Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, December 8, 2021

945 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $141.30/cwt +8.26 vs last sale · ≈ $909/hd at 643 lb · 110 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $155.10/cwt +4.89 vs last sale · ≈ $970/hd at 626 lb · 80 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $137.19/cwt +4.91 vs last sale · ≈ $704/hd at 513 lb · 55 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 945 739 1,272
Feeder cattle 841 691 1,181
Slaughter cattle 77 32 72
Replacement cattle 27 16 19

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week, feeder steers sold 1.00 to 2.00 higher, 300-400 lbs 6.00 to 8.00 higher. Heifers sold 2.00 to 4.00 higher. Slaughter cows and 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
235 fancy 235 3 205.00 $205.00 $482 —
255–285 fancy 270 2 195.00–210.00 $202.08 $546 —
275 275 1 190.00 $190.00 $522 —
300–335 value added 318 5 200.00–217.50 $207.75 $661 —
365–385 value added 371 5 190.00–207.50 $195.60 $726 —
400–445 value added 419 8 177.00–200.00 $188.07 $788 +6.70
450–492 value added 475 13 176.00–181.00 $179.01 $850 +5.48
455–492 476 6 157.00–175.00 $168.59 $802 +5.66
503–539 value added 525 15 169.00–179.00 $174.71 $917 +8.00
505–545 535 12 141.00–164.00 $156.99 $840 +8.31
555 value added 555 2 173.00 $173.00 $960 +8.00
560–590 577 13 144.00–164.00 $155.86 $899 +6.11
605–640 619 4 135.00–145.00 $141.28 $875 +3.82
600–646 value added 626 76 147.00–160.00 $155.83 $975 +3.33
660–680 670 5 132.00–138.00 $134.97 $904 -1.34
650–693 value added 671 33 145.00–154.00 $147.60 $990 -4.50
713–737 value added 722 17 144.00–155.00 $151.45 $1,093 -1.55
715–745 727 5 120.00–137.00 $129.36 $940 -5.30
755–785 value added 759 19 150.00–152.50 $151.45 $1,150 -8.19
765–770 768 2 124.00–134.00 $129.02 $991 -4.98
800–825 value added 802 14 145.00–155.00 $153.92 $1,234 —
820 820 1 135.00 $135.00 $1,107 —
890 value added 890 2 140.00 $140.00 $1,246 -5.00
910 910 1 130.00 $130.00 $1,183 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 155.00 $155.00 $496 +15.00
435–440 438 2 140.00–142.50 $141.24 $619 +3.27
455–495 471 4 129.00–147.50 $140.75 $663 +6.00
515–545 538 5 110.00–126.00 $119.33 $642 -4.67
585 585 1 120.00 $120.00 $702 —
617–620 618 3 108.00–118.00 $114.66 $709 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
230 230 1 150.00 $150.00 $345 +7.50
255–280 267 3 140.00–150.00 $145.09 $387 ±0.00
330–345 339 5 136.00–146.00 $143.15 $485 +4.28
350–395 373 17 130.00–144.00 $137.36 $512 +0.98
402–440 424 16 126.00–141.00 $133.57 $566 +2.63
450–495 470 15 126.00–141.00 $135.42 $636 +3.97
500–542 513 55 123.00–143.00 $137.19 $704 +4.91
550–595 570 39 123.00–141.00 $134.32 $766 +0.63
611–646 value added 643 82 130.00–152.40 $146.48 $942 +11.69
617–648 643 28 120.00–129.00 $126.13 $811 +1.13
660–685 value added 673 2 136.00–137.00 $136.49 $919 —
670–695 676 6 119.00–125.00 $121.98 $825 -1.02
713 value added 713 3 123.00 $123.00 $877 —
715–730 722 10 112.00–122.00 $118.88 $858 +1.85
755–795 778 6 114.00–126.00 $119.02 $926 +7.55
827 827 2 118.00 $118.00 $976 +4.00
833 value added 833 3 121.00 $121.00 $1,008 —
860 860 1 114.00 $114.00 $980 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
215 215 1 135.00 $135.00 $290 —
285 285 1 122.50 $122.50 $349 —
415–420 418 2 110.00–125.00 $117.54 $491 -1.43
450–480 470 4 121.00–125.00 $122.98 $578 +3.48
530 530 1 120.00 $120.00 $636 +1.00
555–585 569 4 102.00–120.00 $113.91 $648 —
610–645 625 6 107.00–116.00 $112.55 $703 -1.95
660–680 670 2 101.00–117.00 $108.88 $729 +2.83
735 735 1 90.00 $90.00 $662 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 value added 315 1 180.00 $180.00 $567 —
320 fancy 320 1 185.00 $185.00 $592 —
360 fancy 360 1 180.00 $180.00 $648 —
375 375 1 170.00 $170.00 $638 +17.63
402 value added 402 2 188.00 $188.00 $756 —
400–440 420 2 168.00–170.00 $169.05 $710 +21.41
470 value added 470 1 176.00 $176.00 $827 +7.00
515–535 value added 525 6 163.00–175.00 $168.89 $887 +10.08
515–540 532 3 150.00–156.00 $151.94 $808 +9.89
565–590 579 7 130.00–141.00 $133.96 $776 -4.13
600–610 value added 608 4 140.00–142.00 $141.51 $860 —
605–635 614 4 126.00–136.00 $130.95 $804 -0.67
655–685 670 6 121.00–134.00 $126.69 $849 +0.86
725–740 733 2 107.50–118.00 $112.70 $826 -5.77
765–780 773 2 104.00–113.00 $108.54 $839 —
Large 2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
330–345 338 2 137.50–150.00 $143.61 $485 +5.61
400–420 408 3 132.50–140.00 $136.15 $555 -3.85
467–485 474 4 126.00–135.00 $132.23 $627 -8.26
530 530 1 107.50 $107.50 $570 -20.50
550–570 560 2 115.00–120.00 $117.46 $658 -8.54
640 640 1 109.00 $109.00 $698 —
670–695 677 8 100.00–117.00 $110.57 $749 +0.57

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1115–1155 1135 80-85% 2 42.00 $42.00 $477 —
1025–1365 1176 80-85% 19 48.00–57.00 $52.15 $613 —
1145–1335 1258 80-85% 6 58.00–62.00 $59.99 $755 +20.96
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
890–1060 969 85-90% 14 37.00–47.00 $43.13 $418 -8.86
880–1055 970 85-90% 3 34.00–35.00 $34.36 $333 -17.63
940–1040 972 85-90% 5 51.00–58.00 $53.73 $522 +1.74
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1375–1550 1444 75-80% 5 47.00–57.00 $54.40 $786 —
1420–1930 1569 75-80% 8 57.00–64.00 $60.34 $947 +1.19

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1270–1580 1360 5 72.00–80.00 $75.71 $1,030 —
1350–2040 1767 3 84.00–87.00 $85.08 $1,503 —
1825 1825 1 94.00 $94.00 $1,716 —

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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)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 720.00 $720.00
980–1060 1013 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 625.00–725.00 $681.67
980–1145 1057 Aged (>8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 5 500.00–775.00 $639.43
1060 1060 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 700.00 $700.00
1080–1135 1108 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 2 825.00–850.00 $837.81
1040–1260 1111 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 4 750.00–825.00 $789.40

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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
1300 1300 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,100.00 $1,100.00 —

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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.