Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, September 22, 2021

502 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $135.62/cwt -9.36 vs last sale · ≈ $650/hd at 479 lb · 34 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $131.55/cwt -9.01 vs last sale · ≈ $681/hd at 518 lb · 30 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.80/cwt +4.95 vs last sale · ≈ $849/hd at 616 lb · 30 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 502 653 596
Feeder cattle 454 577 529
Slaughter cattle 40 59 56
Replacement cattle 8 17 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers under 600 lbs sold 1.00 to 2.00 lower. Feeder heifers over 600 lbs sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher. There was moderate demand for feeder classes. Slaughter cows and bulls sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher. There was moderate 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
295 295 1 158.00 $158.00 $466 —
350–386 379 9 155.00–167.00 $162.82 $617 —
400–445 425 12 155.00–165.00 $158.09 $672 -6.73
425 fancy 425 1 176.00 $176.00 $748 —
455–485 473 12 150.00–161.00 $154.98 $733 -4.41
500–545 511 7 150.00–162.00 $156.96 $802 +1.20
565–590 573 9 140.00–151.00 $143.12 $820 -5.19
600–647 625 30 132.00–148.00 $142.77 $892 +12.21
650–685 664 5 130.00–140.00 $134.45 $893 -1.12
700–740 730 10 136.00–139.00 $137.60 $1,004 +1.60
750–795 760 11 130.00–148.00 $143.66 $1,092 —
837 837 5 132.00 $132.00 $1,105 +12.00
950 950 1 121.00 $121.00 $1,150 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330 330 1 137.00 $137.00 $452 —
355–365 358 3 150.00–151.00 $150.34 $538 —
405–445 425 2 136.00–142.00 $138.86 $590 —
460–495 469 4 140.00–149.00 $142.38 $668 —
515–538 530 9 145.00–148.00 $146.78 $778 —
575–595 585 2 131.00–135.00 $133.03 $778 —
620 620 1 125.00 $125.00 $775 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
300–340 318 4 133.00–138.00 $135.91 $432 —
365–399 390 14 127.00–137.00 $133.62 $521 -6.51
400–445 428 20 129.00–136.00 $132.95 $569 -9.23
450–495 479 34 130.00–144.00 $135.62 $650 -8.60
500–540 518 30 122.00–138.00 $131.55 $681 -7.39
555–595 582 17 121.00–135.00 $131.51 $765 -3.72
605 value added 605 14 145.50 $145.50 $880 +3.93
605–640 626 16 123.00–138.00 $131.06 $820 +2.90
650–675 672 11 125.00–134.00 $133.18 $895 +10.78
728–735 730 4 120.00–126.00 $124.49 $909 +9.04
767 value added 767 15 138.00 $138.00 $1,058 —
780 780 1 108.00 $108.00 $842 —
890 890 1 109.00 $109.00 $970 —
1021 1021 3 99.00 $99.00 $1,011 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 120.00 $120.00 $306 —
415–425 420 2 125.00 $125.00 $525 —
475–490 482 3 122.00–128.00 $124.65 $601 —
560–580 570 2 115.00 $115.00 $656 —
600–620 610 2 117.00–120.00 $118.48 $723 —
662 662 2 108.00 $108.00 $715 —
710–745 728 2 111.00–113.00 $112.02 $816 —
820–835 828 2 90.00–92.00 $90.99 $753 —
975 975 1 86.00 $86.00 $838 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 161.00 $161.00 $507 +3.50
355 355 1 167.00 $167.00 $593 +8.27
415–435 427 3 161.00–172.00 $167.29 $714 +13.17
465–470 468 2 149.00–150.00 $149.50 $700 -11.99
505–545 528 14 130.00–146.00 $135.85 $717 -5.39
555–595 571 12 127.00–139.00 $134.06 $765 -5.56
600–647 618 9 114.00–129.00 $121.97 $754 -21.50
655–660 657 3 114.00–121.00 $117.01 $769 -19.06
701–740 716 8 106.00–109.00 $107.85 $772 -18.81
790 790 1 105.00 $105.00 $830 —
860 860 1 103.00 $103.00 $886 —
915 915 1 103.00 $103.00 $942 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
210 210 1 135.00 $135.00 $284 —
405 405 1 148.00 $148.00 $599 —
480 480 1 140.00 $140.00 $672 —
545 545 1 120.00 $120.00 $654 —
555–580 568 3 112.00–119.00 $114.72 $652 —
630 630 1 108.00 $108.00 $680 —
680 680 2 109.00–111.00 $110.00 $748 —
700 700 1 100.00 $100.00 $700 —
925 925 1 83.00 $83.00 $768 —
Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $ Δ last sale
1100 1100 Young (2-4 yrs)N/A 1 960.00 $960.00 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1090–1170 1133 80-85% 4 51.00–56.00 $54.55 $618 -4.88
1050–1485 1262 80-85% 11 57.00–63.00 $60.19 $760 -6.63
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
820 820 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $517 —
905–1025 960 85-90% 3 45.00–51.00 $48.55 $466 —
850–1045 979 85-90% 7 53.00–59.00 $56.69 $555 -0.60
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1530–1570 1550 75-80% 2 60.00–65.00 $62.53 $969 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1415–1480 1448 2 80.00–81.00 $80.49 $1,165 —
1255–1720 1488 2 89.00–96.00 $91.95 $1,368 —
2055 2055 1 100.00 $100.00 $2,055 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
785–1035 910 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 2 680.00–830.00 $765.30
1070 1070 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 910.00 $910.00
1185 1185 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 860.00 $860.00

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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
1240 1240 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,375.00 $1,375.00 +525.00

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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.