Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 15, 2021

653 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $140.56/cwt +4.27 vs last sale · ≈ $732/hd at 521 lb · 49 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $139.23/cwt +6.80 vs last sale · ≈ $792/hd at 569 lb · 39 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $154.28/cwt +6.60 vs last sale · ≈ $966/hd at 626 lb · 36 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 653 657 915
Feeder cattle 577 601 841
Slaughter cattle 59 46 57
Replacement cattle 17 10 17

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Steers and heifers 1.00-3.00 higher.Slaughter cows and bulls 2.00 lower.

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
363 value added 363 3 188.00 $188.00 $682 —
400–415 value added 411 4 179.00–187.00 $181.99 $748 +5.09
410–445 431 4 160.00–174.00 $164.82 $710 -2.32
450–497 475 17 147.00–171.00 $159.39 $757 -2.68
505–540 522 18 135.00–164.00 $155.76 $813 +0.87
518–547 value added 538 11 165.00–167.00 $166.63 $896 +2.06
555 value added 555 12 169.00–171.00 $170.33 $945 +7.11
550–598 575 13 134.00–164.00 $148.31 $853 -3.79
607–635 612 6 129.00–138.00 $130.56 $799 -9.97
600–648 value added 629 30 150.00–167.00 $159.02 $1,000 +9.30
660 value added 660 1 152.00 $152.00 $1,003 —
650–680 662 6 128.00–140.00 $135.57 $897 -2.58
715–737 value added 730 8 139.00–148.00 $144.79 $1,057 +0.55
747 747 2 136.00 $136.00 $1,016 —
767 value added 767 23 149.50 $149.50 $1,147 +5.99
820 820 1 120.00 $120.00 $984 -15.00
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 140.00 $140.00 $441 —
355–385 370 2 150.00 $150.00 $555 —
440 440 1 135.00 $135.00 $594 +5.00
460–470 463 3 131.00–140.00 $133.98 $620 -3.24
540 540 1 131.00 $131.00 $707 —
620 620 1 121.00 $121.00 $750 —
710 710 1 116.00 $116.00 $824 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
355–392 378 7 139.00–141.00 $140.13 $530 -0.85
400–447 428 18 133.00–150.00 $142.18 $609 -0.90
415–445 value added 435 3 152.00–153.00 $152.32 $663 +0.81
455 value added 455 2 152.00–154.00 $153.00 $696 +2.00
450–497 482 21 131.00–151.00 $144.22 $695 +3.15
500–525 value added 511 8 146.00–150.00 $148.88 $761 +5.88
501–545 523 41 130.00–146.00 $138.94 $727 +3.08
562–580 value added 564 12 146.00–150.00 $148.24 $836 +3.24
555–587 571 27 128.00–143.00 $135.23 $772 +4.89
605–612 value added 609 7 141.00–142.00 $141.57 $862 —
600–645 616 13 121.00–135.00 $128.16 $789 +0.34
657–670 661 5 121.00–125.00 $122.40 $809 -12.60
705 value added 705 6 131.50 $131.50 $927 —
713–725 716 7 113.00–122.00 $115.45 $827 -2.22
817 817 2 110.00 $110.00 $899 —
905 905 2 109.00 $109.00 $986 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 122.00 $122.00 $311 -13.00
305–325 313 5 127.50–136.00 $133.95 $419 -1.55
357–390 376 5 131.00–138.00 $133.90 $503 +2.47
435 435 1 122.00 $122.00 $531 —
460–495 473 6 116.00–129.00 $124.11 $587 -4.89
510–520 516 4 109.00–120.00 $115.97 $598 -4.02
580 580 2 115.00–118.00 $116.50 $676 —
625 625 1 119.00 $119.00 $744 —
655–695 671 4 107.00–116.00 $111.76 $750 -2.24

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300 300 1 157.50 $157.50 $472 -2.50
375–385 380 4 155.00–161.00 $158.73 $603 -3.91
415–445 value added 422 5 174.00–185.00 $179.16 $756 —
405–445 424 7 144.00–160.00 $154.12 $653 +0.56
450–490 469 17 150.00–171.00 $161.49 $757 +15.62
520 value added 520 2 157.00–159.00 $158.00 $822 -3.00
515–547 532 6 134.00–155.00 $141.24 $751 -0.45
555–595 568 16 136.00–148.00 $139.62 $793 -6.52
627–640 629 14 134.00–145.00 $143.47 $902 +7.95
650–695 662 7 129.00–140.00 $136.07 $901 +3.55
702–705 703 3 122.00–129.00 $126.66 $890 +8.76
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
285 285 1 142.50 $142.50 $406 —
350–380 360 3 145.00–148.00 $146.94 $529 —
400–425 413 2 132.00–137.50 $134.67 $556 +1.13
455–495 478 6 126.00–142.00 $136.71 $653 +0.71
515 515 1 125.00 $125.00 $644 —
555–585 575 6 120.00–129.00 $124.37 $715 +4.37
610–645 628 2 119.00–123.00 $120.94 $760 +10.94
660–685 675 3 110.00–116.00 $113.99 $769 -6.01
730 730 1 100.00 $100.00 $730 —
775–785 782 3 108.00 $108.00 $845 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1065–1405 1133 80-85% 18 54.00–64.00 $59.43 $673 -9.65
1180 1180 80-85% 1 52.00 $52.00 $614 -10.69
1245–1365 1293 80-85% 6 65.00–69.00 $66.82 $864 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1060 999 85-90% 4 52.00–63.00 $57.29 $572 -2.24
1020–1085 1053 85-90% 3 52.00–54.00 $53.02 $558 +13.02
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1405–1790 1619 75-80% 4 65.00–71.00 $66.78 $1,081 -4.37
1560–1775 1665 75-80% 3 57.00–64.00 $61.46 $1,023 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1460–1785 1603 4 80.00–86.00 $83.58 $1,340 —
1720 1720 1 104.00 $104.00 $1,789 +17.32
1400–2310 1858 6 87.00–94.00 $91.03 $1,691 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1030–1095 1063 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 550.00–610.00 $579.08
1190 1190 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1140–1335 1238 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 800.00–840.00 $818.42
1135–1485 1323 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 6 700.00–900.00 $821.47

↑ Back to top

Cow-Calf Pairs

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1165 1165 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 760.00 $760.00 —
1210 1210 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 850.00 $850.00 —

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
517 517 9 93.00 $93.00 $481 —

↑ Back to top

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.