Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 5, 2022

1,147 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 $143.28/cwt -1.65 vs last sale · ≈ $759/hd at 530 lb · 70 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $157.34/cwt ≈ $1,261/hd at 802 lb · 68 head
heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $158.36/cwt -0.60 vs last sale · ≈ $918/hd at 580 lb · 59 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 1,147 246 1,788
Feeder cattle 1,065 173 1,678
Slaughter cattle 80 53 95
Replacement cattle 2 20 15

Market comments — USDA reporter

No comparison due to holiday. There was good demand for all classes of feeder cattle, with heavy offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in yearling steer cattle and cattle with favorable condition.

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
310 fancy 310 2 195.00 $195.00 $604 -27.50
330–345 338 2 162.50–170.00 $166.17 $562 —
353–360 355 4 165.00–185.00 $179.93 $639 -15.07
365–395 fancy 385 3 190.00–202.50 $198.55 $764 -21.45
402–438 fancy 427 22 190.00–208.00 $199.50 $852 —
412–445 434 13 160.00–187.00 $168.02 $729 -30.97
450–496 477 30 155.00–186.00 $175.52 $837 +3.12
505–540 value added 525 21 171.00–186.00 $179.74 $944 —
515–545 530 31 153.00–169.00 $161.01 $853 -10.25
555–595 value added 567 11 170.00–171.00 $170.29 $966 —
550–599 583 48 140.00–164.00 $155.62 $907 -3.34
605–615 value added 608 16 163.00–170.00 $167.17 $1,016 —
600–640 625 40 140.00–160.00 $154.49 $966 —
655–695 668 18 135.00–150.00 $146.53 $979 —
710–747 722 24 134.00–139.00 $137.26 $991 +16.26
755–795 777 19 137.00–143.00 $140.13 $1,089 —
801 value added 801 66 157.90 $157.90 $1,265 —
822 822 2 139.00 $139.00 $1,143 —
874 874 6 144.00 $144.00 $1,259 —
915–920 917 3 131.00–133.00 $132.33 $1,213 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220 220 1 157.50 $157.50 $346 +32.50
377–390 382 4 132.50–152.50 $147.08 $562 —
445 445 1 150.00 $150.00 $668 —
455–490 468 3 133.00–146.00 $140.49 $657 +27.99
560–573 567 6 130.00–134.00 $132.84 $753 —
600–605 602 3 115.00–138.00 $127.70 $769 —
655 655 1 133.00 $133.00 $871 —
730 730 2 120.00 $120.00 $876 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
205 205 1 165.00 $165.00 $338 —
302–342 324 10 141.00–157.00 $149.80 $485 -1.03
352–392 377 21 134.00–155.00 $149.20 $562 -1.29
400–445 429 16 131.00–151.00 $143.08 $614 +4.01
433–435 value added 434 15 156.00–157.00 $156.53 $679 —
450–495 474 56 130.00–154.00 $143.58 $681 +4.57
515–543 value added 525 21 149.00–153.00 $149.97 $787 —
500–549 532 49 126.00–147.00 $140.41 $747 -4.52
550–585 569 35 124.00–143.00 $138.20 $786 -1.79
600–635 609 26 124.00–138.00 $133.79 $815 +8.79
627–632 value added 631 18 140.25–141.00 $140.33 $885 —
653 value added 653 9 140.25 $140.25 $916 —
665–692 669 21 121.00–138.00 $135.04 $903 —
712 value added 712 21 135.00 $135.00 $961 —
700–735 720 3 118.00–126.00 $123.41 $889 +15.91
760 760 1 121.00 $121.00 $920 —
960 960 1 122.00 $122.00 $1,171 —
1085 1085 3 119.00 $119.00 $1,291 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
320 320 1 130.00 $130.00 $416 —
395 395 2 130.00 $130.00 $514 —
412–435 422 4 111.00–129.00 $123.85 $523 —
455–470 463 2 124.00–129.00 $126.46 $586 —
620 620 1 115.00 $115.00 $713 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
290 290 1 170.00 $170.00 $493 —
295 fancy 295 1 200.00 $200.00 $590 —
331 331 3 160.00 $160.00 $530 —
360–391 383 10 150.00–175.00 $157.94 $605 -23.06
400 fancy 400 1 190.00 $190.00 $760 -11.00
405–445 428 7 142.00–166.00 $158.11 $677 -39.89
465–485 478 3 146.00–154.00 $151.07 $722 -35.30
500–535 fancy 512 3 166.00–168.00 $166.70 $854 -1.91
505–545 522 8 137.00–157.00 $148.73 $776 +8.21
550–595 567 7 137.00–153.00 $146.88 $833 —
602–625 612 4 134.00–148.00 $141.39 $865 +15.41
650–677 659 7 127.00–145.00 $138.02 $910 +6.71
705–710 708 2 122.00–123.00 $122.50 $867 +1.50
920 920 1 104.00 $104.00 $957 —
965 965 1 125.00 $125.00 $1,206 —
1205 1205 1 86.00 $86.00 $1,036 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
340 340 1 140.00 $140.00 $476 —
405–445 428 3 136.00–150.00 $142.14 $608 —
485 485 1 142.00 $142.00 $689 —
520–530 525 3 122.00–130.00 $126.34 $663 —
685 685 1 125.00 $125.00 $856 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1025–1280 1156 80-85% 13 52.00–59.00 $55.39 $640 —
1160 1160 80-85% 1 51.00 $51.00 $592 —
935–1350 1190 80-85% 12 60.00–64.00 $61.79 $735 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1340–1700 1502 75-80% 12 60.00–66.00 $63.25 $950 —
1375–1710 1544 75-80% 7 55.00–58.00 $56.89 $878 —
1815 1815 75-80% 1 40.00 $40.00 $726 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
930–1025 967 85-90% 3 53.00–57.00 $54.62 $528 +16.65
1040–1195 1125 85-90% 5 45.00–51.00 $47.61 $536 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1875–2170 2024 4 83.00–92.00 $87.77 $1,776 —
1660–2455 2039 4 100.00–106.00 $101.52 $2,070 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1290 1290 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)1st Stage (1-3 mo) 1 850.00 $850.00

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Dairy Steers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
860 value added 860 60 113.75 $113.75 $978 —

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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.