Cattle Market Pulse

Blue Grass Stockyards Market Report

Albany, Kentucky · USDA-reported Auction Livestock

Sale of Wednesday, March 2, 2022

916 head sold ·Official USDA report

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

heavy 4-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $167.18/cwt +12.97 vs last sale · ≈ $795/hd at 476 lb · 58 head
light 6-weight M&L 1-2 steers $159.13/cwt -7.44 vs last sale · ≈ $1,012/hd at 636 lb · 57 head
light 5-weight M&L 1-2 heifers $154.39/cwt +5.46 vs last sale · ≈ $817/hd at 529 lb · 47 head

Receipts

HeadThis saleLast saleLast year
Total receipts 916 606 738
Feeder cattle 832 566 681
Slaughter cattle 70 32 53
Replacement cattle 14 8 4

Market comments — USDA reporter

Compared to last week feeder steers under 500 lbs steady, over 500 lbs 2.00-4.00 lower, feeder heifers sold unevenly steady, all due to foreign conflict and global instability. Slaughter cows sold steady-2.00 higher with good demand, Slaughter bulls sold steady. There was moderate demand for all feeder cattle, with good offerings and good buyer activity this week. Buyers showed good interest in weaned steers and heifers under 500 lbs, 400 lb heifers in heavy demand.

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
330 fancy 330 1 210.00 $210.00 $693 —
360–395 377 3 180.00–193.00 $187.81 $708 —
380 fancy 380 2 220.00 $220.00 $836 +5.87
400–445 439 14 174.00–182.00 $177.75 $780 -14.25
430–449 fancy 448 20 187.00–215.50 $206.46 $925 +2.46
455–490 467 7 160.00–179.00 $171.91 $803 +0.88
517–535 value added 525 15 190.00–199.50 $195.99 $1,029 +8.06
510–535 527 8 166.00–179.00 $171.66 $905 +5.66
568–585 579 28 162.50–177.00 $168.05 $973 -0.88
600–645 636 57 140.00–167.00 $159.13 $1,012 -7.44
660–694 683 13 142.00–151.00 $146.42 $1,000 -12.63
708–745 722 23 133.00–153.00 $147.39 $1,064 -9.00
761 761 3 139.50 $139.50 $1,062 -9.50
800–823 820 16 129.00–145.00 $143.59 $1,177 +4.09
850–875 874 25 134.00–137.50 $137.36 $1,201 —
940 940 1 129.00 $129.00 $1,213 -10.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
378 378 4 178.00 $178.00 $673 —
490 490 1 155.00 $155.00 $760 +28.00
555–590 573 3 122.00–150.00 $136.52 $782 +4.52
625 625 1 135.00 $135.00 $844 +2.00
740 740 2 133.00 $133.00 $984 —

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Feeder Heifers

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
220–230 225 4 167.50–177.50 $173.72 $391 —
290–291 291 4 160.00–170.00 $167.51 $487 —
300–340 326 7 157.00–166.00 $162.02 $528 —
350–395 372 18 151.00–174.00 $167.02 $621 +11.03
400–435 fancy 417 8 173.00–178.00 $173.85 $725 —
410–445 430 11 150.00–170.00 $162.09 $697 +14.91
450–487 468 26 151.00–168.00 $160.01 $749 +5.80
458–497 fancy 482 32 171.00–178.00 $173.00 $834 —
500–530 value added 511 5 163.00–175.00 $167.34 $855 —
500–545 531 42 150.00–157.00 $152.85 $812 +3.92
552–593 578 15 140.00–154.00 $151.21 $874 -5.40
593 value added 593 19 160.00 $160.00 $949 -5.00
600–635 625 25 131.00–144.00 $138.05 $863 -0.02
655–690 670 17 130.00–140.00 $137.69 $923 +0.91
712–732 720 30 127.25–130.00 $127.61 $919 -17.39
775–781 778 11 120.00–122.00 $120.91 $941 —
802 802 4 116.00 $116.00 $930 -9.00
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
480 480 1 146.00 $146.00 $701 +30.00
545 545 2 116.00–138.00 $127.00 $692 —
575–590 585 3 119.00–135.00 $124.38 $728 —
750 750 2 108.00–118.00 $113.00 $848 +11.00

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Feeder Bulls

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
280–295 291 5 170.00–187.50 $181.59 $528 +39.09
330–345 fancy 338 2 192.50–210.00 $201.06 $680 +3.56
375–385 fancy 378 3 192.00–200.00 $197.29 $746 —
415–440 428 2 170.00–178.00 $173.88 $744 +7.02
450–495 470 10 150.00–179.00 $167.49 $787 -0.89
470–488 fancy 484 7 193.00–196.00 $194.86 $943 —
540 540 1 166.00 $166.00 $896 +9.00
555–580 572 9 155.00–163.00 $158.98 $909 -0.34
620 620 1 135.00 $135.00 $837 —
695 695 1 141.00 $141.00 $980 —
805 805 1 114.00 $114.00 $918 —
880 880 2 104.00 $104.00 $915 —
Medium and Large 2-3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
315 315 1 152.50 $152.50 $480 —
435 435 1 137.50 $137.50 $598 -3.50
450 450 1 142.50 $142.50 $641 —
530 530 1 141.00 $141.00 $747 —
570 570 2 142.00 $142.00 $809 —
795 795 1 117.00 $117.00 $930 —

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Slaughter Cows

Breaker ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1325–1680 1481 75-80% 14 76.00–91.00 $82.54 $1,222 +8.84
1305–1770 1485 75-80% 7 68.00–75.00 $71.67 $1,064 -2.03
Boner ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1135 1135 80-85% 1 59.00 $59.00 $670 -14.03
1040–1275 1143 80-85% 13 73.00–85.00 $76.58 $875 +3.55
1050–1305 1185 80-85% 4 66.00–71.00 $68.89 $816 —
Lean ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Dressing Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
915–1065 958 85-90% 6 57.00–63.00 $60.40 $579 —
915–1010 963 85-90% 2 48.00–54.00 $51.15 $493 —
945–1070 996 85-90% 4 64.00–70.00 $66.80 $665 —

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Slaughter Bulls

YG1-2 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
1595–1640 1618 2 77.00–85.00 $81.06 $1,312 —
1525–1935 1797 3 104.00–109.00 $105.77 $1,901 —

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Bred Cows

Medium and Large 1-2 ($/head)
Weight (lb) Avg wt AgeStage Head Price range Avg $
1170–1420 1267 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)2nd Stage (4-6 mo) 3 900.00–1,000.00 $960.68
1345–1455 1409 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)3rd Stage (7-9 mo) 4 1,020.00–1,060.00 $1,047.39

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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
1325 1325 Middle Aged (5-8 yrs)Open 1 1,025.00 $1,025.00 —

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Dairy Heifers

Large 3 ($/cwt)
Weight (lb) Avg wt Head Price range Avg $ ≈ $/hdΔ last sale
837 value added 837 62 119.10 $119.10 $997 —

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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.