Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, January 19, 2022

973 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 5-weight M&L 1-2 steers $169.24/cwt +8.83 vs last sale · ≈ $957/hd at 565 lb · 170 head
heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $153.86/cwt +12.52 vs last sale · ≈ $729/hd at 473 lb · 127 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $155.04/cwt +9.05 vs last sale · ≈ $825/hd at 532 lb · 87 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 973 1,551 753
Feeder cattle 946 1,487 719
Slaughter cattle 17 55 23
Replacement cattle 10 9 11

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold 3.00-5.00 higher, feeder heifers sold 4.00-6.00 higher with very good demand on thin fleshed heifers. Slaughter cows sold steady, Slaughter bulls sold steady on light test. There was good demand for all feeder cattle, with moderate 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
215 215 1 172.50 $172.50 $371 —
310 fancy 310 1 205.00 $205.00 $636 —
335–346 344 6 186.00–190.00 $186.65 $642 +18.92
370–385 372 10 197.50–199.00 $198.70 $739 +19.03
375–385 fancy 376 7 207.00–210.00 $207.44 $780 +3.55
422–435 426 4 160.00–173.00 $163.75 $698 -19.87
405–440 fancy 427 3 190.00–205.00 $194.75 $832 -10.27
452–489 fancy 461 67 190.00–197.00 $190.41 $878 -2.92
455–481 470 14 171.00–187.00 $181.39 $853 +7.17
509–540 value added 517 11 178.00–189.00 $186.07 $962 +6.44
515–540 532 9 147.00–175.00 $165.55 $881 +14.36
558 value added 558 102 178.00 $178.00 $993 +14.14
550–596 576 68 151.00–170.00 $156.09 $899 +1.12
602–648 639 16 155.00–156.00 $155.69 $995 +13.72
650–697 684 8 146.00–156.00 $151.15 $1,034 +6.70
725 725 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,051 +1.13
765 765 2 139.00 $139.00 $1,063 -1.65
808–826 value added 825 67 150.00–158.30 $157.81 $1,302 +11.51
890 890 1 149.00 $149.00 $1,326 —
1235 1235 1 118.00 $118.00 $1,457 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
365–385 375 2 142.50–160.00 $151.02 $566 +3.06
480 480 1 154.00 $154.00 $739 +7.18
510–520 518 25 127.00–145.00 $139.55 $723 +6.55
580 580 2 131.00 $131.00 $760 +0.93
665–677 676 8 120.00–128.00 $120.98 $818 —
760 760 1 125.00 $125.00 $950 —
900 900 1 103.00 $103.00 $927 —
Medium 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
569 569 13 142.00 $142.00 $808 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
225 225 1 130.00 $130.00 $292 —
337–345 340 3 140.00–146.00 $142.03 $483 -5.65
355–383 369 12 145.00–160.00 $153.14 $565 +9.69
412–437 value added 417 33 156.00 $156.00 $651 —
410–440 435 16 138.00–150.00 $148.84 $647 +6.13
471 value added 471 64 160.60 $160.60 $756 —
450–497 476 63 133.00–153.00 $147.02 $700 +7.65
500–540 528 29 139.50–159.00 $143.91 $760 +8.70
534 value added 534 58 160.60 $160.60 $858 +12.04
550–595 577 18 130.00–145.00 $140.86 $813 +6.81
620–640 630 15 130.00–144.00 $136.79 $862 +2.12
655–682 670 13 141.00–144.00 $142.35 $954 +9.99
720 720 1 130.00 $130.00 $936 +9.00
765 765 2 124.00 $124.00 $949 -6.63
805 805 2 117.00 $117.00 $942 —
1030 1030 1 107.00 $107.00 $1,102 -10.00
1095 1095 1 109.00 $109.00 $1,194 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370–395 383 2 130.00–135.00 $132.58 $508 +5.82
410 410 1 120.00 $120.00 $492 -5.00
470–487 477 5 119.00–126.00 $121.86 $581 —
550–580 573 7 101.00–127.00 $115.63 $663 +2.66
670 670 4 115.00 $115.00 $770 +1.31
725–730 727 3 97.00–119.00 $111.02 $807 -0.98
800–815 808 2 85.00–100.00 $92.57 $748 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
370 370 1 175.00 $175.00 $648 +14.84
408 fancy 408 3 192.00 $192.00 $783 —
430–440 435 3 152.50–168.00 $160.47 $698 -2.76
468 fancy 468 3 180.00 $180.00 $842 —
475 475 2 153.00–162.00 $157.50 $748 +3.88
505–545 528 9 139.00–156.00 $152.09 $803 +1.93
550–560 558 4 140.00–153.00 $149.74 $836 -2.33
615–637 630 5 133.00–135.00 $134.60 $848 -5.84
665 665 2 119.00–125.00 $122.00 $811 -8.99
750 750 1 120.00 $120.00 $900 —
817 817 2 107.00 $107.00 $874 -3.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
265 265 1 152.50 $152.50 $404 —
320–325 323 2 135.00–137.50 $136.24 $440 —
430 430 1 120.00 $120.00 $516 —
475 475 2 125.00–129.00 $127.00 $603 -4.00
550 550 1 121.00 $121.00 $666 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
935–980 958 80-85% 2 50.00–53.00 $51.54 $494 —
930–1100 1022 80-85% 3 65.00–72.00 $68.19 $697 —
1150–1285 1200 80-85% 4 58.00–64.00 $62.15 $746 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1125 1020 85-90% 2 61.00–62.00 $61.55 $628 +17.55

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1990 1990 1 91.00 $91.00 $1,811 —

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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
1300–1400 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 2 1,210.00–1,350.00 $1,277.41 —
1350 1350 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,440.00 $1,440.00 —

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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.