Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, February 23, 2022

606 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

light 7-weight M&L 1-2 steers $162.57/cwt +8.36 vs last sale · ≈ $1,180/hd at 726 lb · 150 head
heavy 6-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.44/cwt +7.28 vs last sale · ≈ $1,063/hd at 689 lb · 81 head
light 8-weight M&L 1-2 steers $153.92/cwt +5.51 vs last sale · ≈ $1,276/hd at 829 lb · 62 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 606 1,100 930
Feeder cattle 566 978 866
Slaughter cattle 32 110 62
Replacement cattle 8 12 2

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers sold unevenly steady, feeder heifers sold steady, feeders sold with good demand. Slaughter cows sold 1.00-3.00 lower, Slaughter bulls sold 1.00-3.00 lower. There was good demand for all feeder cattle, with moderate offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in weaned steers and heifers, 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
260–265 263 3 170.00–190.00 $176.58 $464 —
305 305 1 205.00 $205.00 $625 +17.00
370–395 fancy 378 3 212.50–215.00 $214.13 $809 —
405 405 4 192.00 $192.00 $778 +11.28
415 fancy 415 1 204.00 $204.00 $847 -2.81
462–490 fancy 471 9 196.00–207.00 $203.19 $957 +3.11
480–495 482 10 170.00–180.00 $171.03 $824 -8.36
505 505 1 166.00 $166.00 $838 -1.26
515–540 value added 523 10 187.00–190.00 $187.93 $983 +2.34
552–592 578 23 155.00–181.00 $168.93 $976 -0.59
601–640 612 11 149.00–171.50 $166.57 $1,019 -0.96
656–695 673 6 145.00–170.00 $159.05 $1,070 -5.63
703–715 713 58 149.00–161.00 $156.39 $1,115 +2.18
710–738 value added 734 92 163.50–167.00 $166.47 $1,222 —
792 792 2 149.00 $149.00 $1,180 -2.49
805–810 808 2 139.00–140.00 $139.50 $1,127 -8.91
830 value added 830 60 154.40 $154.40 $1,282 —
905 905 1 139.00 $139.00 $1,258 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
260 260 1 130.00 $130.00 $338 -32.50
430 430 1 140.00 $140.00 $602 -17.50
480 480 1 127.00 $127.00 $610 -34.00
570 570 1 132.00 $132.00 $752 -8.42
625 625 1 133.00 $133.00 $831 -19.00
700 700 1 130.00 $130.00 $910 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
255 255 1 177.50 $177.50 $453 —
360–395 380 3 152.00–161.00 $155.99 $593 -3.25
410–440 427 3 141.00–156.00 $147.18 $628 -11.25
463–495 469 10 148.00–160.00 $154.21 $723 +1.87
505–536 516 25 146.00–157.00 $148.93 $768 +2.61
558 value added 558 10 165.00 $165.00 $921 +4.54
591–595 593 10 153.00–159.00 $156.61 $929 +14.05
605–630 626 7 126.00–140.00 $138.07 $864 +1.70
666–670 667 5 120.00–141.00 $136.78 $912 -1.16
690 value added 690 76 155.60 $155.60 $1,074 +1.85
730 730 1 145.00 $145.00 $1,058 +16.28
833 833 3 125.00 $125.00 $1,041 —
860 860 1 104.00 $104.00 $894 -6.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
470 470 1 116.00 $116.00 $545 -16.54
780 780 1 102.00 $102.00 $796 —

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
235 235 1 152.50 $152.50 $358 —
280 280 1 142.50 $142.50 $399 —
335 fancy 335 2 197.50 $197.50 $662 —
340 340 2 172.50 $172.50 $586 —
370–385 376 4 156.00–170.00 $164.32 $618 -8.41
400–430 420 12 155.00–189.00 $166.86 $701 -4.38
467–490 478 11 158.00–183.00 $168.38 $805 -2.26
547 547 2 157.00 $157.00 $859 -17.24
550–582 571 3 159.00–160.00 $159.32 $910 -4.35
715 715 1 121.00 $121.00 $865 -8.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
420 420 3 141.00 $141.00 $592 —
660 660 1 116.00 $116.00 $766 —

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Slaughter Cows

Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940–1395 1114 80-85% 4 65.00–68.00 $66.64 $742 —
930–1295 1120 80-85% 8 70.00–80.00 $73.03 $818 —
Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1365–1475 1435 75-80% 3 65.00–67.00 $65.69 $943 —
1420–1520 1473 75-80% 6 71.00–77.00 $73.70 $1,086 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
940 940 85-90% 1 63.00 $63.00 $592 —
1110 1110 85-90% 1 50.00 $50.00 $555 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1320 1320 1 88.00 $88.00 $1,162 —
1710–1720 1715 2 94.00–95.00 $94.50 $1,621 —
2175 2175 1 100.00 $100.00 $2,175 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
970 970 Aged (>8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 740.00 $740.00
1210 1210 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 1 800.00 $800.00
1390 1390 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 1 870.00 $870.00

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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
900 900 Young/Middle Aged (2-8 yrs)Open 1 1,140.00 $1,140.00 —
900 900 Aged (>8 yrs)Open 1 900.00 $900.00 —
1100 1100 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,110.00 $1,110.00 —

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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.