Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, November 17, 2021

775 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.46/cwt +19.02 vs last sale · ≈ $1,294/hd at 832 lb · 72 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $130.66/cwt +3.49 vs last sale · ≈ $685/hd at 524 lb · 32 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $129.54/cwt +0.77 vs last sale · ≈ $733/hd at 566 lb · 24 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 775 1,050 0
Feeder cattle 637 911 0
Slaughter cattle 86 111 0
Replacement cattle 52 28 0

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week: Feeders steers and feeder heifers sold steady. Slaughter cows and slaughter bulls sold steady .

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
420–445 433 4 155.00–174.00 $163.69 $709 +7.13
490 490 5 152.00–154.00 $153.60 $753 -2.64
500–531 518 10 148.00–157.00 $152.44 $790 +9.19
510–540 value added 530 10 161.00–169.00 $163.33 $866 -0.31
565 value added 565 2 157.00 $157.00 $887 —
581–590 583 7 141.00–150.00 $148.13 $864 +5.72
600 value added 600 2 152.00 $152.00 $912 +5.01
605–640 624 5 138.00–145.00 $140.80 $879 +3.89
652–685 663 3 138.00–144.00 $141.93 $941 +9.95
715–720 718 2 136.00–140.00 $138.01 $991 +5.21
800–830 815 2 132.00–141.00 $136.42 $1,112 +10.46
833 value added 833 70 156.00 $156.00 $1,299 +16.95
992 992 2 123.00 $123.00 $1,220 +3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
397 397 2 140.00 $140.00 $556 —
440 440 1 139.00 $139.00 $612 —
495 495 1 149.00 $149.00 $738 —
512–525 516 3 140.00–142.00 $141.32 $729 —
565–585 580 4 130.00–134.00 $130.97 $760 —
610–625 618 2 125.00–131.00 $128.04 $791 —
655 655 1 130.00 $130.00 $852 —
735 735 1 126.00 $126.00 $926 —
845 845 1 137.00 $137.00 $1,158 —
1021 1021 11 120.50 $120.50 $1,230 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 2 129.00 $129.00 $374 -1.00
320–347 336 4 130.00–132.50 $130.84 $440 +2.83
420–445 436 6 123.00–130.00 $126.69 $552 -1.17
450–490 469 12 124.00–135.00 $131.06 $615 -0.66
475 value added 475 2 141.00 $141.00 $670 —
500–547 524 32 120.00–135.00 $130.66 $685 +3.49
550–586 566 24 125.00–136.00 $129.54 $733 +0.77
620–645 628 3 120.00–124.00 $122.68 $770 +1.48
650–670 660 2 120.00–128.00 $124.06 $819 +8.66
662 value added 662 4 130.00 $130.00 $861 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265–290 278 2 117.50–118.00 $117.76 $327 —
345 345 1 114.00 $114.00 $393 —
350–395 373 2 105.00–120.00 $112.95 $421 —
435 435 1 112.00 $112.00 $487 —
450–495 470 10 110.00–126.00 $118.71 $558 —
500–535 514 6 103.00–122.00 $114.80 $590 —
560–575 567 3 117.00–123.00 $119.64 $678 —
650–670 663 5 111.00–118.00 $116.23 $771 —
700–735 718 2 101.00–113.00 $107.15 $769 —
770–793 789 6 96.00–112.00 $98.60 $778 —
817 817 2 100.00 $100.00 $817 —
975–990 983 2 88.00–96.00 $91.97 $904 —

↑ Back to top

Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
307 307 2 167.50 $167.50 $514 +15.00
355–397 387 8 160.00–181.00 $166.08 $643 +15.58
402–432 422 8 143.00–165.00 $147.62 $623 -6.87
460 460 2 130.00–135.00 $132.50 $610 -10.36
505–525 513 3 138.00–145.00 $140.32 $720 +9.33
540 value added 540 1 154.00 $154.00 $832 —
557–592 576 8 127.00–149.00 $134.83 $777 +2.08
600–640 624 9 124.00–132.00 $126.12 $787 +3.00
657–672 665 4 124.00–130.00 $127.03 $845 +10.23
715 715 2 122.00 $122.00 $872 +11.71
750 750 1 115.00 $115.00 $862 +10.00
985 985 1 102.00 $102.00 $1,005 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
272–290 279 5 110.00–135.00 $124.92 $349 —
320–345 333 2 130.00–152.00 $141.41 $471 —
407–420 411 3 122.50–155.00 $143.94 $592 —
485–497 492 4 130.00–142.00 $138.51 $681 —
500–515 507 3 110.00–140.00 $123.49 $626 —
600–645 620 5 95.00–120.00 $108.80 $675 —
665 665 1 118.00 $118.00 $785 —
710–745 728 2 96.00–117.00 $106.25 $774 —
750–790 765 3 107.00–113.00 $110.28 $844 —
815–835 825 2 80.00–91.00 $85.57 $706 —
850 850 1 98.00 $98.00 $833 —
920–930 927 3 96.00–100.00 $98.68 $915 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
945–1175 1035 80-85% 3 35.00–43.00 $39.67 $411 —
1175–1240 1208 80-85% 2 60.00 $60.00 $725 +17.14
1030–1545 1289 80-85% 29 48.00–58.00 $54.23 $699 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1200–1840 1488 75-80% 6 50.00–58.00 $54.99 $818 —
1895 1895 75-80% 1 60.00 $60.00 $1,137 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
800–1010 938 85-90% 3 30.00–38.00 $34.58 $324 -17.32
1070–1110 1090 85-90% 2 42.00–49.00 $45.56 $497 —

↑ Back to top

Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1185–1555 1274 7 72.00–78.00 $76.24 $971 —
1280–2000 1718 8 81.00–92.00 $88.32 $1,517 —
1495–1950 1723 2 93.00–97.00 $95.26 $1,641 —

↑ Back to top

Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1135 1135 Aged (>8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 610.00 $610.00
975–1365 1210 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 8 620.00–910.00 $708.56
1090–1445 1283 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 690.00–850.00 $793.30
1140–1470 1298 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 500.00–860.00 $711.97
Medium 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1090 1090 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 530.00 $530.00

↑ Back to top

Bred Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1125 1125 Young (2-4 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 1,050.00 $1,050.00

↑ Back to top

Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
381 381 6 103.00 $103.00 $392 —
520 520 19 99.00 $99.00 $515 +8.00

↑ 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.