630 7 147.00–153.00 $149.72 $943 —
651–675 662 9 130.00–145.00 $138.15 $915 +0.57
705 705 3 134.00–137.00 $135.00 $952 +2.00
725–740 value added 732 4 143.00–148.00 $144.24 $1,056 —
750–767 value added 765 12 140.00–144.00 $143.51 $1,098 -1.99
765–780 773 2 130.00–136.00 $132.97 $1,028 -1.23
820 value added 820 1 138.00 $138.00 $1,132 —
845 845 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,141 —
855 855 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,154 —
866 value added 866 63 146.75 $146.75 $1,271 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
250 250 1 140.00 $140.00 $350 —
445 445 1 130.00 $130.00 $578 —
480–495 490 4 130.00–141.00 $137.22 $672 +0.14
575 575 2 125.00 $125.00 $719 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–389 382 11 138.00–144.00 $140.98 $539 -4.94
405–415 value added 413 4 150.00–152.00 $151.51 $626 —
400–445 435 24 132.00–148.00 $143.08 $622 -0.36
450 value added 450 1 151.00 $151.00 $680 —
460–495 477 22 133.00–146.00 $141.07 $673 +3.96
502 value added 502 2 143.00 $143.00 $718 -0.51
502–545 527 31 128.00–142.00 $135.86 $716 +1.55
561 value added 561 3 145.00 $145.00 $813 ±0.00
550–596 576 18 127.00–138.00 $130.34 $751 -5.29
600–640 618 13 120.00–130.00 $127.82 $790 +0.92
665 665 2 135.00 $135.00 $898 +12.00
704–742 713 12 107.00–123.00 $117.67 $839 +8.15
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
270 270 1 135.00 $135.00 $364 —
335–340 338 2 135.00–136.00 $135.50 $458 —
365–395 386 4 129.00–135.00 $131.43 $507 -6.57
485 485 1 129.00 $129.00 $626 +2.35
515–525 520 2 119.00–121.00 $119.99 $624 —
685 685 1 114.00 $114.00 $781 +3.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320–330 325 2 160.00 $160.00 $520 -3.75
365–385 377 3 161.00–164.00 $162.64 $613 +3.54
415 fancy 415 1 176.00 $176.00 $730 —
405–445 424 4 144.00–170.00 $153.56 $651 +3.66
460–493 478 10 140.00–155.00 $145.87 $697 +2.87
515 value added 515 1 161.00 $161.00 $829 —
500–540 524 9 130.00–153.00 $141.69 $742 +3.07
550–590 570 21 128.00–157.00 $146.14 $833 +9.92
615–635 value added 627 5 141.00–145.00 $144.19 $904 —
630–640 635 2 133.00–138.00 $135.52 $861 +6.55
650 value added 650 1 146.00 $146.00 $949 —
680–685 683 2 126.00–139.00 $132.52 $905 +5.95
710–738 728 8 110.00–122.00 $117.90 $858 +7.40
830 830 1 112.00 $112.00 $930 —
870 870 1 103.00 $103.00 $896 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
405–425 415 2 132.00–135.00 $133.54 $554 -0.78
490 490 1 136.00 $136.00 $666 +0.53
570 570 1 120.00 $120.00 $684 -5.00
620 620 1 110.00 $110.00 $682 -6.97
675 675 1 120.00 $120.00 $810 +4.34

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1255 1123 80-85% 3 66.00–71.00 $69.08 $776 —
1070–1380 1180 80-85% 16 58.00–65.00 $62.69 $740 -1.73
1320 1320 80-85% 1 53.00 $53.00 $700 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
845–1070 958 85-90% 2 52.00 $52.00 $498 —
855–1045 998 85-90% 6 56.00–62.00 $59.53 $594 —
1065 1065 85-90% 1 40.00 $40.00 $426 -20.00
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1400 1400 75-80% 1 65.00 $65.00 $910 —
1405–1795 1612 75-80% 3 69.00–74.00 $71.15 $1,147 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–2405 1733 5 85.00–88.00 $86.68 $1,502 —
1580–2265 1916 7 90.00–96.00 $93.54 $1,792 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
855 855 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 560.00 $560.00
975 975 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00
1120 1120 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
1190 1190 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 940.00 $940.00

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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
1145 1145 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 1,080.00 $1,080.00 —

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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.